Breaking Bonds addiction recovery program launches in Jackson

Brandon Murphy, the director of Breaking Bonds Ministries (BBM), Jackson chapter, knows all too well about the vise-like grip of addiction, having been caught up in opioids and prescription pills for 16 years before initially reaching out for help himself in 2012.

The ministry's name, Breaking Bonds, has special poignancy for Murphy given the brief declaration of how addiction derailed his own personal journey.

"It wouldn't let go; it took total control," said Murphy, 39, whose hometown is Hamburg, Arkansas.

Murphy, who has a background in industrial construction, is the director of BBM's new residential faith-based treatment facility at 978 County Road 637, east of Jackson and about 10 miles from Trail of Tears State Park.

"We bought a 2,900-square-foot house on an 11.5-acre lot with a 3,000-square-foot shop," Murphy said, who added he anticipates, as the program grows, so will its need for a larger footprint on the property.

"As we expand to 40 men, which will be our maximum number and our ultimate goal, we'll have to have an additional dorm on site," he added.

Grand opening

BBM is inviting the public to an open house, with refreshments provided, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 10.

"We actually launched Feb. 1," said Murphy, who noted his wife, Michelle, will be co-director of the facility.

"We brought four men with us from the Jonesboro (Arkansas) chapter and, as of Thursday, we had 10 enrolled in the seven-month-long program," he said.

The plan is for the enrolled men to be in Bible-study classes each Monday and Tuesday, with work projects and outreach in the community on other days of the week.

Sunday church services for the men are standard, with a weekly Tuesday night service launching April 13 at New McKendree United Methodist Church's South Campus.

After an initial 28-day blackout period, family members will be invited to join the men for worship.

"We try to get the men two visits each week with their families. It's part of the restoration process," Murphy said.

Murphy explained he and his wife will carefully screen men before approving their entry into the program.

Sexual offenders or those with "major violent crime" in their backgrounds need not apply, he said.

Some men who come to BBM will be court referrals, Murphy added.

Brief history

BBM, established in 2014, already has treatment centers in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and DeWitt, Arkansas, according to the ministry's website.

A residential treatment home for women in Steamboat, Colorado, became operational in 2019.

"I was approached to come to Jackson by (BBM's) founder, Casey Turner, in 2019, but I wasn't ready," said Murphy, explaining the COVID crisis, which so consumed America the following year, afforded him the extra time to learn how to administer and manage a treatment facility.

If Breaking Bonds' mission sounds a bit like Cape Girardeau County's Adult and Teen Challenge (ATC), Murphy admits there are similarities.

"It's a different model, though," explains Bryan Wendling, New McKendree's pastor.

"(ATC) is a parachurch organization but our role is to be the host church for Breaking Bonds," said Wendling, adding the men in treatment "will be in our congregation, part of our church family."

Financial support

"A lot of our funding comes from donations and the work portion of the program," explained Murphy, noting the Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church is providing initial seed money.

"Our conference is providing a ministry grant of $100,000 over three years and our Southeast District is also kicking in $50,000," said Bruce Baxter, the local district superintendent, who made the original suggestion to Wendling to become BBM/Jackson's host church.