There are many roads to the Lord's service, and very often a person's past experiences are transformed into mighty instruments of ministry. This is especially true in ministry to the addicted. It is a beautiful testimony of hope to see the life-changing power of Messiah in someone who was formerly enslaved but is now living a victorious life.

The team that the Lord has assembled to work at the newly established rehabilitation center in Israel has at least two workers who know what it is like to struggle with the immense challenge of overcoming addiction.

Brian S. - Finding Wholeness in Messiah

Brian S. was born in 1969 and raised in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood near Los Angeles, California. Though non-religious, his Jewish parents always celebrated the holidays with family.

Before coming to the Lord, Brian encountered a series of difficult and stressful times in his life. As a teenager, he fell into drug and alcohol abuse, seeking to satisfy a deep need for fulfillment and attention. His lowest point came after being arrested for possession of narcotics at the age of 16.

However, the Lord got Brian's attention and put him on a path of recovery and spiritual discovery. In the spring of 1987, at the age of 18, Brian came to know his Messiah in a powerful revelation through the godly witness and love of a Christian man who showed deep care and concern for Brian's emotional and spiritual needs. Through the Lord, Brian has found the wholeness he had always searched for.

Brian deeply desired to help others with a similar background, and this led him to seek professional education and become a certified drug and alcohol counselor. He began working in hospitals with patients being treated for drug and alcohol abuse, psychiatric disorders and other life-controlling issues. He then went on to earn his nursing license.

In 1996, when Brian was 26, God called him to leave all the comforts of home in California to immigrate to Israel. On one of his many visits there, he served for four months as a volunteer at a Messianic rehabilitation center in Haifa. This center helped Israelis and Arabs with drug and alcohol addiction issues.

In 1997, Brian married Racheli, an Israeli believer. They and their young children live in a suburb of Tel Aviv and are excited to be part of the Chosen People Ministries family, working on the front lines of Jewish evangelism and bringing the healing ministry of Jesus the Messiah to the lost and addicted.

Sergey K. - From Atheist and Addict to Messiah's Servant and Shepherd

Sergey K. was born into an atheistic Jewish family in St. Petersburg, Russia. Like many Jewish people from the former Soviet Union, he was barely aware of his Jewish identity. As a result, his upbringing was far away from the values and heritage of Judaism. He, too, spent years in darkness, in bondage to gambling. While in the grip of his addiction, Sergey did many things of which he was ashamed, but he felt powerless to stop them.

However, something had changed in his family. His father came to faith in the Messiah in 1989 and began witnessing to him. In 1992, Sergey came to the realization that God did indeed exist. The following year, through a search of the Scriptures, Sergey made his own faith decision and was delivered from his gambling addiction.

After this, Sergey served for many years as a pastor in a Baptist church in Russia and was also a director of the Russian division of "Light in the East" Christian mission. A growing awareness of his Jewish identity led him to outreach among Jewish people in St. Petersburg. After he immigrated to Israel, Sergey became the leader of the congregation planted by Chosen People Ministries more than ten years ago in Tel Aviv. Now Sergey also directs the rehabilitation center where he serves as a teacher and counselor.