Recovery ALIVE! Guidebook: Launching a 12 Step Recovery Ministry that Raises Hope from the Dead!

by John Eklund, Katherine Raynor

“Recovery Alive is exploding! It’s a movement anchored ultimately in the hope found in a relationship with God… I believe this kind of care and counsel ministry can change our broken and addicted world.”
Zach Clinton
Vice President, American Association of Christian Counselors

“Far too often instructions on how to start a recovery ministry are very shallow in detail as well as application. There simply is not enough content supplied in order to have a real opportunity at launching and developing a thriving ministry. This can lead to more questions than answers. That simply is not the case with the Recovery Alive Guidebook. John and his team have carefully and thoughtfully crafted a guidebook that gives step-by-step instructions. It has been written in such a way that even the most inexperienced leader can successfully launch a thriving Christ-centered recovery ministry that will provide hope and healing within the church, community, and beyond. If you are considering starting a recovery ministry in your church or organization, this guidebook is a must have!”
Layne Mason
Care & Recovery Pastor, First Assembly NLR
North Little Rock AR

"The Recovery Alive Guidebook is a powerful took for any church seeking to help people impacted by substance use disorder. This program is a step-by-step guide to discovering our true identity through our relationship with God, and by facing difficult truths about ourselves. Recovery Alive does not condemn-it directs our attention to the overwhelming grace and love that God has for each of us. In a situation that can be full of darkness, stigma, and judgement, Recovery Alive injects light, understanding and compassion."
Kurtis Taylor
Executive Director, Alcohol and Drug Council of NC


The Recovery Alive! Guidebook will introduce you and your team to a proven spiritual strategy for connecting the lost and broken to the power, people and process of recovery. This resource gives clear instructions on how you can competently and compassionately engage and support those in your community suffering from depression, addiction, grief, anxiety, relationship issues and countless other struggles and soul-wounds.

The Recovery Alive! Guidebook and many more tools for launching and growing a Recovery ALIVE! program.

“Any pastor or church leader who is serious about recovery ministry desperately needs a copy of this book. John Eklund masterfully lays out a very practical and systematic way to lead people to a new way of living as God intended us to live – free of guilt, shame, anger, codependency, you name it. This manual leads us on a journey to victory to overcome any human struggle. John’s book gives us a way to have hope in hopeless situations, and it breathes life into a suffocating world of hurt. Thank you sir for listening to the voice of God and helping His children to live free.”
Daryl R. Clark
Lead Pastor
State Street Community Church, Raleigh NC

140 pages, Paperback

Published December 28, 2022

About the author

John Eklund is a Norse mythology and European history buff, and author of the historical fiction novels, The Third Testament and Siegfried: The Liberator of Germania. John resides with his wife, three children, and three dogs in the Chicago suburbs.