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When God Closes A Door lagniappe
Faust remembered, “He had a job making good money. But he told me, ‘The Lord sent me to you to be a Barnabus.’ I said, ‘have you lost your mind?’” Together the men started fighting an uphill battle with little money, but they agreed this was of the Lord. Soon the ministry had the team in place to start a residential treatment home for men fighting addictions. “At first you come in and stay 30-days, we look at it as discipleship. The addiction is not what we are immediately focused on. My philosophy is that we are all in recovery from the fall, it’s called sin. Sometimes it comes out in addiction or gluttony,” Faust says. “We have Bible studies twice a day, everyday. We are all in recovery, no matter the sin, so don’t put down this sin or that sin. But the person that over-eats is not endangering other people. Addiction needs to be jumped on fast because they can get out on the highway and can kill people. You have to get it under control, we need a place for them to go and stay.” Facing expenses was and remains an area of faith. Apart from God, the ministry could not provide what people needed. “It costs $14,000 a month, whether we have one person or ten,” Faust shares. “ We ask everyone who comes in to pay $600 a month. We will feed you and give you a safe place to live, and then we will help you. We don’t turn anybody away because of money, but we do ask them to commit to
six months. We can teach you John 3:16 fast. But we want to disciple you so you have a foothold in your relationship with Christ.” Some people in the area label The Fountain of Life as the “drug church.” Faust admits that even though he graduated from a seminary, people sometimes look at him funny. “My momma is a Godly-woman, but when I told her I was going to open up a drug ministry, she said ‘They will kill you, you are going to have to watch them,’” he said with a laugh. Yet there is a realization that things have changed and today, the typical drug user is not easily recognized. “They are sitting in church beside you,” Faust states matter-offactly. “I am 47. When I was growing up, you would see a guy riding a motorcycle, tattooed with chains hanging, and we would say ‘there is a drug user.’ Now they look like me and you.” Still The Fountain of Life experienced tremendous growth over the past decade, becoming more and more a regular church, while remaining welcoming to all. “We do Sunday morning church from 10-11 a.m. Amazingly, we have reached 40,000 people in ten years. Sometimes God has a unique way of showing Faust how his obedience affected others. “I felt someone tap me on the shoulder recently who was a former client,” the pastor shared. “He said, ‘Errol, if you
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industrial * welding * safety * marine * janitorial 28
January 2016 l Baton Rouge Christian Life Magazine
Errol and Michelle Faust
would not have obeyed God, I would not be buying steaks and potatoes for me and my wife.’ The Lord was showing me we are making a difference. I went to Cherry Street and O’Neal Lane and eight or nine random people approached me and said ‘that place changed my life,’” Faust continued with humility. “The Lord uses those people to remind us, we are making a difference. That is how He says ‘keep doing this.’” Semi-weekly on Tuesday nights at 7 p.m., the church offers a program called Ear to Hear. Randy and Yvonne Volles come from Baton Rouge. Their son was once a resident and they wanted to remain involved in the addiction ministry. They host small group discussion with people affected by addictions and recovery. Faust explains, “Sometimes, you just need an ear to hear. You are not going to fix people, but you can learn some steps to take. We try to help the whole family. My daddy was an addict so our whole family was in Al-Anon. But you must know who that the higher power they talk about in that program is ... Now-a-days God could mean anything. Preachers need to talk about Jesus. If you will cry out and say ‘God would you help me?’ He will start revealing himself to you. We’ve had atheist, Hindu, Muslim, a homosexual.” Life is different now for Faust than when he worked on a church staff. The pastor recalls, “Back then I could sit back in my office with a full staff. I was getting comfortable when the Lord started stirring. God said, ‘Don’t get comfortable here.’ Now and I see how