LONGVIEW, Texas — Pastor Ed Maclean and Associate Pastor Thomas Woods of Revive Church in Longview have spent years helping those struggling with addiction. Both former addicts, they try to help others through Revive Recovery, a program started roughly two years ago at their church.
"When you're that addict, we, as a people. disassociate from these people," Woods said. "That is not what we are here, we're here to welcome them home."
"I was at the bottom, I got picked out of my pit too," Mclean said. "It's easier to talk to people and they're more comfortable with you if you have a background in it."
However, when COVID-19 arrived, it created major hurdles.
"One minute, we're planning on a meeting and the next minute, I get a call and say we're shut down," Mclean said.
Like many programs that help with addiction, they had always met in person. But for a time that stopped.
"We all were tested, I believe, some in faith, some in walk, and some in who they were truly leaning on," Woods said.
The church is located in Longview Mall, and when the pandemic arrived, the entire mall was shut down. While this created a challenge, it also created a new way to reach people through social media.
Revive Recovery has been back to doing live meetings for a while now, but Maclean says they don't want to eliminate any options available to reach people. Especially those who still may not feel comfortable coming in person because of COVID.
"We went online and on Friday nights, and on Monday nights; I got anywhere from 100 to 1000 people that join us," Mclean said.
