Convention speaker Nick Stumbo offers a message of hope to people trapped by addictive behavior

Meet Nick Stumbo, featured speaker at FEC’s upcoming “Freedom” convention and author of the book Setting Us Free. In this inspiring book, Nick describes his journey from addiction to redemption—thanks to help he received from Pure Desire Ministries, where he now serves as executive director. Pure Desire’s counseling freed him from a binge/purge relationship with pornography and totally transformed him—and his marriage. “Our experience with Pure Desire saved me from what could have been a ruined life and gave me a stronger ministry moving forward,” says Nick.

 

A longtime pastor, Nick knows firsthand the destructive power addiction can hold over church leaders and people in the congregation. According to Nick, addiction is a masterful strategy of the enemy to keep Christians struggling, afflicting them with the same disease but making them feel secretive and shamed. “As long as we think that that we are uniquely bad,” he says, “we’ll stay isolated and trapped.” That’s why Pure Desire recommends churches create a culture of grace, forming safe groups where people can not only tell their whole story but also discover help and healing instead of condemnation.

 

“We have a tendency to think people who struggle with addictions of all types as being out there,” says Nick. “We use words such as ‘they’ and ‘them’ instead of ‘we’ and ‘us.’ As soon as we use ‘other’ language, people in the church feel that they can’t reveal their addiction and fall even deeper into shame.” The truth, however, is that people in the church who battle addictions are not alone. In fact, research shows that 60-70% of men and 30-40% of women who attend church regularly struggle with sexual issues.

 

“This is about us,” Nick says. “Only when we address our brokenness within the church will we have a message of hope for people outside the church.” Nick’s story of transformation is one you won’t want to miss, so be sure to register for convention today at https://fecministries.org/convention-freedom-2017.