All the glory goes to God and I praise his Holy name! He has shown me a lot of grace. My name is Austin Baughman and I have been at Teen Challenge since November 16, 2006. Before coming to Teen Challenge I was trying to fill a void in my life with earthly things like drugs, alcohol, sex, music and material things. I couldn’t figure out what I was missing at the time. It has been a long, tough road but I had to travel it, to see the real truth. On Nov. 15, 2006 I was at a friend’s house and had been up for days doing drugs and wasting my life. I started thinking “is this what life is all about?” Very little did I know at the time, but the Holy Spirit had started to move in me. I got into my car and I started to drive…. With no place to go, no money, no self respect and with no direction in my life, I pulled over on the side of the road and I just sat there. My relationship with my mom, who has always been there for me, felt destroyed. I was so lost but I began to pray. I prayed to God pleading for Him to pull me from this gutter. I needed something new. I needed HOPE.

I knew that the devil had a stronghold on me. Everything that I had been doing was not changing anything in my life. I knew that I couldn’t do it alone. James 4:7 says “therefore, submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you”. I stand on that scripture now and on November 15, 2006 something greater than anything I’ve ever known before was the only thing that could have saved me. That’s when I turned my life over to Jesus Christ. I asked him to come into my life and forgive me of all my sins. I came to Teen Challenge. It’s a 13 month long Christian discipleship program to help people (men and women) that struggle with life controlling issues. I believe that God led me to Teen Challenge and He has changed my life. I have been with this ministry almost two years now and during this time, God has restored me, restored my health, restored my family relationships and I have finally figured out how to fill that void in my life. My relationship with Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior now sustains me, comforts me and provides for me.

I now work for this ministry and plan on staying here for as long as God calls me to do so. I know that I can help others that are going through the same thing I went through. All I want to do with the rest of my life is to serve God and minister to people. I have learned so much at Teen Challenge both spiritually and academically. I received my apprentice electrician license while being here and that is something I would never thought I could do. I read the Bible and understand what God’s purpose is for me. God has opened doors up for me that nobody can close. The feeling I have inside shows on the outside now. I believe God has a good way of allowing you to hit rock bottom so you can realize that you can’t do it by yourself. I believe my testimony is proof positive that God works miracles.