Saved Life, a registered non-profit organization, is launching a nationwide benefit ride titled “ Coast 2 Coast: A Mile In Their Shoes” from the Jacksonville Beach Pier, Jacksonville, Florida to the Santa Monica Pier, outside of Los Angeles, California. The purpose of this benefit ride is to raise awareness of the plight of our homeless, lost, afflicted, addicted, and hopeless brothers and sisters that many in our society seem to see as invisible and forgotten. They are not forgotten. They are not alone. We are here to offer light to the lost, encouragement for the weary, and hope for the hurting. We are Saved Life.

We are also partaking in this journey of awakening to promote the documented effectiveness of the Christian Recovery effort to fight alcoholism, drug addiction, and other life-controlling behaviors, which are a leading cause of chronic homelessness in the United States and abroad.

My purpose for this journey is simple:

1. I want to challenge people to summon the courage to "live out loud" their faith in God by showing true Christian compassion and gentleness for the less fortunate of society. This is at the heart of living a "Saved Life"!

2. Encourage people to ask themselves, "Am I doing enough?"

3. I want to better understand the life of the homeless in America, and to see, firsthand, how their needs are being met, directly and indirectly.

4. To encourage Christians to "Live Out Loud" in whatever way that God is asking them too! Encourage them to let faith overcome their fears!

5. To learn personally what it means to depend on Christ and experience pure contentment and confidence in Him to guide me on this journey of awakening.

 

6. To raise $25 Million to support the fight against homelessness and promote Christian Recovery efforts worldwide. The National Coalition for the Homeless and the International Christian Recovery Coalition have agreed to act as partnering outreach agencies for this benefit ride. Proceeds will benefit these much-needed organizations and their stated missions.

Our mission as related to our stance on the Christian Recovery is as follows:

1. To remind all in the recovery arena of the role that God, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Bible have long played in the deliverance and healing of alcoholics, addicts, and those with other life-controlling problems and behaviors. Strong examples can be found in the evangelist-revivals, rescue missions, Salvation Army, YMCA, Young People’s Christian Endeavor Society, and many years later in the original Akron A.A. Christian Fellowship.

2. God, His Son Jesus Christ and the Bible can play the same vital recovery role today among those who need, want, and are willing to receive God’s help.

3. Christian leaders and those in the recovery arena (which includes the homeless, imprisoned, at-risk, veterans, active duty military, hospitalized, in treatment or rehabs, in therapy, and in churches, recovery fellowships, 12 Step fellowships, and Christian Recovery groups) need to be trained in their specific circles to learn, listen, publish, disseminate, host, support, and encourage men and women to rise up and move out in love and service just as the early Christians did as reported in the Book of Acts.

4. We are raising funds to develop a comprehensive program to “plant” potential “Cities of Refuges” across our great country and possibly abroad.

WHO ARE WE?

Saved Life is a ministry dedicated to bringing awareness to the public about the issues of chronic homelessness and the effectiveness of Christian Recovery in fighting alcoholism and drug addiction. Alcoholism and drug addiction are major causes of chronic homelessness in this country and abroad.

Once this benefit ride has come to pass, our mission and purpose will expand to include the following:

Saved Life will exist as a New Testament Church with the purpose of propagating the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We provide a community environment, Biblical instruction and work opportunities for men and women trapped in the bondage of chemical addiction. They are given the chance to become new creatures in Christ Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, and trained to apply the Gospel to all areas of their lives. Critical components of the renewal process are for the men to learn the importance of a strong work ethic and to begin to demonstrate Christian qualities in the family and the workplace.

It is also our purpose to train and encourage students to develop other ministries such as

“Hope & Dream Centers” (our “front-line” outreach centers), Power For Living support groups, Recovery Houses, and Cities of Refuges’ in other areas around the world and to share our concepts and curriculum with other organizations and cultures.

Saved Life will exist as an alcohol/drug regeneration ministry providing an effective and comprehensive faith-based recovery program focusing on the spiritual, emotional, and physical regeneration of those suffering from alcoholism and drug addiction to help

them become productive members of society. We provide the basic necessities of food, shelter, and clothing. Each program participant will be provided with a clean and healthy living environment, work therapy, leisure time activities, group and individual counseling, spiritual direction, and resources. We also assist each person to develop life skills and a personal relationship with God, as provided by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Saved Life will exist as a ministry training center. We have an unprecedented opportunity to impact the global epidemic by training leaders to train others in the U.S. and abroad. Men who are raised up through the program as well as those who are called into this type of ministry are given the opportunity to fulfill the unique purpose God has for their lives.

Our approach to prevention and treatment substance abuse is to teach an entire new way of living - addressing family relationships, work ethics, and community service. We believe that the key to abstinence and subsequent deliverance from substance abuse is based on the spiritual dimension of a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

WHO AM I?

My name is Jason J. Day. I am the founder of Saved Life. I am a former United States Marine, and entrepreneur. I am also a grateful, recovered alcoholic. I have experienced homelessness due to chronic alcoholism. I have personally experienced the loneliness, hopelessness, and the feelings of being forgotten. I have had many broken relationships with family, friends, and co-workers. Thanks to a loving and forgiving God, I know longer have the desire to consume alcohol and/or any other mind-altering substance. The compulsion, obsession, and bondage have been lifted from me. The chains have been broken. I have been delivered. Many broken relationships from my past have been restored. I possess a sense of peace and serenity never before experienced. Today, I am able to embrace each morning with a renewed sense of purpose and calling. I have devoted the rest of my life to sharing my testimony of hope with my fellow man and woman, so they too can live free from the chains of alcoholism, drug addiction, and chronic homelessness.

WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO?

We are staging a benefit ride from the Jacksonville Beach Pier in Jacksonville Beach, Florida to the Santa Monica Pier, outside of Los Angeles, California in hopes of raising $25 Million dollars for the fight to end homelessness and to promote the effectiveness of Christian Recovery efforts. Monies from this benefit ride will be directed to the National Coalition for the Homeless and the International Christian Recovery Coalition.

Oh yeah, we are doing this on bicycles! We are scheduled to begin this journey on February 7th, 2010 and finish at the Santa Monica Pier on July 4^th, 2010. We will be stopping in major cities along the way including Jacksonville FL, Mobile AL, New Orleans LA, Houston TX, San Antonio TX, Phoenix AR, San Diego CA, and finally, Los Angeles. We will also be stopping in many “little” towns along the way spreading our message of hope and awakening! Please check out our route on our website and see if we will soon be in a town near you. See ya on the road!

We are unlike most that do these outrageous benefit rides. We will not be staying in expensive hotels night after night nor will we be eating in fancy restaurants. We do not have a whole army of support teams behind us. Our team consists of a photographer/videographer and myself. That’s it! We will be living amongst our hurting brothers and sisters. We will be camping, sleeping in missions, or sleeping on the sidewalk, if need be. We are putting our whole faith and confidence in Christ to provide for us what we may need. It is Jesus who said, ”It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

WHY?

Jesus had no home! Jesus walked from town to town, spending most of His time with the people on the streets. He was criticized for associating with the poor and forgotten people and often was run out of town. Jesus knew what it was to be hungry, thirsty, and tired. We want to follow His example and bring His message of hope and restoration to those who need it most. I too can say, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,…”

If we are indeed the Body of Christ, and Christ came for not the healthy, but the sick-we need to be fully present in the places where people are most broken. I have accepted this great calling from God, but cannot do it alone. I need help. I need your support. If you are ready to embark on the journey of a lifetime with me, come on! I will do the peddling; you give me the motivation and encouragement. Thank you all and may Peace be with each and every one of you. 

The message we present here is that the lost, sick, weary, and burdened, who are all children of God, our fellow brothers and sisters, can stand strong with and in the Power and Love of God as they strive to overcome alcoholism, substance abuse, and other life-controlling problems and self-destructive behaviors. Also, that I (Jason J. Day) have done so!

Please email me at razorsedge424@yahoo.com for more information or to support our cause. Thanks again and we look forward to seeing you on the road somewhere!

In His Service,

Jason J. Day