Tu Revista Latina Magazine

Teen Challenge

One of the most vivid memories of the playground is when the two most popular girls came up to her and told her she was fat. Madison took this message to heart and rigorously began running the track hoping that one day she would be thin enough to fit in. This was just one in of a series of events that would make Madison life on a roller coaster ride. As she got older, Madison craved attention and acceptance from her peers and when she didn’t get it, she turned to her family. However, her family situation was less than ideal; she lived with an alcoholic stepfather. Seeing the type of life he lead and how it affected her, Madison vowed that she would never 
be like him.

For Madison, some attention was better than none and she began getting it from older guys. Unfortunately, it was the wrong type of attention and like many troubled adolescent girls, Madison became sexually active. She enjoyed the attention she was getting from older men but quickly realized that it always ended. As their interests in her faded, Madison looked to alcohol and drugs to fill the void.

“I knew I was doing things I shouldn’t be doing and these behaviors began to control me,” said Madison. “I was left with a feeling of guilt and bitterness. That person I vowed never to turn in to was creeping into my life.” There were times when Madison’s cravings were so out of control, she was lead to verbally and physically abuse the people around her.

At the age of 16, Madison hit rock bottom and her life was as out of control as her desire for drugs, alcohol and sex. Desperately, she cried out to God asking Him to give her a life that was glorifying to Him. The next day, her mom told her about Teen Challenge of New Mexico and how it changed the life of her own cousin. Madison was reluctant and immediately answered, “No!” Gradually, God began to soften her heart and Madison finally agreed to go.

“Philippians 1:6 says, ‘I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.’ I know that I am not perfect and never will be, but daily I am striving to be. Jesus is Savior, He is my comforter and He is my healer. Isaiah 53:5 says, ‘He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquity. The punishment that brought us peace was on Him and by His wounds we are all healed.’ I thank Jesus for dying on the cross thousands of years ago so that I could be the woman of God I am today,” attests Madison.

Teen Challenge begun on the gang plagued streets of Brooklyn, NY. It was 1958 when Reverend David Wilkerson relocated from his home in Pennsylvania to begin ministering full time to the youth in New York. Although Rev. Wilkerson has not been directly associated with Teen Challenge for many decades, his work became well known and has since spread worldwide. The mission of Teen Challenge is to help the youth whose lives are controlled by addictions. In New Mexico, the ministry has two live-in care centers, one for young men and the other for young women.

Teen Challenge is distinctive in that it boasts a 75% cure rate. This is astounding when compared to other detox/rehab programs that claim a mere 1% cure rate or therapeutic community cure rate at around 10%. Dr. Catherine Hess, study director for Teen Challenge offers these statistics and says, “Teen Challenge is the best I know to get a person off drugs.” Chuck Colson, the founder of Prison Fellowship puts it plainly, “Teen Challenge succeeds when all of the government programs fail.” 

Marilyn Lundsford has worked with troubled teens for nearly thirty years and was involved in Teen Challenge for nine months when the administrators were attempting to open care centers in Las Cruces. For Marilyn, the most rewarding aspect of working with this population is when they finally understand that there is a plan and purpose for their lives. “When they stop focusing on the rules and regulations and begin focusing on the goal and the plan God has for them, it truly is an ‘Aha!’ kind of moment,” 
says Marilyn.

Like many other charitable organizations, Teen Challenge does not accept any government funds. Their resources come solely from the private sector. Kathy Hall, Assistant Executive State Director in New Mexico has shared that the most challenging aspect of the ministry is simply coming up with operating funds. Each Teen Challenge is a separate organization but is accountable to meet the standards of Teen Challenge USA and each must raise their own budget. Kathy explains that all the churches in the state of New Mexico have the opportunity to invite Teen Challenge to share testimonies to their congregations.

With a firmly documented cure rate, one has to ask what it is that makes Teen Challenge stand apart from the rest. Simply put, it is Christ. When other programs focus on the addiction or other underlying issues that result in alcoholism or drug use, Teen Challenge recognizes sin, as the key problem. Once transgression is acknowledged, the students find their hope in Jesus Christ who is the only cure for sin and its symptoms. The mere fact that the cure rate is so high is a powerful testament to the supremacy of God.

The youth that find themselves at Teen Challenge of New Mexico come from different walks of life. While each story is unique and often harrowing, these teens come together for a common end; deliverance from life controlling problems. Whether it’s an addiction to alcohol, drugs or pornography, Teen Challenge of New Mexico offers these young individuals the hope they need to start a new life through a journey immersed in discipline, structure, accountability and natural beauty.

We live in a world inundated with negativity, hatred, violence and greed. For teenagers, add to that the pressures of peers, school, parents and society. The ages between 13 and 18 are very critical in a young person’s life. It is during these years that they crave independence and liberty yet they are extremely vulnerable and easily influenced by their peers and the media. Often, adolescents will alter their behavior–unfortunately, many times negatively–just to fit in. As fragile as adolescence is, it is when they are most likely to be exposed to inappropriate material that may ultimately lead to a lifetime of destructive behavior.

Summer 2011