Mark Twelve Recovery Foundation

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Mark Twelve Recovery Foundation

The Mark Twelve Recovery Foundation helps churches walk alongside people affected by alcoholism and substance use disorders. Kevin D.

We provide free Bible studies and meeting materials and we connect ministries with Christian recovery coaches. Flynn is a person in long-term recovery, a CCAR-certified recovery coach professional, a former recovery coach supervisor at the Montachusett Recovery Foundation in Leominster, and a published financial writer.

10/16/2026

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” — Luke 15:20

Notice what the father did not do. He did not follow his son into the far country with more money. He did not pay off the pig farmer or explain the whole thing away to the neighbors.

He let him go. And he never stopped watching the road.

If someone you love is drinking or using, you may be carrying a quiet guilt about saying no. It can feel unchristian. It isn’t. A boundary is a decision about what you will do: “I won’t give you cash anymore. I will buy groceries, and I will pay for treatment directly if you want it.” “You can’t be here when you’ve been using. You can call me any time.”

That is not abandonment. Abandonment walks away. A boundary steps out of the way of the harm, and stays close enough to run when they turn toward home.

Two things a boundary never does: it never takes naloxone out of the house, and it never asks you to stay somewhere you are not safe.

You need support too. Learn to Cope, Al-Anon, and Nar-Anon all meet families where they are. So does your pastor.

Our new article walks through the difference between helping and enabling, what a good boundary sounds like, and what to do when it gets tested.

If you or someone you love needs help now: call 911 in an emergency, call or text 988, or call the Massachusetts Substance Use Helpline at 800-327-5050.

https://marktwelverecovery.org/articles/boundaries-are-not-abandonment

Educational content only; not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Learn to set healthy boundaries to support loved ones with addiction without enabling their behavior. Discover the difference between helping and enabling.

10/09/2026

Four people carried a man to Jesus. The house was full, so they opened the roof and lowered him down on his mat. Mark never tells us their names. He tells us what Jesus saw: their faith (Mark 2:3–5).

Every church has someone on the mat. Addiction is in our congregations whether or not it shows on Sunday. In a Lifeway Research survey, 45 percent of pastors said a member of their own congregation had been affected by opioid abuse. Nearly two in three said the same about a member’s family.

Most churches pray, and we should. But in that survey only about a third of pastors said their church offers a recovery group of any kind. A pastor cannot be at every corner of every mat. Jethro told Moses as much: the work was too heavy to carry alone (Exodus 18:18).

A recovery coach is someone who can take a corner. A coach is a trained peer, most often a person in long-term recovery, who walks with someone week to week: the ride to a first meeting, the call after a hard day, the next right step. A Christian recovery coach brings Scripture and prayer into that walk. A coach is not a counselor or a doctor and does not replace either one.

Paul wrote that God comforts us in our troubles so that we can comfort others with the comfort we have received (2 Corinthians 1:4). The people God has brought through addiction may be the people your church needs most.

Pastors and ministry leaders: the Mark Twelve Coach Network connects churches with independent Christian recovery coaches. Call (978) 947-7701 to learn more.

If you or someone you love needs help now: call 911 in an emergency, call or text 988, or call the Massachusetts Substance Use Helpline at 800-327-5050.

Explore the vital role of recovery coaches in churches, bridging the gap in addiction support between Sundays and offering essential peer guidance.

10/02/2026

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” — Galatians 6:2

When someone you love finally says, “I need help,” the next question is usually a practical one. How do we pay for this?

Here is the good news for Massachusetts families. Most health insurance here covers addiction treatment. State law requires MassHealth and many private plans to cover detox and short-term stabilization without making you wait for approval. MassHealth covers even more, including recovery coaches. And no one needs insurance to get care in this state.

Here is the part that surprises people. Insurance usually will not pay rent at a sober home, most faith-based programs, or a program outside your plan’s network.

And here is where you come in. Someone in the first days of getting sober is rarely in any shape to sit on hold with an insurance company. You can do that for them.

Sometimes bearing a burden looks like a casserole. Sometimes it looks like forty minutes on hold and a notebook full of names and reference numbers.

We wrote out what is covered, what is not, five questions to ask when you call, and what to do if the plan says no. Link in first comment.

No insurance? Call the Massachusetts Substance Use Helpline, 800-327-5050.
Overdose or emergency: call 911. • Crisis: call or text 988.

Mark Twelve Recovery Foundation equips churches in North Central Massachusetts with free recovery resources and connects them with independent Christian recovery coaches.

Educational content only; not medical, legal, or insurance advice.

Discover what addiction treatment is covered by insurance in Massachusetts, including key protections and options for those without insurance.

09/24/2026

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” — Romans 8:1

After you have done something wrong, two voices tend to show up. They can sound alike. They are not.

One says, “That was wrong. Come back.” The other says, “You are wrong. Stay away.”

The first is conviction. It names something you did, and it always comes with a next step: admit it, make it right, do differently. It sends you toward people.

The second is shame. It names who you are and offers nothing to do but hide. It sends you to your room with the door shut, and for many people in recovery, back to whatever they used to numb it.

Peter and Judas both failed Jesus on the same night. Both were sick over it. Judas carried it alone. Peter wept and stayed with the others. Weeks later, by a charcoal fire on the shore, Jesus asked him three times, “Do you love me?” — and then gave him work to do.

That is what conviction does. It doesn’t pretend the failure never happened. It ends in restoration.

If the voice in your head is hopeless and never finished with you, it is not the voice of God, however religious it sounds.

We wrote out how to tell the two apart, and what to do when shame shows up.

Understand the crucial difference between shame and conviction in recovery, and learn how to navigate these emotions for a healthier path forward.

09/16/2026

When someone you love finally says "I'm struggling," the first thing out of your mouth matters more than almost anything that comes after.

Most of the damage in these conversations isn't cruelty. It's love and fear coming out sideways: "How could you do this to us?" "Is it really that bad?" "Just stop." "Have you prayed about it?"

What tends to help is simpler. Thank them for telling you. Listen more than you talk. Ask what they need. Agree on one small next step and a day you'll check back in.

And if anything they say worries you about their safety, ask directly. NIMH reports that asking someone whether they're thinking about su***de does not increase su***des or suicidal thoughts.

I wrote a guide for the parent, spouse, friend, or church member someone decided to trust: what to say, what to leave unsaid, and what to do in the days after.

Learn how to support someone who is struggling with addiction or alcoholism. Discover effective responses, what to avoid, and how to follow up for lasting support.

09/08/2026

“Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” — 1 Kings 19:7

Elijah had just come through the greatest day of his ministry. The next thing he did was walk into the wilderness, sit down under a tree, and ask God to take his life.

God did not rebuke him. God did not preach at him. An angel woke him and told him to eat. He ate, and slept, and was woken again — eat, because the journey is too great for you. The still small voice came later.

If you are in the early weeks of getting sober, you may already know that stretch. Week one is physical and frightening. Weeks two through four, the fog starts to clear but the sleep and the moods do not cooperate. And then comes the part almost nobody warns you about — somewhere around week six, when it stops hurting and starts feeling flat. No joy in anything. No energy. Cravings that show up out of nowhere.

That flatness is not proof that sobriety is failing you. It is a body and a mind healing on a slower clock than any of us would choose.

So we would say what the angel said. Eat something. Sleep. Let somebody check on you. Those are not the small parts of recovery — in that passage, they came first.

We wrote out the whole timeline, week by week, with what the research actually shows.

Explore the first ninety days of recovery, understanding the physical and emotional challenges, and learn what to expect during this critical journey.

09/05/2026

SPECIAL FEATURE · MARK TWELVE RECOVERY
Iron Sharpens Iron - Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
Proverbs 27:17

This week in Berlin, Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese took the floor together for Team USA at the FIBA World Cup.

For three years we were told these two women hated each other. They never did. They have been competing since AAU ball in middle school, and they have said so plainly. Reese: “Oh my gosh, I love Caitlin.” Clark: “We’re not best friends, by any means, but we’re very respectful of one another.”

Both women are Christians. Clark was raised Catholic and once said of her high school, “We get to live our faith every day.” Reese is more outspoken. She has posted, “As for me, I will never stop loving God.”

Neither has said her faith is why she refuses to hate her rival. But look at what they have done. In a culture that would have rewarded a feud, two women of faith declined the role.

Three things recovery can take from this:

• The story people tell about you is not who you are. You are not required to become the villain your family or your worst season cast you as.
• Resentment is a choice, even when the offense is real. Reese has absorbed real ugliness and still refused to hand the bill to the wrong person.
• You need people who push you. If everyone around you always agrees with you, you are not being sharpened. You are being flattered.

In March, Clark took a hard foul against Spain and went down. Reese walked over and helped her up. Same jersey, same team, same floor.

That is Mark 12:31 in work clothes: love your neighbor as yourself. Not the neighbor you picked. The one next to you.

If you are looking for a Christian path to sobriety in north central Massachusetts, we are here for you. Call (978) 947-7701.

Read the full article here:

Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese demonstrate how fierce competition can coexist with mutual respect and faith, offering valuable lessons for recovery and personal growth.

09/01/2026

Community Healthlink is winding down. Its Leominster behavioral health programs moved off Spruce Street in August, and Clinical & Support Options took over the Community Behavioral Health Center in September.

Here is the part that matters: when I checked last week, the state's own directory still listed the old address.

That is not a paperwork problem. Somebody in Leominster is going to decide, at eleven o'clock at night, that tomorrow is the day they ask for help. They will search. They will find an address. They will drive there. And if the building is empty, a lot of them will not try a second time.

Willingness is perishable. The window in which a person is ready to walk through a door is measured in hours, not weeks, and a stale listing can close it.

So we spent the month building an accurate one — every number, every address, for the ten towns we serve. The behavioral health centers. The peer recovery centers in Leominster, Fitchburg and Gardner. Health centers that will see you regardless of what you can pay. Family support. How to get naloxone. What to do when the barrier is a car rather than a decision.

We listed every organization doing this work here, not only our own.

If you work in recovery, healthcare, or ministry in north central Massachusetts: pull up your own referral list this week and check it. Mine was out of date too.

In crisis, call or text 988. Massachusetts Substance Use Helpline, 800-327-5050.

Discover essential recovery resources in North Central Massachusetts, including helplines, community centers, and support for individuals and families.

08/28/2026

Our September newsletter is out.

It opens with four links — just four — that cover almost anyone looking for a recovery meeting. Celebrate Recovery. Narcotics Anonymous. AA. And the online directories that run around the clock, for the night when leaving the house isn’t possible.

We put them right in the letter instead of behind a click, because sometimes you need to forward something to someone at eleven at night, and one more click is one click too many.

There is no ask in this issue. Just what we published in August, an honest correction about where our staffing budget stands, and a map.

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.” — Psalm 32:8

If you or someone you love is in crisis, call or text 988. If there is immediate danger, call 911.

Read it:

Explore our August newsletter highlighting essential recovery resources, practical articles, and updates on our staffing budget and scholarship program.

08/25/2026

You Don’t Have to Walk In Alone

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some.”
HEBREWS 10:24–25

The writer of Hebrews assumed people would drift. He said so plainly — “as is the habit of some” — and then named the remedy, which was not more willpower. It was a room with other people in it.

The hard part is that nobody tells you how to find the room.
There is no central directory of recovery meetings. There are thousands of independent groups scattered across a dozen websites that don’t talk to each other.

A person at the lowest point of their life gets handed a research project. If that has stopped you before, it isn’t a character flaw. It’s a directory problem.

We don’t host our own meeting right now. What we do is help you find one, and if it helps, sit in that first meeting with you so you’re not walking in by yourself. That costs nothing.

Discover how to find recovery meetings, understand different programs, and get support on your journey to healing and connection. Start your recovery today.

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Leominster, MA
01453

Website

https://marktwelverecovery.org/

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