Adult and Teen Challenge to celebrate '50 years of miracles', addiction recovery at spring banquet

Adult and Teen Challenge Mid-America (ATCMA) will host its annual spring banquet in late May “celebrating 50 years of miracles” in Cape Girardeau and its surrounding communities.

The Rev. James Bolin, executive director of ACTMA, emphasized the event, originally scheduled for April, has not been canceled. To comply with efforts to minimize spread of the novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, however, the banquet has been rescheduled to 6 p.m. May 30 at the Show Me Center.

ACTMA is a long-term, residential, faith-based program ministering to men, ages 17 and older, with drug, alcohol and other addictions. Usually about 330 men complete the program annually, Bolin said. Currently there are 173 students enrolled in ACTMA’s 10-month program.

The spring gathering, which includes an auction, is ACTMA’s main fundraiser and includes dinner and performances from the organization’s worship team. But “this year is something special,” said Bolin, who expects attendance for the 50-year celebration to reach the event’s 1,500-person capacity.

Don Wilkerson, brother of Teen Challenge’s founder, David Wilkerson, will be the keynote speaker.

Banquet proceeds will help fund ACTMA’s new learning center, which will be approximately 5,000 square feet and have the capacity to accommodate up to 48 students.

“The purpose of this new facility will be to provide a classroom setting for all newly-arrived students, so that they can get started on the right track,” Bolin said.

Since 1970, it has been part of a network of ministries with about 200 centers around the world. ACTMA helps prepare men to face the challenges of everyday life and equip them to become productive members of society through spiritual, academic and vocational training, according to the organization’s website.

On its website, ACTMA states “its program is based on the principle that only Christ can truly change a life.” And its “primary goal is to help each student develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and learn how to apply this relationship to every aspect of his life.”

“For 50 years, Cape Girardeau and its surrounding communities have helped provide support and donations for this ministry,” Bolin said. “One of the main reasons we have been so successful is the support we receive from this area. Our relationship with the community, the churches and the businesses, is fantastic, and their support is so appreciated. They need to know that what they do and what they have been doing is making a difference in the lives that come through here.”

For more information, visit www.teenchallengemidamerica.com.