ETC is an 40-week long, residential, faith based program for men who are ready to make radical and dramatic changes to their lives. We refer to ourselves as a regeneration ministry because we recognize that it’s not just a minor adjustment to our old life that must be made but a brand new life, altogether, which needs to emerge. We believe God is able to create that life and nurture it to maturity.

Our Heritage
Carrying on the vision
WHAT TO EXPECT
Men will work through curriculum resembling a Christian 12-step approach to recovery. They will have opportunity to unload burdens from their past and be encouraged and taught how to embrace a new lifestyle. Throughout their stay they will be challenged and confronted on wrong ways of thinking and bad attitudes and behavior. High emphasis is placed on developing soft skills such as conflict resolution, building and maintaining healthy relationships and clear communication. There are regular structured opportunities for the men to hold each other accountable for previous week’s attitudes and behaviors in an accountable group setting in order to practice healthy conflict resolution and promote change. This is a program which places high expectations on the men to make real changes and a lot of those changes happen with direct help from their peers.
After class, the men volunteer their time for approximately 5 hours per day on various work projects that can include painting, landscaping, pressure cleaning, or light remodeling. If work projects are scarce, the men will volunteer at other local Spartanburg county churches and non-profits.
In the evenings there are group dinners which are often attended by the staff families, then chores and homework time. Saturday mornings the men volunteer their time on work projects from 8:30-11:30 and then are allowed approved family visitation from 1-5pm and from church through 5pm on Sundays. We worship together at Hope Church on John Dodd Rd. in Spartanburg on Sundays from 9:00am-12:30pm. As each man’s program progresses he is systematically given higher levels of responsibility and expectations in order to prepare him for reality after the program. As a man nears the end of his time we provide assistance in his transition on a case by case basis which can include help with securing different living arrangements, job placement, etc.


RESTRICTIONS
- No tobacco products
- No personal cell phone use
- No television or personal music devices
- No Internet use
- No personal electronic devices
- No communication or visitation, whatsoever, with romantic prospects other than spouse.
- No visitation for initial 30 days.
LIMITATIONS
Pending legal issues. We don’t accept men who have scheduled court dates, warrants for their arrest, or other pending legal issues which could cause them to not be able to complete the program. Please resolve all current legal issues before applying for intake.
Psych meds. There are good program options available for those who need medical addiction treatment but we are not one. If you are currently on psych meds and want to come to ETC we require a signed letter from your physician stating that you are not required to take them any longer.
ETC is not a detox facility. We require that a man has been sober for at least 3-5 days before entering our program. Detox should not be taken lightly. In some scenarios, a man can die if not detoxed properly under the care of a doctor. Please don’t lie about this in order to come into the program, it’s not worth the risk.
