THREE RIVERS AREA — When hope seems to run out and there appears to be nowhere to turn, John 3:16 Ministries in Charlotte will be there with many open and loving arms.
“I was once blind, but now I see, and I want other men who are blind to see,” said Bryan Tuggle, founder of John 3:16 Ministry. “I help men out of the same pit I was in.”
By blind, he means drug and alcohol addiction; by seeing, he means being saved.
After a long stretch of alcohol and drug abuse and a gambling addiction, Tuggle staggered into his home one morning in 1995 around 4 a.m. after carousing for about two days. He saw his young son, kneeling. He prayed for God to save his daddy. Two weeks later, Tuggle sought treatment for his addictions.
“Everybody knows somebody who has an alcohol or drug problem,” Tuggle said.
Running from who he was, Tuggle came to the Batesville area only to find drugs were there, too.
In 2002, Tuggle and his wife, Beverly, purchased 32 acres in Charlotte, which was once used as a shelter for Vietnam veterans. Even though the structures were not sound and the Tuggles had little money, they made dowith what they had and opened the doors of John 3:16 to its first man on May 3, 2002.
“We started with one guy and went to five before we had our grand opening,” Tuggle said. “It’s like the ark; if you build it, they’ll come.” To date, the ministry has graduated more than 200men and is filled to capacity with 60 at any given time.
John 3:16 Ministries is a six-month to one-year residential facility for men 21 and older who seek help overcoming their addictions.
Twenty-nine-year-old Allen Cole graduated from John 3:16 Ministries twice. Now he’s an instructor who helps other men conquer their addictions.
“I was out for about a year, and I stopped doing what I needed to do,” Cole said. “I realized I did more damage to my family, and I was worse and miserable.” Cole came back to Tuggle asking for help once more in 2006.
“You can only come back if you graduate,” Tuggle said. “I saw a hunger and a thirst in him (Cole) to help other men.” Cole’s mother obtained a flier about John 3:16 and encouraged him to check it out after traditional rehabilitation facilities didn’t work.
“People couldn’t stand me,” Cole said. “Now I have a whole new life and a good name. ... I was hopeless when I was lost. I thought I was going to die and wondered if anyone was going to come to my funeral. But there is hope for us.” Beverly runs the business side of things, but she also sees the changes in men who come to the ministry.
“When they first arrive, they have no will to live; they are like a wilted flower,” Beverly said. “Then they begin to get life breathed into them through the word of God, and they spring up and begin to bloom again.”
Tuggle often gets the question, “How much does it cost?”
His answer: Jesus Christ has paid their price.
There is no monetary cost for men to come to John 3:16; however, they are expected to work, but the ministry allows them to keep what they earn in their jobs within the community. Tuggle said it is the only addiction facility in Arkansas that doesn’t charge those who come for help. The ministry is primarily funded through donations and fundraising events.
“We have no government support at all,” Tuggle said. “It costs $33 per man per day to stay here”
Tuggle asks each man to bring only a Bible, alarm clock, a fishing pole and the willingness to change.
With 60 men at the ministry at one time, the 32-acre compound has expanded to 82 acres with cabins, dorms and a halfway house. Each dorm accommodates up to 12 men. Tuggle said the plan is to build a dorm for each of the 75 counties in Arkansas.
The ministry has three avenues of income, but Tuggle said it gives back as much as it gets.
“We don’t sit around waiting for money to arrive in the mailbox,” Tuggle said. “We get out and give; we mow yards, build wheelchair ramps, pick up trash, whatever people need, we can do.”
On-site the men work at the screen printing shop preparing T-shirts, they cook and cater events or do landscaping jobs. The banks, Wal-Mart and other businesses won’t allow them do the landscaping at no charge, so they are paid; however, the men do landscaping and yard work for elderly residents or other people who need a little help at no charge.
Men who graduate from John 3:16 are prepared to reenter society. They are encouraged to learn a trade, such as carpentry, mechanics or screen printing. Tuggle said there is an 82-percent success rate among its graduates.
“Every single man that graduates has a John 3:16 Ministries scholarship for one semester at the [University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville] or [Arkansas State University-Newport] to help them get started,” Cole said.
One thing that sets John 3:16 apart from other treatment facilities is there is no teaching about the addictions.
“What I needed to know is the answer to my problem, not more about my problem,” Tuggle said about his treatment for his addiction. “The answer is Jesus. ... We don’t offer treatment, we offer the cure, and Jesus is the cure.”
The Tuggles have a Sunday morning worship service at 9:45 that usually has more than 300 people attend. He encourages anyone who has an addiction and wants help, or a family member who loves someone with an addiction, to come to a Sunday morning service to findout what John 3:16 is all about.
Tuggle chose John 3:16 for the name partly because of the passage, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
“If we would love these men by feeding them, clothing them and giving them a place to sleep, they’d want what we are offering, which is Jesus,” Tuggle said. “If we so love them, they’ll come to know Jesus and come to cure their addiction.”
The first to admit that conquering an addiction isn’t easy, Tuggle believes it opens doors to a new life.
“It wasn’t easy to carry that cross, but it was worth it; it is not easy to give up alcohol and drugs, but it’s worth it,” Tuggle said. “Life is fun. You can have fun without drinking and doing dope.”
Tuggle believes he can take from what he went through with his additions to pull others out of their addictions. Tuggle said those men know within 15 seconds of talking to someone if they’ve “been there” or not.
“If I had never been where I’d been, I would never have cried out for Jesus,” Tuggle said. “I wouldn’t be where I am today.... You can’t give up hope. When you don’t want to pray anymore, pray one more prayer.”
Along with Beverly, Tuggleruns the ministry with the help of several instructors, who are graduates of John 3:16.
For more information, call (870) 799-2525 or visit the Web site at www.john316ministry.com.
- jbrosius@ arkansasonline.commatter of factBirthday: July 15 Occupation: John 3:16 Ministries director Family includes: Wife, Beverly; two daughters, Shana and Amanda; one son, Keith Hobbies: Me and Beverly like to go to antique stores My name comes from: Actor Bryan Keith from Family Affair Most people don’t know I’m: Sensitive I cannot live without: Jesus, my family and John 3:16 Ministries My favorite memory is: The day I got saved The world would be a better place if: We would all follow Jesus Favorite quote: “You can give without loving, but can never love without giving.” (For God so loved the world, He gave His Son.) My goals for the future: Is to lead as many people to Jesus as I can
Three Rivers, Pages 132 on 10/11/2009