My wife Jeanette plucked a gray hair from my scalp the other day. I’ve lost a little bit of hair over the years and have had a number of different haircuts, but the gray was a first. Ten years before I got that gray hair, I sat at PF Chang’s in Southern California with Mike Foster and Jake Larson talking about an idea for a “Christian porn site.” We thought of the name “XXXchurch.com,” and as soon as lunch was over, I rushed back to the office to register it before anyone else could.
Theby Craig Beginnings Gross
We had an idea and a domain name. And not much else. I didn’t need another thing to do. Fireproof Ministries kept me busy with youth events across the country, while “Craig and Jake LIVE” was traveling the globe week-in and week-out, speaking to thousands of junior high and high school kids. But I was convinced we must do this. Mike handled web design and web basics and I worked on creating content and planning for launch. Our initial budget was in place: $5,000 for the website $5,000 to launch it Launching at the AVN Adult Expo in Las Vegas was a no-brainer. 9/11 had dominated the headlines for four months and I figured maybe people would be interested in something besides security alerts, terrorism, and a new war on terror. Turns out they were: we met people who were friendly and genuinely seemed excited about our mission. We had no plans for another show, another trip, or the next few years. No five-year plan. I have been a Christian for a long time—I was a youth pastor before I was “the porn pastor”—but in four days at that show, I interacted with people I would never have a chance to meet if I was still a youth pastor working inside the walls of a church. It changed me. It changed my worldview. It changed the way I see Christ and how I talk about Him. It gave me permission to speak freely about Christ.
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XXXchurch.com | 10 year anniversary edition
It gave me a purpose. I headed from Vegas right back into a “Craig and Jake LIVE” winter camp in Prescott, Arizona. One week I am talking to porn stars Jenna Jameson and Ron Jeremy and the following weekend I am sharing Jesus with a seventh-grade kid who just hit puberty while at church camp. While I was there, our little launch at the AVN Adult Expo turned into a international news story. The Los Angeles Times wrote about it, the Associated Press picked up the story, and we suddenly had a global audience. We tried playing catch-up. The info@xxxchurch.com inbox was through-the-roof with requests from people who needed
help, or just some hope. Mike was leading worship and involved in other projects and I had all the responsibility of Fireproof Ministries. We had zero administrators, no one fulltime—or even part-time—to devote to this ministry. Those first two years were tough. We wanted to do it all, but our lack of resources forced us to keep our goals simple. Almost two years to the day after that fateful lunch, while we were being filmed for the documentary Missionary Positions, Mike followed through on his initial plan, handed me the reins, and told me to “take it and run with it.” This was real. I smiled, thanked Mike, and drove away to a wave of emotions. I was:
Driven Scared ALONE Overwhelmed
Excited
Motivated
I knew I could take this and run with it, but did I want to? Did I want to be known as “The Porn Pastor?” Was there anything wrong with being that guy? I started to wonder. We are changing lives. We are providing hope. We are sharing Jesus with people. The progress XXXchurch has made in the last ten years would give me higher status in any other ministry. Churches would fill my speaking calendar offering to pay large honorariums and world leaders would invite me to sit on their committees. However, when it comes to porn, the stereotypes, shame,
guilt, and secrecy are enough to keep most away. Looking back, I’m glad I was 27 years old and naive. I’m glad I didn’t care about those things and was just excited about what we had started. I finish what I start. I know we are not finished; I am not finished. The need is far too great to celebrate our accomplishments and move on to some other project or mission. We must continue with the mission. And I can assure you I will be here. I don’t have plans and aspirations to do something else. I am content, fulfilled, and still:
Driven Scared Overwhelmed Motivated
Excited
But no longer alone. Now we have a team, a board of directors, a few full-time staff, church partners, donors, dedicated volunteers, and others who have embraced this ministry and who want to grow along with it as we stride forward into the future.
Thank you. Here’s to many, many more years to come. And a few gray hairs.
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X3 Timeline from Beginning to Now A quick look at how we’ve spent the last ten years…
Now 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002
04 06
$5000 and an idea lands us at our launch party at the AVN Adult Expo in Las Vegas. We launch the site and have received over 80,000,000 visitors since.
02
4
We roll out our first “Porn & Pancakes” events to national buzz and a respectful mention by Seth Myers on Saturday Night Live.
We introduce X3watch and get the first of our 1,000,000 registered users.
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We launch the first Pete The Puppet commercial with porn producer JimmyD.
The documentary Missionary Positions debuts at film festivals across the world.
03 05
08
Craig Gross starts touring the nation with porn icon Ron Jeremy for the first in a series of porn debates (65 and counting), bringing even more awareness, especially to receptive ears on college campuses.
XXXchurch partners with churches across America for our first “Porn Sunday” event, exposing the dirty little secret of pornography in pews around the country.
10
After years of ministry in Las Vegas, we debut the “Strip Church Network,” to help minister to women involved in the sex industry, which will expand into 30 states over the next two short years.
We launch “Porn & Pastries” events to acclaim and help shine the light on the very real problem of pornography addiction among women.
09 07
Beyond
God only knows, but this is just the beginning.
Porn Sunday + the Super Bowl = a marriage made in heaven.
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A Decade of Media Exposure Attracting media attention has always been one of the core marketing platforms of XXXchurch.com. Journalists love us! Here are some of the highlights from the last ten years of ministry: Featured on/in:
Their casual approach has given them access to a world that most Christians scorn (at least publicly). They were even able to charm a reporter at Penthouse magazine, who wrote in a May 2003 profile, ‘I have to admit, I was pretty impressed.’
A church in upstate New York is hosting a ‘Porn and Pancakes’ –The Sunday Telegraph Magazine (London) breakfast to discuss the impact of pornography on society. It’s expected to be much more successful Do you need help? …Salvation is than the previous breakfast, here: XXXchurch, an unorthodox which was just pancakes. –Saturday Night Live, Weekend Update
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ministry founded… to help the growing number… of Americans addicted to online porn. –GQ Magazine
While they may look like your average, outof-work, skateboarding, thirty-year-old hipsters, they’re not. –The Daily Show with Jon Stewart They’re spreading the gospel in a community many people would consider somewhat godless: the adult entertainment community, whose core work is in direct contradiction to many biblical teachings. It’s a tough assignment for any preacher. –Nightline
Tooling around a mall parking lot here in a black Scion xB festooned with ads declaring, ‘XXXchurch.com: The No. 1 Christian Porn Site.’ An air freshener with an image of Jesus dangled above the dash… For [the pair], who sometimes refer to themselves as ‘the goofballs,’ it was just another day of 21st century ministry, combining technology, self-promotion, sensationalism and humor to address what they see as an equally up-to-date scourge on modern society: Internet pornography. Their approach bears little resemblance to what most people think of as church. –The New York Times
Onbyour watch Craig Gross I have a bad habit of sometimes letting my mouth run ahead of my brain. Back in 2002 when we launched XXXchurch.com at the AVN Adult Expo in Las Vegas, we didn’t have a whole lot more than an idea, some stickers, and some t-shirts. Work had begun on the site, but it wasn’t ready yet—we still had the minor technological hurdle of actually having a site online. People at the convention were interested in what we had to say, and I loved meeting them and talking with them, rubbing elbows with people who needed Jesus and who would never darken the doors of a church. I told them our vision for the site, and that it was going to be amazing, and that they would all be welcome to visit it. And then I let my mouth take the lead once more, and I told everyone that one day we were going to have free software that would help people stay accountable while they went online. Like a little bird, watching over their shoulder. People loved it. I had no idea how to make it happen. XXXchurch.com launched to a big media fanfare, but I still had that promise sitting out there to
I halfway considered releasing a dummy version of the software—you know, just tell people that their accountability partner was watching them and hope for the placebo effect to kick in. In my naïveté, I thought this was a good idea that would work. But the more we kicked it around, the more we realized that was a spectacularly bad idea and we had to put our money where our mouth was. The problem was, my mouth was really big and our money supply was very small! I had to find someone who could make a good product with the monetary equivalent of a matchstick, a paper clip, some duct tape, and a magic marker. This is when a friend of mine introduced me to a developer named Chris Huff who believed in what we wanted to achieve. He rolled up his sleeves and delivered X3watch a few months later. I knew people would like it, but I had no idea we were creating a game-changer. I never imagined that, a few years later, over a million people would be using this thing that I spouted about in Las Vegas. Technology has come a long way since then, with iPods and smartphones and tablets like the iPad. Those have been game-changers, too, and we’ve adapted and developed our own little game-changer right along with them. And as technology’s reach grows, so does the demand for accountability. We will always offer the free version of X3watch, but for those who want to take their accountability—and overall internet safety—into the stratosphere, we will continue to develop profound, inexpensive solutions that grow and adapt right along with the way the rest of the world uses the internet. Accountability is one of the core missions of XXXchurch.com, and one of the foundations of faith. As long as we’re here, we want to help people get accountable and stay that way.
The Mission: Why Porn? Why pornography? Why did we choose to ruffle feathers and pull back the curtain on this industry? Why didn’t we focus on something a little more culturally tolerable, something that isn’t so much of a punch line?
Because people matter, that’s why. The numbers alone are staggering. Consider:
40 million Adults visit pornographic websites on a daily basis 25% Of all employees who use the internet look at porn
50% Of divorces in America list porn use as a contributing factor
11 million Americans battle sexual addiction $3 billion Is generated annually just by child pornography And that’s only the beginning. We could fill this entire magazine with numbers and statistics, but that would almost be a disservice to the people behind those numbers.
Every woman who poses for the camera? Every man who degrades himself on tape?
That’s a person Jesus loves. That’s a person Jesus loves.
Every child who has their innocence robbed?
That’s a person Jesus loves.
Every person chained to the addictive sin of pornography?
That’s a person Jesus loves.
Whether they’re making it or using it, porn is full of people, of precious, valuable people. People who are so valued that Jesus gave up his life for them. Because people matter to Jesus, they matter to us.
that’s why. Look for a brand new book in 2013 from Craig Gross on Accountability make accountability software, and to make it be free.
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10,000 in recovery 100 new cities
We will put 10,000 people in recovery programs online, X3groups or in local recovery groups. Once the secret of addiction is discovered everyone needs a place to recover and grow. In 2008, we launched our 30 day online recovery program called X3Pure. This program alongside of X3groups has served as the #1 online resource for recovery. We believe this impact must increase substantially over the next 10 years to
We will train and equip local leaders to launch outreaches to the sex
help 10,000 people in recovery. Whether people experience our recovery programs
industry in their city. Since 2011, we have trained leaders who have
through the local church or online we must touch the massive need for recovery in
started successful outreaches in more than 30 cities. We believe this is
the world today.
just the beginning! Our vision is to create the largest network of trained individuals doing outreach in the sex industry. The goal is for the network to add 100 new cities and become a catalyst for the love of Jesus to transform entire groups of people who have never experienced such grace.
1,000 Church Partners
100,000 Bibles We will hand out 100,000 Bibles at Sexpo’s across the world. In 2006, we started handing out Bibles at porn shows that highlighted the controversial cover, Jesus Loves Porn Stars. We have found that the Bible when distributed with genuine love confronts people with the
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We will partner with 1,000 churches to reach people through
reality of Jesus’ acceptance. The bibles portray Jesus’ heart for people
events like Porn Sunday, Porn & Pancakes, Porn & Pastries,
and highlights our message: it doesn’t matter who you are or what you
& Parenting Events. In an effort to reach as many people as
have done there is a God who deeply loves you. People have been
possible through face to face speaking opportunities we are
drawn to read the Bible in their hotel rooms, on the convention center
committed to building partnerships with 1,000 churches of
floor, and at moments of brokenness. We believe the #1 best selling
various denomiations over the next 10 years. Through national
book in the world has the power to soften and change the human heart.
PornSunday and other speaking events we will reach this goal.
It is true, Jesus really does love porn stars, it’s in the book!
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100,000,000 aware The entire world needs to hear that
1,000,000 Accountable
they can be free from porn! We don’t want any child to experience early exposure to pornography because their parents were unaware of its destructive powers or its seeming
With over 1 million current users, X3watch is poised to expand worldwide
ubiquity. Over the next ten years we
offering online accountability. The vision for accountability software has
will increase our global audience
grown from an idea thrown out during an interview in 2002 to a life-changing
through expansion into Canada,
product offering true freedom for many. In the next ten years we will continue
Australia, the UK, and South Africa.
to expand to more and more platforms, add features, and double the number
We will also spread this message
of users finding accountability.
freedom over increasing and expanding platforms: online, in the
$10,000,000 raised
church, on university campuses, and through resource videos and publications. XXXchurch will be working hard to have communicate clearly on the issue of pornography
Audacious goals require audacious donors, but money will not stand in the way of the message of freedom offered to the world. Over the next decade, we will form new partnerships and sacrifice both personally and corporately to achieve this goal. Through the leadership of XXXchurch, our donors, partner churches, and organizations we seek to raise $10 million dollars to propel the organization and achieve these goals.
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to 100 million more people.
Thank you!
for all you’ve done to get us this far; we hope you’ll continue to partner with us as we seek to spread freedom through the love of God to everyone we come in contact with. If you’d like, you can help us through any or all of these ways:
Give.
Your donation, whether it’s a one-time gift or ongoing support, is always welcome and thoughtfully considered. We can’t thank you enough.
Raise.
Whether you raise money or awareness, when you get the word out about XXXchurch, you’re helping us realize this vision of global freedom from pornography (btw, we’ve developed some great tools to help you at myxxxchurch.com).
Join.
Donate your talent! We’re always on the lookout for fresh, creative approaches to ministry, whether it be event through ideas, blogging, social media, filmmaking, innovative apps, or something else no one’s thought of yet. Submit your idea to leader@ xxxchurch.com and we’ll pursue you from there.
Pray.
It’s last on this list but it’s the first place we turn for help with everything we do. Join the prayer list by emailing ginny@xxxchurch.com.
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Kelsey “…I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t come Over the past decade, XXXchurch.com has wound up ministering to far more people than we ever imagined. We are so blessed to have the platform we have, but we are even more blessed by the stories of changed lives we receive on a daily basis. Here are just a few:
across this ministry. I saw one of your cars in my church parking lot a couple years ago, and I was so confused about what ‘The #1 Christian Porn Site’ meant. I was so deep in my desire, though, that I wanted to check it out (for the wrong reasons, of course). But when I saw the page come up, tears came to my eyes. It was exactly what I needed… I would still be lost if it weren’t for your ministry helping to bring me back to Christ. Thank you, thank you!”
Anonymous “My husband and I have been down the road battling pornography and know the blessings that XXXchurch offers to others. By following God, you helped save our relationship and lead us into a porn-free marriage. You were there for my husband when no one else was.”
Alyssa “My family was torn apart by porn. It kept
progressing and getting worse until my dad ended up having an affair… I have had a lot of problems and things to deal with as a result of it. I haven’t had a dad around most of my life, and I will be the first to say that every girl needs a father, whether they admit it or not. I wouldn’t have admitted it years ago. I am so thankful that God has turned around the effects of porn in my life and used it to draw me closer to Him. After looking for someone to replace the need my dad left, I found that only God can do that. Praise God for what you are doing…”
Aaron “This is changing my life and the thing that has separated me from God… No ministry has touched my life like yours.” V. “My husband has battled with the porn issue since he was 14 and is just finding his way out of it. Wow, it’s been a journey for both of us. He has used XXXchurch since we got married… it’s been such a blessing. It fills a need that I can’t fill, and gives him something that he has desperately needed during this process of healing. What an amazing vessel that it is! You are right, it can destroy marriages—it nearly did ours! Your ministry is such a blessing from God for so many men and women out there! I just wanted to say thanks… It’s amazing to see how this ministry has blessed my marriage.”
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James “Thank you for creating XXXchurch… I have a severe addiction, and when I found your church it was the first time I realized I was not alone. That I was not the only one who is constantly struggling, not the only Christian that lusted. It is tough, but seeing your site helps me remember exactly why I’m fighting, and hearing from men who have won the battle really helps. Through your site I have managed to find help and I feel I can be open about my experience without fear. God is really working through you, and I am so thankful that you are doing this. Keep it up; we really are grateful.”
Santiago
“I found your site one Sunday morning after a tough night, one where I took my credit card for the tenth time and bought some porn. The next morning I was crying with repentance, moved by the Holy Spirit to seek a solution to this horrid habit… I used to visit a porn site every day, sometimes even twice or three times a day, whenever I felt blue or stressed out. However, as time passed by that wasn’t enough. I wanted more and more. At last I started to buy a few complete videos that I used to delete after watching. It was like the devil was taking control of my mind, of my soul. I was not in control anymore…. I knew I was supporting a terrible industry that transformed beautiful human beings into nothing more than penises and vaginas and that, at the same time, was transforming the loving and creative act of sex into simple merchandise. I knew all that, but still I was seduced by it. And I was its slave. Now I’m just starting with the [X3pure] program. I’m happy to know there is somebody there that cares about people like me and is willing to help me out. I’m a good Christian. I go to church. I help others. I pray every morning—usually asking God to forgive me for what I’ve done. I read the Bible every once in a while. But still, I’m trapped. I ask you all there in X3 just to include me in your prayers. I want out. I want control over my life again. I don’t want to be part of this industry that enslaves so many people… Thanks for bringing the Word of God to us: to the addicts and to the porn stars. Both are trapped by this terrible sin.”
Will “I really hope that I’m on the path to forgiveness and recovery. Thank you for caring about how I’m doing. I appreciate the prayers that you are giving me to get through this.”
Excerpt from The Gutter
I grew up in a Christian home, going to church my whole life, but that upbringing had taught me about a Jesus who was with children and cute little lambs. It was a Jesus who wore a long, spotless robe, gracefully walking around with a smile on his face, speaking words of mysterious hope to the masses. This is the perception of Jesus I grew up with – a Jesus who stayed clean and vague and remote. But here on this hilltop, sandwiched between three homeless people and a group of youth who wanted to see the mysterious hope of Christ in action, I unknowingly began to discover a different Jesus. I was learning more about him in the gutter. Reading the Gospels now, I see a Jesus who is different from the one I know from childhood. This Jesus is willing to take risks by loving all the outcasts— the people others avoided. That’s where He’s most effectively embraced; the hurting, broken, and pretty-much-jacked-up gathering around him. He doesn’t turn them off or repel them; he draws those who have emotional, physical, or spiritual needs. The only ones who detest Jesus are the ones who believe they have it figured out, that they’re immune from the streets, from the gutter. Jesus spends most of his time in with the people, not with the Pharisees. He’s in the streets, not in the synagogues. He goes to the gutter.
Anonymous
Kyle
“I just wanted to say thank you. I’ve been addicted to internet pornography for seven years. I’ve been through two years of therapy and I have never been able to control myself. X3pure has been the only thing that has produced lasting change in my life. I’ve been free from internet porn for 40 days now… I can’t thank you enough. It hasn’t been real easy and there have been a lot of things in the workshop that I needed to hear but really didn’t want to. I pray that I will have the strength to continue the journey I started.”
“I met you in the dressing room. We talked about dancing, my daughter, hair school, dental hygiene, and government grants… I want a better way to support myself—a job, a skill that will provide a normal life again for my daughter and I… I never want to step foot in a [strip] club again. I really want out. I’m close to figuring out a plan but I’m afraid because bills are piling up from being sick. I feel like a loser becoming a stripper at 40. Was a stay-at-home mom and wife for over 10 years and now divorced and struggling and scared. I cry all the time. I just want a healthy, normal lifestyle again.”
Anonymous “Thank you for giving me not only hope but an actual tangible solution and help… What you do is incredible and so needed.” Excerpt from Jesus Loves you
[This book] is about two guys who love Jesus and believe Jesus loves you just as much as he loves us. It is about rebuilding, restating, and reinstituting the hope and faith that were birthed at the cross where Jesus died. The results are in. Those outside the church with limited or no faith are jaded, feeling bitter and betrayed. Those within faith circles who look down on them are judgmental. The jaded and the judgmental. Both need to be reconnected to a simple truth: Jesus loves them. Regardless of how they got to this place, both are disconnected from the full purpose they were created to complete. This we know.
she has a 13-year-old son, and she noticed that the history on the computer was suddenly being erased and other weird things. He had never done anything like that in the past. They’ve been able to identify the exact times and sites that were being viewed and been able to lovingly approach him about it. For the last three weeks the reports have been all clean, whereas the previous 5-6 weeks had been daily incidents. She is so thankful to your team for such a simple program and [for your] desire to help people in this need. She cried on the phone today as she talked about it, and was so overly happy. I just want to personally say thank you also. I know that it is a tough ministry to stay strong in, and I am sure that daily Satan stands in your way… Keep on loving people where they are, and helping them continue to see God’s love flowing from you. It does mean more than you will ever know to the people directly affected.”
Amy
“Simple title, profound book, transforming truth. Read this book and pass it on to someone who needs to comprehend just how much God loves us, no matter what.” Stephen Arterburn
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David “I bought [my sister] a copy of X3watch PRO since
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“[Your] hour podcast rocked my world. I appreciated the truth delivered, the heart involved, but also the statistics too… I appreciate your acknowledgment that women struggle in the addiction of pornography! It’s been a 20-year hell. But today I celebrate 48 days of sobriety, and with my recent 30th birthday, I decided THIS YEAR WILL BE DIFFERENT! FREEDOM! I pray you all continue to go where He leads and may Christ reward and bring healing to those lives you minister to.”
Excerpt from Pure Eyes
Anonymous “The unconditional love you show to the girls in the strip clubs, the tourists on the strip, and to anyone you come in contact with is so uplifting. I believe God will continue to open peoples’ hearts to have the same love that you have for all who are directly or indirectly involved with the porn industry. Thank you for being the Christ-like example of what it means to love all kinds of people, no matter what they have done.”
Doug “I think it’s wonderful what you guys and gals are doing for sex addicts and people involved in the industry. I’ve recently found God and He’s the only answer for healing. I was involved as a porn star for 18 years and just finished my autobiography. I was involved in straight, gay, and bi porn and my family was against it. I was completely lost and I’m so glad you are helping people see the light of Jesus. I pray for your ministry and thank [you] for helping change lives.”
Carmen “‘Wow’ was the first thing I said when I
We live in a fallen world. We are imperfect people. The question isn’t if we will make a wrong decision, it’s a matter of when we will make a wrong decision. But the tragedy isn’t that we’ve made a wrong decision. The tragedy is in not accepting that we are imperfect, asking God for forgiveness, and then making a new set of decisions that honor God, honor ourselves, and honor the people who depend on us. This is what a commitment to sobriety is about. It’s about being the man God has created you to be and leading your life with God-given wisdom and leverage instead of according to your own will and through force.
“As Christians, we’ve barely scratched the surface on a topic that is wrecking so many lives right now. I am encouraged and challenged to see Craig and Steven write such a vital, honest book.” Jon Acuff
finished reading [Starving Jesus]. I am at work right now, in this lovely government building in DC, and I cannot stop smiling inside. My heart is racing. I have been struggling the last few months with inner demons from my past in high school. A very inappropriate sexual relationship with an ex has left me paralyzed in this state of lustful thoughts and desires. While I have not acted on any of them since I left high school,
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I still pray constantly for deliverance… I pray every single day for strength to work through these issues. I know that at the end the rewards will be greater than any I have ever received… Thank you for your book and thank you for showing the world what it means to truly lay down your life and live for Christ.”
Carla
Excerpt from Eyes of integrity
I remember seeing porn as a kid… I went to my friend Sean’s house. he lived just down the road, and most days after school I stopped in. His parents were rarely there, and they thought it a rite of passage for seventh-grade boys to gratify and explore their lust with a Playboy. I had heard of Playboy before but I had never seen one… until that day at Sean’s. We went to the backyard and into his mom’s garden. He held this magazine out to me and asked if I wanted to see it. To this day, I can remember the way my heart reverberated through my chest as my curiosity got the best of me and I accepted his offer. I flipped to the first page. Sean snatched the magazine back, simultaneously opening it to the mythical centerfold, its crinkled pages unfolding in slow motion and introducing my innocent, twelve-year-old mind to something new, thrilling, and deeply disconcerting. The image seared itself in my mind, and to this day, more than twenty-five years later, I can still recall it.
“ A valuable resource that will show you practical and spiritual insights to a life of purity and freedom.” Craig Groeschel
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“I’ve been watching YouTube clips on XXXchurch and checking out your website this morning, and I thank God for your ministry. In the church, we applaud (and rightly so) missionaries who serve overseas, some at great personal risk and sacrifice. And we talk (rightly so) about seeing a tremendous mission field in the people and communities around us. From what I’ve seen this morning, XXXchurch has both ventured out into that local mission field, and done so with considerable risk and sacrifice. Thank you for following God’s call to you to go into an area many of us would rather ignore, and for the grace and courage with which you do so.”
Jen “I am a suburban, atheist, middle-aged mom who is not a fan of porn or what I think it does to our society. I do not like religion for the same reasons. too polarizing. But after reading [Craig’s] piece on CNN.com, I was happy. Happy to know there are reasonable people who are open-minded and willing to do hard things for wiser souls. Best wishes for you!”
the message that was shared two years ago. It changed the lens through which I was viewing the episode. My heart was tearing as I watched it. My eyes were beginning to become puffy and tears were welling up. This episode of True Life was exactly what I needed to be reminded of why porn needs to not have a hold on me. I must thank all of you for that.”
Wendy
“Realizing my life was spinning out of control and leading me down a path of never-ending destruction was the easy part. Asking God to forgive me was the easy part. Looking at a pile of bills, hungry kids, facing electricity cutoffs and car repossession… that’s the part of the story most people don’t see… “The only way to create real change is to offer tangible help and in the case of those in the sex industry, that means financial. In my own experience, I stayed in the life long after I felt God pulling on my heart to get out because it was financially impossible as a divorced mom of three. Sure, the fairy-tale story is nice: I could quit the industry, go back to school, and redesign my life and myself. But who would pay the bills while I did so? That’s the behind-the-scenes footage that is rarely shown. “XXXchurch saved my life. Had it not been for their financial help through donors and the Esther Fund, I would have had my feet kicked out from under me before they ever hit the ground. They went the extra mile and sometimes, to those that are stuck in the stronghold of sin, that’s what it takes… They met me exactly where I was, demanded nothing of me, and backed up the words and the hope that they preached with real help…
David “My God bless your ministry and all you do. I am encouraged by your taking the message to those society and the church often ignores.” Matt
“There was a marathon on MTV all day today/ tonight of True Life. I DVRed them all. I just finished watching the “I’m Addicted to Porn” episode. I instantly recognized Craig from when he came and spoke to our campus two years ago. Seeing XXXchurch in the episode reminded me of
XXXchurch.com | 10 year anniversary edition
“It’s been several years now and looking back, I am amazed at what God was able to accomplish through the ministry of XXXchurch and the Esther Fund… [They] didn’t hesitate to go the entire distance to reach me and to believe that… I could change the path of my life for myself and my children. I will be forever grateful.”
fireproof XXXchurch.com | 2002 - 2012
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