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Putnam City Baptist Church Helps Families Find Hope
Finding Hope Family Support Groups
Impact Stories
Written By
Finding Hope Team
Putnam City Baptist Church Helps Families Find Hope
When their son, Michael, died from his addiction, Mike and Tanya Dorris thought their lives would no longer be intertwined with substance abuse.
“I thought, ‘We’re done with this now. We’re ready to move on in our lives and do something else,’” Tanya remembered.
But God wasn’t finished using the Dorris family to change lives. Two months after Michael’s death,Tanya attended an event featuring Lance Lang, HIA Founder and CEO, as a speaker.
“God drew us into his ministry,” Tanya said. “We fell in love with Lance and what he was doing. God was really working on our hearts, and we didn’t even know it.”
Mike and Tanya started volunteering with Hope is Alive, but they still felt they could do something more. About a year and a half after their first encounter with Lance, they landed on their new God-given mission: helping other families who loved addicts and alcoholics.
“For 10 years we struggled withwhat to do with Michael,” Mike said. “Everything we tried didn’t work. It was very hard on our marriage, our youngest son, and his new wife. Addiction affects the entire family.”
“So, we wanted to develop a support group where people could learn together about addiction, as well as find hope and healing,” Tanya said.
As members of Putnam City Baptist Church, Mike and Tanya brought it before their pastor, Bill Hulse, to see how the church could participate.
“From the very beginning, it was a great need for so many families that were dealing with addiction and the hurt,” Hulse said. “So, it was a no-brainer.”
“The church supported us 100 percent,” Tanya said.
The church prayed over the ministry, provided a room, and members showed up in support. The first Finding Hope group met on February 9, 2015, with more than 30 people.
“There wasn’t a dry eye in the room,” Mike remembered.
For the past 10 years, Mike and Tanya have led the group with support from HIA and their church. Dozens of parents, spouses, and grandparents have come and gone — many finding hope and healing, whether their loved one did or not. Today, the group typically meets with 10–18 people on the first and third Monday of every month.
And the partnership with Finding Hope goes both ways. Not only does Putnam City Baptist Church provide a safe space for men and women to meet, but the support group has also created new opportunities and perspectives for the church over the past decade.
“Addiction is not only a physiological issue, but also a spiritual issue,” Hulse said. “I think the church should always be at the forefront of helping people in times of hurt and struggles.”
“I think it’s opened up the eyes of the congregation about addiction, and people can talk about it more freely,” Tanya said. “Before, it was ‘keep it all inside and don’t say anything.’ Now, people know there’s somebody they can go talk to and try to find help.”
Pastor Hulse encourages other churches and couples considering hosting a Finding Hope group to take the leap.
“This is a ministry that every church needs,” Hulse said. “Every congregation has people who are dealing with this struggle in the culture we live in today, and we need to equip the saints to do the ministry God calls us to do, within our own families, but also within the church family and our community.”
Mike and Tanya couldn’t agree more.
“You can’t go wrong, you just need to open your arms and doors to people — non-Christians or Christians,” Mike said. “They all have the same issue.”
“And don’t be discouraged if you do that, whether you have one person or 10 people,” Tanya said. “If only one shows up, there’s a reason only one shows up.”
Since they started the first group in 2015, one group has grown to more than 60 across the country, serving more than 10,000 men and women over the years. Mike and Tanya both wish they’d had a Finding Hope group to attend when their son was battling addiction.
“But then again,” Tanya said, “if Michael were here, we might not have had this class either, right? God knew what was going to happen.”
“We’re truly blessed,” Mike said. “We always told our son that if he got through this, he was going to have a wonderful testimony. Little did we know the testimony would be ours.”
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