SUCCESS STORIES

Success Stories
Graduates of John 3:17 have gone on to lead successful, substance-free lives, often returning to share their experiences and inspire current residents. The program's emphasis on community support, spiritual growth, and personal empowerment has proven effective in helping women reclaim their lives

Graduate No. 38 Emily Nicholas Salmon
My addiction ended with felonies, human trafficking, shooting up drugs & being a drug induced paranoid schizophrenic. I was LOST. I needed a savior and a safe place to get back to myself. Little did I know, God would change every single thing about me. 🤍 John 3:17 was my safe place. My rebirth happened there & I am so thankful for it. I graduated 3:17 in 2017, worked there for a year, met my husband & never looked back. We have both been clean from any & all substances for 9.5 years! We have one little boy named Lane. He is the joy of our lives! We love to travel, fly fish & spend lots of time with family! We are active members at Pleasant Valley Church of Christ in Little Rock. We lead a life group, are foster support for some friends there & are starting to volunteer in kids church. We are also involved in a separate house church that is starting a church plant in Little Rock. We definitely stay busy! Every season looks different but I have loved every one of them!

Graduate No. 248 Katie Reed
Making the decision to submit myself to God's will and start it all over at John 3:17 was the best decision I've ever made. There are so many things I could say about the sin I was living in prior to John 3:17, but l'd rather praise all the great things God has done for me since giving my life to Him! I get to spend every day being a mom to my two wonderful sons. We get to walk to and from school together and talk about whatever comes to their minds. We are able to attend church as a family and are members of life groups within our church. The relationships I have with each of my family members is growing stronger everyday and life is so GOOD. John 3:17 truly set me up with the ability to push through the tough times and stay close to the Lord, those are times when your faith is being tested and true growth occurs!

Graduate No. 155 Lisa James - Smith
My name is Lisa James and I’m a Graduate of John 317 MInistry. My graduation date was October 1, 2021. I ended up it’s on 317 Broken hopeless and in dire need of rescue. I was a seven time loser, seven times going to ADC trapped in a cycle I couldn’t get out of. But Jesus.
I learned it on 317 I wasn’t alone. That there was a person that loved me in my mess and boy was it! I learned to serve and now I love it. By his words, I knew I was chosen. It also says we are healed by his stripes.
I am now holding a job I have never held before as a detox intake coordinator, finishing up school for my bachelors for substance abuse counseling to help other broken women children teenagers to get out of the pit like I was in.
My favorite verse is Psalms 121 where David says " I would lift up my eyes into the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord the maker of heaven and earth he would not let my foot slip, He who watches over you will not slumber indeed he who watches over Israel when neither slumber nor sleep." To me that verse meant that I was Israel that he was not going to leave me or forsake me.
It’s been a long time since I seen prison doors and my life is more abundant now than ever was when I was using substance to hide from my hurt and shame.
Am I perfect no, is life easy no but with John 317 helping me find my place. It’s perfect for me.

Our First Graduate: Lindsay Dockins
My name is Lindsay Dockins and I am a graduate of John 317. My graduation date was November 17, 2013. I ended up at John 317 just a shell of hopelessness and hate. So many things happened during my time at the ministry but the most important thing is that I confessed Jesus as Lord and was saved and baptized December 18, 2012.
My time at the ministry was a foundation to a lifelong journey with Jesus and it’s exactly what I needed. I learned so many biblical principles and how to apply them to my life. John 317 introduced me to the greatest love of my life, God and His word.

I was a complete wreck when I got to the ministry but Gods Holy Spirit and His word got a hold of me and started to teach and build me up. Romans 3:23 was a verse I connected with immediately. I had felt so worthless and like a “bad person” for so long, so I remember hearing for the first time that everybody falls short of Gods glory and that we ALL need Jesus and that just did something in me. It gave me hope and helped shift my perspective. Then Romans 3:24. God makes us right with Him by the blood of Jesus and it’s a free gift. GLORY TO GOD. That makes me so excited still to this day. God used John 317 to teach me the truth about who He is and how much He loves me. The thing about John 3:17 is that God is there and He is leading the people that help run this program. He places the right people where they need to be and John 3:17 is honestly just a community of people that love the Lord and want to be an extension of His love to the lost and broken women. God sought me out, He drew me in and He saved my soul through this ministry and my eternity is forever changed because of it. The thing about 317 that is different from the other “rehabs” that I had been to, is Jesus. I didn’t just get off of drugs and alcohol but I received healing and salvation and I started learning how to replace old habits with new life. I became a new creation because of the work the Lord is doing there. I learned and I am still learning how to take the focus off of self and put it on the Lord. I am beyond grateful and blessed for the transformation work that started at John 317. It was where I started to LIVE.
“Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.”
Ezekiel 37:4-5 NIV
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’””
Matthew 4:4 NIV

Graduates of John 3:17 have gone on to lead successful, substance-free lives, often returning to share their experiences and inspire current residents. The program's emphasis on community support, spiritual growth, and personal empowerment has proven effective in helping women reclaim their lives

Graduate No. 38 Emily Nicholas Salmon

Graduate No. 248 Katie Reed

Graduate No. 155 Lisa James - Smith

My name is Lisa James and I’m a Graduate of John 317 MInistry. My graduation date was October 1, 2021. I ended up it’s on 317 Broken hopeless and in dire need of rescue. I was a seven time loser, seven times going to ADC trapped in a cycle I couldn’t get out of. But Jesus.

I learned it on 317 I wasn’t alone. That there was a person that loved me in my mess and boy was it! I learned to serve and now I love it. By his words, I knew I was chosen. It also says we are healed by his stripes.

I am now holding a job I have never held before as a detox intake coordinator, finishing up school for my bachelors for substance abuse counseling to help other broken women children teenagers to get out of the pit like I was in.

Our First Graduate: Lindsay Dockins

My time at the ministry was a foundation to a lifelong journey with Jesus and it’s exactly what I needed. I learned so many biblical principles and how to apply them to my life. John 317 introduced me to the greatest love of my life, God and His word.

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’””

Matthew 4:4 NIV