CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. β For Pastor Wade Runge of M3 Church, addiction recovery is a journey that began more than three decades ago.
"Working on 34 years of being clean and sober," Runge said.
Now in long-term recovery, the husband and father overcame addiction while serving in the military.
"As a young Marine, one day I had hit rock bottom after multiple combat tours and I came to a place where I needed help," Runge said. "I felt hopeless and my life was spinning out of control."
His story of perseverance motivated the Chesterfield pastor to help others do the same.
"Over the last 34 years I've tried to always aspire to be a hope dealer, to give other people hope the way someone gave me hope one day," Runge said.
He started the M3 Bridge Recovery Ministry, which includes five recovery houses for men in the area.
"We give them everything they need, the resources and the tools," Runge said. "What we try to do is give them a place of hope, a bridge to take them from hopeless to hopeful."
According to the American Addiction Center, addiction impacted more than 47 million Americans in 2023. With September being National Recovery Month, Runge said he's hoping more people grow to understand that with help they can overcome their addiction.
"There's going to be days where you feel like quitting and feel like throwing in the towel," Runge said. "But when you have the right type of people around you, you can not only make it, but you can thrive and you can win."
Seeing firsthand the destruction addiction can bring to a person and those around them, he wants anyone looking to leave their dark place to know that it's never too late.
"There's always an opportunity to start again. No matter how many times you fell down, you can get back up. All it takes is one yes, one yes to a change, one yes to surrender, one yes to reaching out who cares, who can help point you in the right direction and who can love you without any condemnation and love you to a place of victory again," Runge said. "Yes, you can do it."
Several recovery events are happening this week, including the M3 Bridge Recovery Banquet on Thursday, Sept. 4 at the M3 Church.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
π²: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky | Facebook | Instagram | X | Threads | TikTok | YouTube
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.
