Teen Challenge develops singers, heals lives

YOUNGSTOWN

Ohio Valley Teen Challenge Choir pitches more than music when it performs. Members share powerful testimonies of their journeys from addiction to new beginnings.

Tyler Wisser, 23, is outreach coordinator, who schedules programs; and Ricky Jewell, 20, choir director and worship leader. Wisser said the choir was formed soon after Ohio Valley Teen Challenge was established in 2009. It’s a voluntary activity in the program for men 18 and older with addiction issues.

“There are standards for participation,” Wisser said, noting singers must have been in the program six months and be up-to-date on school. “Those in the choir are role models of the program,” he said.

The choir sings mostly contemporary Christian selections that Jewell picks. “My mother was a worship pastor and I learned a lot from her,” he said.

Jewell can identify with choir members because he also had a drug addiction; he graduated from the program in August. “In the program, you take responsibility for your life,” he said. “The choir allows participants to express themselves ... and be involved in public speaking and performing.”

He said some song choices reflect “what people are dealing with.”

He said some song choices reflect “what people are dealing with.” The song, “I Know Who I Am,” is about finding your identity, he said, and that’s what happens to participants. “The songs are meaningful in their lives.”

The skit team offers testimonies of how drug and/or alcohol played havoc in their lives and how the faith-based Teen Challenge program changed their thinking, overhauled their behavior and made their lives livable. “They share bullet-point testimonies,” Wisser explained, about the reality of their lives being addicted and their new truth. “Their lives have been restored,” he said.

Read more about the program and the singers in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.