Celebrate Recovery

Meetings Every Friday | Dinner at 6:00pm | Large Group 7:00pm | Small Groups 8:00pm

Above and Beyond Community Church

7500 East Country Club Blvd., Boca Raton, FL. 33487

Our Mission

Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered, twelve-step program offering help and healing from life’s hurts, habits, and hang-ups. Our mission is to offer you freedom through Jesus Christ.

Our History

Celebrate Recovery was born in 1991 at Saddleback Church, pastored by Rick Waren; the author of the Purpose Driven book series. Pastor John Baker was a pastor in recovery and the creator of the Celebrate Recovery vision and purpose which was based on the 12 Steps of AA and 8 Biblical Principles found in the Beatitudes. Pastor John Baker identified the need for a Christ-centered recovery program that did not just focus on drug and alcohol addiction but on all of our hurts, hang-ups, and habits. Since its creation and continuing to meet weekly, Celebrate Recovery is now an international ministry, meeting in over 35,000 churches worldwide and has been a safe place for over 7 million people to find hope, healing, and freedom from many life controlling issues. Celebrate Recovery continues to grow as it points people to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, our Higher Power and discipleship through connection and community.

Our Groups Include:

• Male and Female Groups

• Chemical Dependency

• Mixed Struggle

Our Meetings

We are a ministry of Above and Beyond Community Church. Our meetings are held every Friday, starting at 6pm with dinner and fellowship, then join together at 7pm for a large group alternating between teachings and testimonies, at 8pm we break off into small groups for open share.

Please note that men’s and women’s groups always meet separately. Each group is moderated by a mature, experienced leader with anonymity and confidentiality as our core values.

cELEBRATE RECOVERY’S STUDENT MINISTRY

What are Hurts, Hang-ups, and Habits?

Have you ever found yourself stuck in the same old struggle?

You’re not alone! Hurts, hang-ups, and habits spoil the lives of many of us—and more importantly, the lives God wants for us. But what exactly do these terms mean? Let’s take a closer look.

Hurts: Wounds We Carry

“I just can’t get over how he treated me.”

“What happened is unbearable.”

We’ve all been hurt; it’s an inevitable part of life. Perhaps we have experienced loss, rejection, trauma, or disappointment. Hurts can leave us feeling broken, abandoned, or betrayed.

Some examples of hurt include:

• Abuse (physical, sexual, or emotional)

• Abandonment or betrayal

• Loss of a loved one

• A broken or difficult relationship

God cares for us and He has the power to restore us.

“He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds.”
Psalm 147:3

If left unhealed, hurts can become more deeply rooted and lead to us developing a hang-up.

Hang-ups: Chains That Hold Us Back

“I’m not good enough.”

“I’ll never forgive her.”

A hang-up is something that keeps us mentally or emotionally stuck. It may be a nagging voice in our head that keeps us stuck in fear or self-doubt. Perhaps it’s the result of a past hurt we didn’t know how to move on from. Maybe it’s a false belief we’ve developed over time. Hang-ups keep us from fully embracing the freedom we can have in Jesus.

Common hang-ups include:

• Fear of rejection, blame, or shame

• Perfectionism

• Low self-esteem

• Anger, resentment, or bitterness

The Bible tells us that we can change our thinking. We can allow God to renew our minds, replacing negativity with His truth, our old perspectives with His.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Romans 12:2

If we don’t address our hang-ups, we may turn to unhealthy ways of coping — which leads us to habits.

Habits: Coping Mechanisms That Control Us

“I can’t stop bingeing.”

“I need them to approve of me.”

When we don’t know how to overcome our hang-ups, we are susceptible to developing habits—destructive behaviors which we hope will bring comfort or distraction from pain. However, they ultimately lead to further hurt to ourselves or others. We may think they help us to control our pain, but the habits can end up controlling us.

Some common habits include:

• Addictions (e.g. drugs, alcohol, food, pornography, gambling)

• Co-dependency (relying on others for validation or worth)

• Unhealthy coping mechanisms (self-harm, control, workaholism)

God gives His Spirit to those who believe and trust in Jesus Christ. And His Spirit is powerful to help us make better choices.

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.”
2 Timothy 1:7

Habits promise relief but only deepen our struggles.

Freedom is Possible

There is hope for change! Whether you carry deep hurts, struggle with negative mindsets, or battle unhealthy behaviors—God wants to set you free.

At Celebrate Recovery, we look to Jesus Christ and His directions for recovery. This biblically-based program leads people along the road to recovery to overcome life’s hurts, hang-ups, and habits.

My personal hurts, hang-ups, and habits—once stumbling blocks to a happy life—became stepping stones to a fuller life of freedom and purpose. God’s grace is bigger than any hurt, hang-up, or habit, and through Him, recovery is possible!

If you can admit you have a hurt, a hang-up, or a habit, and are ready to seek God’s help to overcome it, I encourage you to seek out a Celebrate Recovery group and trust God to lead you along this tried and tested route to recovery.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Celebrate Recovery for me?

• Yes, Celebrate Recovery is for anyone with a hurt, habit, or hang up.

What does hurt, habit or hang up mean?

• Anyone who has lived in a fallen and broken world has typically been hurt by someone at some point, and sometimes we are aware of how that hurt affects us and sometimes we are not. A habit is any bad habitual behavior that affects our relationship with God or others. A hang-up is that thing that can randomly or regularly affect your relationship with God or others. Examples include, but are not limited to, past abuse, betrayal, substance abuse, gambling, pornography, anxiety, anger, co-dependency.

Can I join at any time?

• Our large group meetings are open for anyone to join at any time. Our step studies are open to newcomers for the first two to three months depending on class size.

What if my struggle is not listed here?

• Celebrate Recovery is geared towards addressing the deeper heart condition and sin problem we all have. Our large group meetings offer struggle specific small groups based on the needs of the church and the availability of leaders. We are always open to starting a new struggle specific group if we have two leaders of the same gender to start it. We also realize that everyone struggles with co-dependency or anger to some degree and anyone is welcome to join that group.

What is Codependency?

• Co-dependency takes many forms in each of us. Some examples include people-pleasing, inability to say no, poor boundaries, an abusive relationship, getting into unhealthy relationships, and or seeking validation or affirmation from others when we should be getting that from God. Often times family members of people who have addictions or habits are recommended to attend this group.

Do I have attend large group to attend small group?

• You do not have to attend the large group, but it is strongly recommended. The large groups offer great teachings and amazing testimonies that speak of God’s faithfulness, but we also realize that it is in an honest Christian community that God will often provide the people and resources necessary to walk in freedom and wholeness in our relationship with God.

Do I Have to register?

• There is no registration for our large group meetings or even our step studies. You can just show up. If we do not have an open step study, we offer sign-ups at our large group meeting, so that a leader can give you a call when a new one starts.

Is there childcare?

• Yes we do offer childcare for preschool aged children and younger, in addition to our student ministries for elementary children (Celebration Place) and for middle and high school youth (The Landing) which in help children and youth gain emotional and spiritual health to help them navigate their own life experiences and help them have their identity in Jesus.

Should my family members and loved ones attend to?

• We encourage families to attend together whenever possible. However, we do not recommend family members sit in the same small groups as the loved ones they are supporting.

Is there a cost?

• There is no cost to attend a large group or a step study. If you attend the dinner before our large group, we encourage a $5. The step study does require a $20 curriculum that has four participant guides. We are always willing to work out a payment plan for the curriculum. We never want financial reasons to stand in the way of someone getting help. Children under 12 are free.