BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. — An Eastern Shore church ministry is expanding into a new phase of outreach aimed at men struggling with addiction, homelessness and incarceration, many of whom have no family left to turn to.
Pastor Chuck Chavis of Lifeline Ministries has been overseeing construction on a more than 17-acre rural site in central Baldwin County, where three large crosses overlook a quiet lake near the location of the ministry’s newest project, Lifeline Discipleship Homes.
“We are looking for the person who is really sick and tired of being sick and tired,” Chavis said.
The new building is an extension of Lifeline Ministries’ existing work in Fairhope, which focuses on outreach to people dealing with addiction, homelessness and incarceration. The Discipleship Homes program is centered specifically on helping men with addiction, and the facility, still under construction, is designed to eventually house up to a dozen residents. Chavis compares the concept to a greenhouse.
“The whole goal of a greenhouse is actually to feed them and strengthen them and make them strong enough so that, not that they live in that greenhouse, but you can take them out of that greenhouse, place them back in the environment that God had made them to live in so that they can survive,” Chavis said.
The program will be entirely donation-funded and rooted in faith-based recovery. “We want to be a family to those who never had a family,” Chavis said. “And we want to pull beside men. We want to help men to become godly fathers. We want them to become godly husbands and godly men.”
Chavis, who had his own encounters with the law nearly two decades ago, said his personal experience shapes the ministry’s approach. “When I was sitting in jail, I opened up the word of God and I started building a personal relationship with Jesus Christ,” he said. “So I stand here as evidence that the gospel changes lives. And the word of God will transform your life.”
Organizers hope to begin housing residents in January, when the facility is slated to open. Those interested in learning more or supporting the ministry can write to P.O. Box 1451, Point Clear, AL 36564.