Shelby Hill arrived at Teen Challenge International four years ago defiant and detached.
She was sent to the private Christian academy by her parents for help, after she started rebelling against them and experimenting with drugs and alcohol.
“When I first got here, I was so cold, so numb, so hard,” Hill said. “I didn’t get emotional because I felt like I was giving up control.”
After 15 months in the program, Hill said she was changed by Teen Challenge’s combination of consistent discipline and Bible-based instruction.
“They offer a Biblical perspective rather than ‘This is just the right way,’” Hill said. “Reasoning and the Word got me through.”
Hill, now 20, stayed on to work at the academy. She leads the other girls, ages 12 to 17, through physical education, drama activities and chores.
“The thing that made me want to stay was just seeing lives change,” Hill said. “It’s brought me so much joy and fulfillment.”
About 50 girls live and go to school on the 200-acre campus in Seale, Ala. They take classes year-round through individualized instruction on computers. They help prepare meals, do laundry and learn other skills to take care of themselves. The center’s general manager Gary Blank, raises bees and the girls bottle and label the honey. They gather for youth groups on Wednesdays and go through Bible-based counseling.
“A relationship with Christ changes people,” said Bob Lee, executive director of Teen Challenge.
Parents are allowed to visit their teens once a month and the center also offers parenting classes for families who come, something Lee said is beneficial. Teens come to Teen Challenge without healthy boundaries, affected by problems at home.
“What we find a lot of times is that it’s not just the child, it’s a family in trouble,” Lee said. “A lot of the problem is the child’s been running the home,” Lee said.
There is also a women’s home on the campus, where about a dozen women live and receive Bible-based counseling for addictions and substance abuse.
Rachel Brower, 20, went through the adult program after she was institutionalized for suicide rehab. She graduated the program recently, but stayed to work at the camp through its Emerging Leaders program. She receives training and helps other women going through the program.
Brower described the atmosphere of the program as full of “healing and forgiveness.”
“No one can judge anybody because we all came in with issues,” she said. Once she leaves Teen Challenge, Brower said she’d like to get involved with music.
“I can’t put it into words,” Brower said of her transformation since entering the Teen Challenge program. “I’m not the same person I used to be. It was a second chance. I could start over.”
Sara Pauff, 706-320-4469
