Celebrate Recovery

Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered, 12-step recovery program designed to help individuals overcome various hurts, hang-ups, and habits, including addiction, by providing spiritual, emotional, and relational healing. It was founded by John Baker in 1991 at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, and has since expanded globally. The program incorporates biblical teachings alongside the 12 steps to facilitate recovery and personal transformation.

Key Elements of Celebrate Recovery:

1. The 12 Steps: Like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Celebrate Recovery uses a 12-step framework, but it incorporates Christian principles and teachings. The 12 steps are grounded in the Bible, encouraging individuals to find healing through faith in Jesus Christ. These steps are:

   1. Acknowledge powerlessness over the addiction or hurt.

   2. Seek a personal relationship with God.

   3. Make amends and take personal inventory.

   4. Help others achieve healing through God’s grace.

The 8 Recovery Principles: These principles are directly tied to the Beatitudes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. They guide participants through spiritual growth and healing. The 8 principles help individuals work through their emotional, relational, and spiritual struggles:

• Principle 1: Realize I’m not God, and I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing.

• Principle 2: Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him, and that He has the power to help me recover.

• Principle 3: Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and control.

• Principle 4: Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust.

• Principle 5: Voluntarily submit to any and all changes God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects.

• Principle 6: Evaluate all my relationships. Offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me and make amends for harm I have done to others, except when to do so would harm them or others.

• Principle 7: Reserve a daily time with God for self-examination, Bible reading, and prayer in order to know God and His will for my life and to gain the power to follow His will.

• Principle 8: Yield myself to God to be used to bring this good news to others, both by my example and by my words.

Celebrate Recovery Meetings:

The program is typically run in a church setting but is open to people from all walks of life, regardless of religious background. Meetings are held weekly and include:

• Large Group Meetings: These involve worship, teaching, and sharing testimonies from individuals in recovery.

• Open Share Groups: Smaller, gender-specific groups where participants can share their experiences and struggles with others in a safe and supportive environment.

• Step Study Groups: A deeper, more structured study of the 12 steps, helping individuals work through each step with the support of a group and a sponsor.

• Sponsorship: Similar to AA, Celebrate Recovery encourages a sponsor-sponsee relationship where more experienced individuals, called sponsors, guide newcomers through the 12 steps and offer spiritual support. Sponsors help with accountability and provide advice and encouragement as participants navigate their recovery journey.

• Support for a Wide Range of Issues: Celebrate Recovery is not limited to alcohol addiction. It addresses a wide variety of issues, including:

  • Substance abuse (alcohol, drugs, etc.

  • Pornography addiction

  • Eating disorders

  • Codependency

  • Divorce recovery

  • Anger issues

  • Abuse (physical, emotional, etc.

  • Depression

  • Gambling

  • Compulsive behaviors (such as shopping, work, etc.

• Biblical Foundations: Celebrate Recovery incorporates Scripture into each aspect of the recovery process. Every session includes a biblical teaching or devotional, and participants are encouraged to reflect on God’s Word as they work through their struggles. The program emphasizes that true recovery comes from God’s grace and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

• The Importance of Community: Like other 12-step programs, Celebrate Recovery stresses the importance of community and support. It provides a safe, non-judgmental space for participants to find healing. Group members are encouraged to share openly and provide mutual support, understanding that no one is alone in their struggles.

• The Principle of Confidentiality: Celebrate Recovery maintains strict confidentiality to protect the privacy of its participants. The program fosters an environment where individuals can feel safe to open up and work through their issues without fear of judgment or breach of trust.

• The Role of Church: While Celebrate Recovery is open to everyone, it is rooted in Christian principles and works within the context of a church. The program is typically offered by local churches, and participants are encouraged to connect with the faith community for ongoing support and spiritual growth.

• Resources: Celebrate Recovery provides various resources for individuals seeking to deepen their recovery process, including:

• Celebrate Recovery Bible: A special edition Bible that includes recovery-focused reflections and insights.

• Workbooks and Journals: Tools for personal reflection and step-by-step guidance through the 12 steps.

• Books and Literature: Additional reading materials to support recovery, such as The Celebrate Recovery Handbook.

• Global Reach: Celebrate Recovery has grown beyond the United States and is now a worldwide program, offering support to millions of people in different countries. The program has been adapted to many cultural contexts and is often offered in a variety of settings, including prisons, treatment centers, and addiction recovery programs.

• Graduation and Long-Term Recovery: Celebrate Recovery offers a graduation process when individuals have completed the program and feel ready to give back by sponsoring others. Graduation signifies not the end of the recovery journey, but rather a transition to ongoing support and service.

Key Features of Celebrate Recovery:

• Christ-centered approach: Emphasizes the healing power of Jesus Christ and biblical principles.

• 12-step framework: Incorporates the 12 steps alongside the 8 recovery principles rooted in the Bible.

• Wide range of issues addressed: Not just for alcohol addiction, but also for other struggles such as drug addiction, abuse, and emotional health.

• Accountability and support: Strong focus on sponsorship and group support, fostering a community of care.

• Safe and confidential environment: Ensures that participants feel comfortable sharing and growing without fear of judgment.

• Global and local impact: Widely available in churches and recovery centers worldwide.

Celebrate Recovery provides an opportunity for individuals to heal and grow in their faith while addressing deep emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs. Its Christ-centered approach offers a unique path to recovery that integrates biblical teachings with the 12-step process.

CR summit 2025

Join us July 30 – August 1, 2025 at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA for the Summit – a 3-Day conference experience designed for personal encouragement and inspiration, as well as, leadership equipping and development.Known as the “biggest recovery party on the planet”, the CR Summit is for Celebrate Recovery leaders, participants in Celebrate Recovery, those hearing about recovery for the first time, and churches looking to start a Celebrate Recovery. 

It’s for anyone looking to take their personal recovery journey, or their Celebrate Recovery ministry, to the next level!