A church which recently made the move to its own building is moving to sponsor a Reformers Unanimous chapter.

Pastor Jim Crooks said his Center City Baptist Church, 215 W. North St., will host meetings of the Bible-based addiction recovery program starting Friday.

Pastor Jim, as he likes to be known, had been an associate pastor at another Baptist church before he said the Lord called him into this ministry.

“Six years ago, we were meeting in coffee shops and pizza shops before the Lord saw to it that we got this building,” said Crooks, referring to the former Bethel Reformed Church.

Now, the 25-member congregation attends Sunday worship services at 2 and 3:30 p.m.

Part of the church's mission going forward, Crooks said, is hosting a weekly Friday night meeting of Reformers Unanimous.

Dave Hunt, who will be co-director of the meetings with his wife, Frankie, said the recovery program is similar to Alcoholics Anonymous but with a key difference.

“In Alcoholics Anonymous, they tell you to seek a higher power,” said Hunt. “Here we seek the Lord. The Lord God is our number one and only choice.”

Each meeting starts with the men and women attendees being separated with one group meeting upstairs in the sanctuary and the other group staying in the basement meeting room.

Hunt said this is done to keep the attendees from being distracted from the meeting's purpose which is to, first, talk to God in prayer and testimony, second, talk to each other in small group sessions, and third, meditate on a message from the Bible.

Hunt said, “First we talk to God, then we talk to each other and finally God talks to us.

“Addiction is just a symptom of the problem. We focus on the heart,” said Hunt.

Hunt said Reformers Unanimous started as Bible study group at a Baptist church in Rockford, Ill. He and his wife finished two days of training to become directors of an RU chapter.

Crooks said the addiction RU is intended to break can range from alcohol, drugs and gambling to pornography and overeating.

Hunt said the program is designed to get people to meditate on God's word as shown through the Bible.

While the Reformers Unanimous program is open ended, Hunt said the initial section takes about a year to get through.

Both Crooks and Hunt believe Reformers Unanimous is a more effective because it is Biblically based, said Hunt who said he was a recovering alcoholic who took is last drink in 1990 and got sober through Alcoholics Anonymous.

RU's 10 Principles to beat addiction all have their roots in Bible verses.

To enter Reformers Unanimous, he said, “is to be obedient to God. He wants you out there to spread the word.”

Crooks said he has been trying to spread the word about the chapter's formation.

“I've been meeting with different individuals: parole officers, the sheriff's department, local police,” said Crooks.

“I'm just glad David is on board,” he said. “He and his wife will do a great job.”

Crooks said the new chapter is certainly needed.

Hunt said, “We were led by the Lord to start this program for those in need in Butler.

“We see there is a big need here. We see so many struggling people,” he said.

What: Reformers Unanimous meetingWhen: 7 p.m. every FridayWhere: Center City Baptist Church, 215 W. North St.Info: Call 724-636-0189