Testimony of addiction recovery leads to first church pastorate

Testimony of addiction recovery leads to first church pastorate

Twelve years ago, Adam Montgomery and his wife weren’t in a good place.

“We were both down in addiction and heading down a terrible path,” he said. “Through a chain of events we got into some trouble. Everything in our life had fallen apart.”

They ended up at Center of Hope, a yearlong, in-house discipleship program in Anniston. 

“Through gaining biblical knowledge and building a relationship with the Lord, He radically changed my life, radically changed her life and restored our marriage,” Montgomery said. “He put our family back together.”

‘There was hope’

Over time, Montgomery started working in one of Center of Hope’s stores. A decade later, he was still working at the ministry as assistant director.

“God was able to put us in a position where we could minister to people coming out of the same type background and we could be proof there was hope, that God can take your mess and make a message out of it,” he said.

But God wasn’t done yet.

One day, Montgomery went with a student from Center of Hope who was going to share his testimony at Reno Baptist Church, Woodstock. After the student shared, the church asked Montgomery to share his story too.

“The pastor there at the time later told me that when he heard me speak, God told him he had seen his replacement,” Montgomery said. “He turned in his resignation and began processing his retirement and the church approached me about being the pastor.”

At first, Montgomery was hesitant to leave the center he loved — a place that had changed his family’s life. 

“But I began to pray and God showed us that we needed to get out of the boat,” he said. “Year after year, God has lined up every piece perfectly. It’s really been amazing to watch Him work over the years.”

Dan Wiggins, associational missionary for Pleasant Grove Baptist Association, said the association has been blessed by Montgomery’s ministry.

“I have been pleased to see Brother Adam and his sweet wife embrace his first pastorate with enthusiasm and a heart for missions both here in his local association and around the world,” Wiggins said. “He loves his people and his community, and he has a heart for the lost wherever they are found. Reno Baptist has found a good match.” (Grace Thornton)