God Opens Doors for
Guys Like Me

Joey Brown dragged himself out of a thick alcohol-induced stupor one morning last spring and immediately realized he was covered with urine. As his mind registered the smell, the feeling and the shame, he said to himself, “This has got to stop.”

It wasn’t the first time Joey had found himself in such bad shape. He couldn’t set foot in Des Moines because of outstanding warrants for his arrest. Usually his solution to problems like the warrants was to ignore them. But something clicked in Joey on that pivotal spring morning. And he headed right for the heart of Des Moines.

“God was leading me,” he says today. “I took care of the warrants, I went to jail, then I went to Bethel Mission. I had decided whatever it takes, even going to jail, I was willing to suffer for my sins to get better.”

At Bethel Mission, Joey says, the door opened. “God will open doors for a person like me, a drug addict, an alcoholic.” Studying the Bible became almost an obsession as Joey dived into the program at Bethel Mission and later at Door of Faith. “I had lots of quiet time and plenty of time to read. I was so hungry for God’s word.”

Joey says he gets goose bumps thinking about how much his life has been altered since he first came to Hope Ministries. “I’m studying Proverbs right now, learning wisdom. I’m hungry to be around God-fearing people, hungry for more.”

Now a member of Open Bible Church, Joey has exciting options for the future. “I’m in the process of applying for college, but I could also go into a leadership program in my church,” he says.

Joey’s face lights with excitement and sincerity. “Whatever God can use, that’s to His glory. My heart is set on knowing Him more through a personal walk and teaching others about Christ. If I am faithful, God will open up the doors for the lost.”