The History of Wisdom In Living Life Ministry

In 1988, Winn Freeman was given a 3% chance of succeeding at anything.  He was living in California, a heroin addict and a drunk; headed for jail.  Today, Freeman is still in contact with law enforcement, only instead of riding in the back of a patrol car on the way to jail, Freeman has law enforcement on his side.  When he walked out of jail, he was walking toward hope, Greenville, college and Wisdom In Living Life Ministry.

From Overcome….	…to Overcomer

Wisdom In Living Life is the organization Freeman founded in 2000.  It is a Bible-based ministry seeking to “educate, equip and empower God’s people to effectively reach those imprisoned by addiction.”  As testimony to Freeman’s character and reputation since, with the help of the Lord, Freeman turned his life around, the ministry’s advisory board, as well as its board of directors, is comprised of a group of distinguished community leaders and dedicated public servants.

Freeman says the idea for Wisdom In Living Life began while he was still in California.  He found himself in churches, seeking help to get himself out of the grip of heroin and alcohol.  He often discovered that although ministers and other church members wanted to help him, they didn’t know how.

Having attended a ministers’ retreat in 1990, Freeman came away discouraged because of the general lack of knowledge about how to prevent and treat drug addiction.  He began going to churches to share his experience.  “I was young. I was ignorant. I was green,” he says.  He continued to tell his story in the hope it would help others.  Someone heard him and suggested he come to Greenville to attend Bible college.  He followed that advice and subsequently graduated college and was ordained as a minister.  He also successfully completed the Leadership Greenville program and served for six years as director of the Greenville Rescue Mission before founding Wisdom In Living Life Ministry.

“I believe drugs are symptoms,” Freeman says.  He believes drug and alcohol addictions are something “we do rather than catch.  The disease is in our hearts rather than in our bodies.  Genuine freedom can only be found in Christ.” Using this philosophy, Freeman created and directed the “Overcomers” program at the Greenville Rescue Mission.  During that time Overcomers had a 71% success rate, which means that 7 out of 10 of its graduates were drug and alcohol free one year after they left the program and were living on their own.

Since leaving the Greenville Rescue Mission and founding Wisdom In Living Life, Freeman’s primary focus has been on substance abuse prevention and follow-up.  His goal is to prevent and eliminate addiction to alcohol and other drugs by counseling and educating individuals, families and small groups.  “We show how the media plays a part.  We show what to look for.  We show drug paraphernalia.  We show drugs,” Freeman says.  He emphasizes that the epidemic of substance abuse affects all of us in some way, not just in our families, but our businesses and even our houses of worship.

As Wisdom In Living Life Ministry grows, Freeman envisions having a scripture-based residential training facility–Beyond Recovery, a place where Wisdom In Living Life can more effectively minister to people who want an alternative to secular drug treatment.  It would also be a place were the ministry could host free training and group meetings for the community at large; not just addicts, but their family members, employers, and ministers.  Freeman would like Wisdom In Living Life Ministry to be among the alternatives ordered by local courts for substance abusers currently sent to Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous.

Wisdom in Living Life’s greatest need at the moment is financial support. The organization is currently housed in rented space pending the completion of Phase I of the Beyond Recovery project.  ”We’re going to continue to grow and develop in Greenville,” Freeman says.”  Please go to the “Give” tab at the top of this page to see how you can help with this necessary and worthy project.

“[Wisdom In Living Life] is truly a non-profit,” says Jean Brown, who retired from the Greenville Chamber of Commerce after 20 years of service.  “It is faith-based, but non-denominational.”  Brown says she has seen first-hand what drug and alcohol abuse can do in our community.  “There is definitely a need for this kind of unique organization.  Winn believes that you cannot change a life until you change a heart.”

Will you please help?  Your financial gift will help to heal families and change lives forever.  Based on research we have conducted, we are hoping to provide a service that will produce a success rate of over 90 percent, much higher than the 3% chance Winn Freeman was given back in 1988.  You can make a real difference in the Upstate by helping us to help this community.