Celebrate Recovery at BVC, 6795 County Highway N, Arpin, WI (2026)

06/03/2026

How To Connect With People On A Spiritual Level
"Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep."
Romans 12:15 (KJV)
I used to think connecting with people spiritually meant having the right verse ready at the right time.

Somebody's hurting? Quote Romans 8:28. Somebody's doubting? Hit them with Hebrews 11:1. Whatever you brought me, I had a verse chambered and ready to fire.

I thought that's what I needed to do to help. But deep down I realized I was just performing.

I was so busy being the guy with all the answers that I forgot I'm supposed to be the guy that points to the One with all the answers. And that's Jesus Christ.

That's where most of us get this wrong. We think connection starts with speaking, but where it really starts is listening.

I learned that connecting with people starts by just being there for them and hearing them out, not trying to prove anything.

I learned this one the hard way.

I mentor a lot of people, and early on I'd sit across from somebody pouring their heart out while I was already building my response in my head. They'd be halfway through their story and I'd have a verse chambered and a lesson ready to go.

I'd walk away thinking that was a good session. They'd walk away feeling managed instead of met. Different M's.

There's a difference between handing somebody an answer and making them feel heard. Most people have never really felt the second one.

Think about your own life. When was the last time you talked to somebody and felt like they actually heard you? Not waiting for their turn to talk. Just hearing you, sitting in it with you, and not rushing to fix it.

That's rare. And that's exactly what Jesus did.

He didn't walk up to people and dump theology on them. He asked questions.

"What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?"
Mark 10:51 (KJV)

He asked a blind man what he wanted, and He already knew the answer. He asked because being heard is part of the healing.

He noticed the people nobody else noticed. Like Zacchaeus up in a tree, or the woman who reached for the hem of His robe in a crowd.

He connected through proximity, not performance. Different P's.

Jesus gained people's hearts before He gave them truth.

That order matters more than most of us realize. I call it heart gaining, and it's one of the most important things I do in ministry.

Before I share a verse, I listen. Before I connect, I care. I earn the right to teach by showing somebody I actually see them.

People don't receive truth from people they don't trust. You build that trust by being present and listening.

Romans 12:15 says it's simple. Rejoice with the ones who are rejoicing. Weep with the ones who are weeping.

Don't stand over somebody and correct them while they're hurting. Get in the moment with them first, before you try to take them anywhere.

That's spiritual connection. The person across from you feels like you're in it with them, not looking down on them.

"Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do."
1 Thessalonians 5:11 (KJV)

Comfort together. Edify one another. That's mutual. Two people walking the same road, both needing grace, both trying to point each other back to Christ.

This is only difficult because the truth of the matter is it takes vulnerability from both sides. It's easy for someone to be vulnerable with us. But when we're challenged to also be vulnerable, that takes a lot of maturity.

If you show up like you've got all the answers and none of the struggles, people feel it. And now you're performing again.

People open up to somebody who can look them in the eye and say, "I've been there too."

That's why I lead with my own red flags and failures. It disarms people in a way theology alone never can.

When somebody hears me say I struggled with the same thing, something shifts. All of a sudden their walls come down. And they're no longer talking to a pastor. They're talking to somebody who's been in the same dirt.

That's when real connection happens. And usually that's when the gospel actually lands.

You don't connect by being more spiritual. You actually connect by being more human.

That's exactly how Jesus connected with us. He left heaven and became flesh.

Connection over correction. Different C's. Most of us rush to correct somebody before they've even felt connected. And correction without connection is just noise. It can even be perceived as abuse.

Think about it like this.

If a stranger walked up to you on the street and started telling you everything wrong with your life, you would ignore them. You'd even take offense, right?

But if somebody who sat with you through your worst season looked you in the eye and said, "I love you, and I gotta tell you something," you'd actually listen. Even if you felt some type of way.

Same truth, different relationship. The relationship is what gives the truth permission to land.

One last thing. Spiritual connection isn't conversion. Your job isn't to change anybody, that's God's job. Yours is just to love them and love on them as Jesus loved on you.

When you stop trying to control the outcome and just stay present, the pressure lifts. You stop seeing people as projects and start seeing them as people. That's usually when the gospel actually moves, carried by love instead of pressure.

"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
John 13:35 (KJV)

Love is the marker. Not how many verses you can quote or how many arguments you can win. It's what people actually recognize. And it's what opens the door for the truth to walk through.

Here's how you actually start connecting
1. Fight the urge to fix them.
Next time somebody opens up to you, don't quote a verse or hand them advice. Just sit there and let them finish. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is close your mouth and open your ears. And that's even biblical.

2. Earn the right to be heard before you share.
Don't walk in thinking, "I've got to share the gospel right now." Walk in thinking, "I've got to earn the right to be heard first." Gain the heart, then share the truth. Truth without trust is just noise.

3. Lead with honesty, not a résumé.
Next time you're in a conversation about faith, share your struggle before your solution. Different S's. "I've been there" opens more doors than "here's what you should do." People don't need you to have it all together, they just need you to be real.

PRAYER
Father God,
I've spent too much time talking when I should have been listening.
I came in ready to fix people before I ever earned the right to be heard.

Today I slow down.

Help me see people the way You see them, not as projects to manage but as souls You love.
Give me ears for what's underneath the words, and the patience to sit in somebody's pain without rushing to fix it.

Let my life be so full of Your grace that people feel safe enough to drop their guard around me, because I'm honest about needing the same grace they do.
Use me, Lord. Not as the answer, but as the bridge that points them to the One who is.

In Jesus' precious name we pray. Amen.

Blessings,
Pastor Johnny Chang

PS. If anything stuck out to you today, leave a comment.

06/02/2026

How to Find Your Purpose and Calling in Life
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations… teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
Matthew 28:19-20 (KJV)
"What's my purpose?"

That question haunted me for years after I got saved.

I thought it was some hidden thing I had to go find. Like God buried it somewhere and my job was to dig until I hit it. Maybe a career, maybe a title. Some assignment He'd hand me once I prayed enough or fasted long enough.

I watched everybody around me stress about the same thing. "I just need to find my calling." "Everyone else has it figured out and I'm stuck."

If that's you, let me save you a few years of confusion.

Your purpose was never hidden. You just weren't looking in the right place.

Most people chase purpose like it's a destination, something out there in the future that you finally reach when the right door opens. The Bible doesn't talk about it that way.

Your calling isn't something you discover. It's something you already carry.

Read the verse again. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations."

Go. That's a command for right now, not "wait till you feel ready." Where? All nations. Sounds huge, right? It just means wherever you already are. Your job. Your barbershop.

Your calling is simpler than anyone told you. It's a daily posture. Share the gospel where you are, with whoever God puts in front of you.

I know that can feel anticlimactic. You wanted something bigger. "God called me to start a nonprofit." "God called me overseas." Maybe He did, and I'm not dismissing that. Before any of it, though, your first calling is the same as every believer's. Make Christ known. You don't need a pulpit to do that.

Some of the realest ministry happens with an audience of one.

I'm a pastor with six million followers and I've preached all over the world, but the moments that actually changed somebody almost always happened off the stage, sitting across from one person who was hurting, telling them what God did for me. That's available to everybody.

If you're a barber, there are lost souls in your chair. If you're a student, God put you in that classroom on purpose.

You don't have to be eloquent or have a seminary degree, and you don't have to perform. You just tell people what God did for you, the same way you'd put a friend onto a good mechanic.

"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

Acts 1:8 (KJV)

Witnesses.

A witness doesn't argue a case, he just tells what he saw. Notice where it starts. Jerusalem first. That's home, the people closest to you. Then it moves out from there. It starts where you are, not where you wish you were.

I wasted so much time waiting on some big assignment while people who needed God were sitting right next to me. The calling was already in my hands. I just wasn't using it.

This kind of purpose won't burn you out the way ambition does. I spent years trying to make it happen on my own strength, and it wore me out. The growth was never my job to force. God takes care of that part.

Share, don't shove. Different S's. When something that good happens to you, staying quiet isn't even an option.

Your story is your credential. Nobody else has your exact mix of pain and redemption, and the people God wants to reach through it can only be reached by somebody who walked what they walked. That somebody is you. You already lived through the exact thing the person next to you is drowning in. You don't have to go get qualified for that.

Now go live it.

Here's how you start living it today.
1. Quit waiting for a special calling to show up.
The general one already did. Share the gospel right where you are. You don't need an invitation, you've already got a commission.

2. Stop saying "I don't know what my purpose is."
Say "My purpose is to make Christ known wherever God has me." You don't need a stage. You need a willingness to tell what He did for you.

3. Share your story with one person this week.
Not a sermon. Just, "Here's what I was going through, and here's what God did." Your testimony in your own words beats any polished presentation.

PRAYER
Father, I spent so long looking for a purpose I already had.
I was waiting on a sign when You already gave the commission.
Today I stop searching and start living it, right where You have me.
Use my pain and my redemption to reach the people only I can reach.
I don't need a title or a platform.
I just need to be willing to say what You did for me.
Thank You that the gospel has always been enough.
In Jesus' precious name we pray. Amen.

Blessings,
Pastor Johnny Chang

PS. If anything stuck out to you today, leave a comment.

06/02/2026

Shattered by a hunting accident and lost to addiction, one man discovers a path to wholeness and purpose through faith and determination.

Hearing his story of what Jesus did in his life could be the change in your life that you've been looking for.

Hope to see you tonight.
Start time is 6:30 / childcare is provided.

05/31/2026

Now Go Live It
"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."
James 1:22 (KJV)
This is it.

Day 31.

The last day.

But don't read this like an ending.

Because it's not. It's a beginning.

For 30 days, you've been receiving truth.

Verse by verse.

Day by day.

Seed after seed.

Planted into the soil of your heart.

You learned that sin is an identity.

Not an action.

That unbelief is the root.

That your thoughts lie.

And your feelings con.

You've learned that leaning on your own understanding was never the plan.

That taking thoughts captive means bringing them to the Word.

That renewing your mind is daily.

Not occasional.

You learned that the repentance you were taught was dead works.

That real repentance is changing your mind about who saves you.

That God gave you a new heart not to perform but to be honest.

You've learned that conviction pulls you toward Jesus.

Condemnation pushes you away.

That the will of God is simpler than anyone told you.

That you are already perfected.

You learned there's a counterfeit gospel.

And most people are living in it.

That feelings are not the Holy Spirit.

That transactional faith turns God into a vending machine.

That the breakthrough already happened.

That knowing about God is NOT the same as knowing Him.

That the only work God requires is BELIEF.

You learned that prayer is rest, NOT begging.

That the Bible makes sense when you read it looking for Jesus.

That forgiveness already happened.

That community is not optional.

That your family may not understand…and that's okay.

That burnout means you picked up something He never gave you.

That rest is a Person, not a day.

And yesterday, you heard the gospel one more time.

Christ died.
He was buried.
He rose again.

That's everything.

But here's the truth.

Hearing it and living it are two different things.

James says it plainly.

Be doers, not just hearers.

Because if you hear it and don't live it, you deceive yourself.

That's not a threat.

That's love.

Because God doesn't want you informed.

He wants you transformed.

Knowing truth is the foundation.

Living from truth is the life.

And today, construction starts.

So what does "living it" actually look like?

It's not complicated.

It's daily.

It looks like waking up tomorrow and opening the Word before your phone.

Not out of discipline alone.

Because you know what happens when the world speaks first.

It looks like catching a thought midday.

"You're not enough."

And taking it to court.

Does this line up with God's Word?

If not, dismiss it.

It looks like praying from rest, not panic.

"God, You already know."

"I trust You."

And actually leaving it there.

It looks like reading Scripture looking for Jesus, NOT instructions.

A relationship.

It looks like staying in community.

Even when you don't feel like it.

Especially when you don't feel like it.

Because isolation is where lies get loud.

It looks like sharing the gospel in your everyday life.

Not from a stage.

From where you're planted.

That's the life.

Not a 31-day event.

A daily rhythm.

And everything you've experienced was just the on-ramp.

The highway is ahead.

And you're not driving alone.

Dirt gang is with you.

I'm with you.

But more than that.

Jesus is with you.

The same Jesus who died.

Was buried.

Rose again.

The same Jesus who perfected you forever.

The same Jesus who is your rest.

Your righteousness.

Your everything.

He didn't bring you through 31 days to leave you here.

There is no finish line.

There's just the next day.

And He's in every one of them.

31 days gave you the truth.
The rest of your life is for living from it.

So here's my final charge to you.

Not as a pastor.

As someone who came from the dirt.

Go live it.

Not perfectly, not without struggle, but with clarity.

You know who you are.

A perfected saint.

Righteous in Christ.

Forgiven, past, present, future.

Complete in Him.

You know what you have.

The Word.

The Spirit.

The community.

The truth.

You know what you believe.

Christ died.
He was buried.
He rose again.

That's the gospel.

And it will carry you through everything.

I started this series by saying somebody should have told you.

Now you've been told.

Now it's your turn.

Share it.

Not shove it.

Different S's.

That's the mission.

That's the calling.

That's the life.

From the dirt,
Forever grateful,
Always pointing to Jesus,
Johnny Chang

P.S. Thank you. For 31 days of your time, your trust, and your heart. I don't take any of it lightly. Stay connected. Stay in the Word. And remember, you're not just dirt. You're dirt with a seed in it. And God is growing something in you that the world has never seen. Let's keep going. Together.

05/30/2026

A letter to you
Hey,

No verse today. I just want to talk to you on the last day of the challenge.

After 30 days, I feel like I know you. Not your name or your face, but your heart. The person reading this right now is the same person I was a long time ago. Lost, but still looking. The fact that you're still here on Day 30 tells me you're serious about this.

Most people would've dropped off back on Day 3. Most people want the highlight reel and skip the part where you show up every morning to do the work. You showed up anyway, day after day. That's God in you, not willpower.

Let me say something I don't say enough. I'm proud of you. I mean that. I know what it costs to stay consistent when your own mind is fighting you and your feelings are lying to your face. Everything out there is telling you to take the easy way. You didn't. You kept going.

Let me tell you why I decided to put on this 30-day challenge.

I joined a gang when I was 12. By the time I was 25 I'd spent 13 years locked up. I saw things no kid should ever see. I did things I can't undo. For a long time I thought that was the whole story. That was my name. Gangster, criminal, take your pick.

When I found Jesus, nobody handed me a 30-day devotional. Nobody sat me down and explained how any of it actually works. That my own thoughts couldn't be trusted. That my feelings would lie straight to my face. I had to learn it the hard way, one painful lesson at a time. Every time I finally got something, I had the same thought: "Somebody should've told me this a long time ago."

That's why this exists. Somebody should've told you too.

I'm nothing special. I'm dirt. Made from the ground, same as you. But God has a thing for dirt. He gets down in it and plants something. When that seed hits the soil, it grows. That's what these 30 days were. Little seeds, dropped in day by day, verse by verse. Truth a lot of people go their whole lives never hearing. You trusted me with your time for 30 straight days. That means more to me than you know.

If you take one thing out of these 30 days, take this.

You are not what you did. You're not even what was done to you. The worst thing you've ever thought about yourself doesn't get the last word. You are who God says you are. Forgiven, all of it. Perfected forever by what Jesus finished, not by anything you brought. Nobody can take that back.

But I'll be real with you. This series ending doesn't mean the work is done. In some ways you're just getting started. Knowing the truth and living from it are two different animals. You can know your thoughts lie and still chase them tomorrow. You can know you're forgiven and still lay there tonight begging God for something He already gave you. That's why the daily habit matters. It's a lifeline, especially on the days your head's a mess. Keep the Word in front of you. This series handed you the foundation. Living on it is the next thing.

Dirt Gang? This is your family now. None of us have it figured out. We all came up out of the same dirt. Now we're growing up out of it together.

If these 30 days moved something in you, don't sit on it. Send this to somebody. Pull them in, tell them your story. You don't need a platform or a title, you just need to be willing to say, let me tell you what God did for me. That's the whole calling.

I love you. It's got nothing to do with me being good at loving people, trust me. God loved me first. That love spilled all the way over to you. I'm just the dirt. He's the seed. Whatever's growing in you right now, that's His doing, not mine.

Stay in the Word. Stay close to the ones walking this out with you. A branch cut off from the vine just dries up, so stay connected to it.

Whatever you forget, don't forget this. Christ died for your sins. He was buried. He rose again. Made you righteous and perfect. That's the gospel. That's who you are now. Don't let anybody talk you out of it.

From the dirt,
Johnny Chang

P.S. If you enjoyed this 30-day challenge, please leave a 5-star review on any app store. Tell the rest of the World which feature of the app has been most impactful for you.

05/28/2026

Rest Is a Person, Not a Day
"Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ."
Colossians 2:16-17 (KJV)
Like most Christians, I used to think the Sabbath was a day. Biblically speaking, it's Saturday.

But understanding that it was Saturday didn't help my walk whatsoever.

I still thought I needed more discipline to feel like I could rest.

But Scripture showed me what I really needed was a true definition of the Sabbath. Not as a day, but as a Person.

When we look at Colossians 2:16-17, Paul calls the Sabbath a shadow, and he says the body is of Christ.

The shadow itself isn't the substance, but it's the proof the substance exists.

Jesus is the true Sabbath.

When you look at the original Hebrew word for sabbath in Exodus 20, it's Shabbat, which literally means to cease, to stop striving.

That's exactly what Jesus offers.

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Matthew 11:28 (KJV)

The Sabbath is not a day. It's a Person.

A phone plugged in doesn't need to recharge. It stays charged because it stays connected. The second it unplugs, it starts draining.

That's me and you and Jesus.

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine."

John 15:4 (KJV)

Abide means stay connected. Don't unplug.

This first taught me that true spiritual growth isn't adding more work. It's accepting Jesus' finished work at the cross.

"There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his."

Hebrews 4:9-10 (KJV)

A lot of Christians miss this verse entirely.

It says entering into God's rest means to actually cease from our own works.

The world and religion teach us that we have to add to what Jesus has done.

Here's how we walk this out.

Step 1: Recognize that most of us aren't resting, we're recovering. We work hard throughout the week and treat Sunday like the day we get to rest. But we honor the Sabbath every single day by resting in the finished work at the cross.

Step 2: We have to believe that Jesus is the true Sabbath and all things point to Him and the eternal rest He secured for us. He kept the commandments because we couldn't. He got crucified because we couldn't. He resurrected to make us right with God.

Step 3: We must always seek rest in Jesus. It's cool and fine to soothe with other things, but it should never replace the spiritual soothing of the Savior.

Tomorrow is the last one. We close this series with the gospel itself, the thing the last 28 has been pointing at. Stay with me.

PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, I thank You that You showed me the Sabbath wasn't just a day on the calendar but a Person that You sent, and that Person is Jesus Christ. Thank You today for teaching me that the Sabbath was a shadow and that Jesus is the true substance. He is my rest in this chaotic world, and I appreciate that You allowed Him to come down so that I can stop striving. Lord, I ask that You help me abide in You like a branch in the vine. Remind me that every single day is a day for us to rest, not just Sunday, because You are my Shabbat. Thank You, Father God, for everything. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Blessings,
Pastor Johnny Chang

05/27/2026

Why You're Feeling So Burnt Out
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Matthew 11:28-30 (KJV)
For about two years of ministry, I thought being burnt out was just the cost of loving God.

I saw all my pastors just pouring into people. They preached every weekend, mentored during the week, and said yes to pretty much everything. And I thought that's what I was supposed to be doing.

The more I was helping people, the emptier I felt.

And I started feeling guilty for being tired. Like exhaustion meant I didn't love God enough.

This is the number one thing I see in so many believers now. Spiritual burnout.

When I would read my Bible, it felt like homework. The prayers I prayed felt like a chore I needed to complete.

I would ask myself, "Why does following Jesus feel so heavy at times?"

I thought following Jesus was supposed to give me rest.

God was able to show me that I was treating my faith like lifting weights. I was picking up the dumbbell of burden like I was an Olympic lifter.

But then it dawned on me. Jesus said:

"My yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Pastor asked me one question. "Johnny, does your walk with God feel easy and light, or does it feel heavy?"

I answered him honestly. "No, it feels heavy."

And then he said, "Then you're not doing the work of Jesus. You're doing the work of self."

I didn't even realize that I was serving myself, thinking I was serving God.

The work of Jesus is supposed to center you, not crush you.

Most of the weight believers carry isn't from God. It's from the expectations of church and the internal to-do list that never gets completed.

Satan will make you work while Jesus will make you rest.

I realized that the work I was doing was killing me spiritually because it was pointing to self instead of Savior.

I selfishly wanted to be the guy who never said no. The brother who was always Christlike.

But even Jesus said no. Even Jesus withdrew and rested.

If Jesus rested, why was I treating rest like something I had to earn?

I realized that my "dedication" was actually self-exaltation in disguise.

Here's what I did to get out of that cycle of burnout:

Step 1: Realize that there are burdens you're carrying that aren't yours to carry. Things like church expectations, people's salvation, people's validation. Anything that doesn't point to Christ isn't your responsibility.

Step 2: Spiritual life is meant to feel like a walk, not a workout. If it feels difficult all the time, that's probably misalignment. And if you're misaligned, you have to go back to God, who realigns.

Step 3: Take a day to truly rest as an act of faith. God didn't just command it. Being Christlike means resting on His completed work at the cross. Trust God enough that your rest isn't from laziness, but from surrender and confidence that He finished all things.

PRAYER:
Father God, I'm tired. And for a long time I thought being tired meant I was doing it right. Like exhaustion was the price of following You. But Your Word says Your yoke is easy and Your burden is light. So if what I'm carrying is crushing me, it didn't come from You. Today I lay down every weight You never gave me. The pressure I put on myself, the guilt for resting, the fear of letting people down. I put it all down. And I pick up the yoke You actually handed me. Custom-made. Light. Teach me to live from rest, not toward it. Teach me that surrender is not quitting, it's trusting. I trust You today. Even with the things I was afraid to let go of. In Jesus' beautiful name. Amen.

Blessings,
Pastor Johnny Chang

05/26/2026

Let's renew our minds and restore sanity together. We hope to see you tonight for lesson 4.
Doors open at 6:10 / start time 6:30
Childcare is provided and so are the snacks! 🤤

Celebrate Recovery at BVC

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