Register and arrive
Register online or with a paper form. Check in on arrival each Tuesday so your attendance can be recorded.
WELCOME TO REACH
You are not walking this road alone.
REACH is a one-year, Christ-centred journey for people facing addiction, hurts, hang-ups and destructive habits. Here you can understand the programme, make a commitment to the process and work through your boundaries, recovery plan and 12 Steps.
You do not need to have everything figured out today. Start honestly, keep showing up and take the next step with your group.
01 · YOUR PATHWAY
From your first Tuesday to step study.
The process takes a year. Each stage prepares you for the next, while the weekly rhythm gives you people to walk with.
Newcomers and intake
Begin with an introduction to REACH. Arrange an intake conversation with the Programme Director or Social Worker as you settle in.
Open share
Spend your early weeks learning the group rhythm, listening, sharing and preparing for your closed step-study group.
Step study
From around week 6, work through the 12 Steps in a closed, gender-sensitive group of attendees and supporters.
EVERY TUESDAY · WORD AND LIFE CHURCH, BOKSBURG
Current programme details ↗Make space for the whole evening.
Testing runs from 18:00 to 18:30 for attendees registered for chemical dependency. Be in the hall before the programme begins at 18:45. The gathering includes prayer, worship, teaching, announcements and group work, and ends at 20:30. Arrange with the Programme Director or Social Worker beforehand if you need to leave early.
The REACH website lists a once-off registration fee of R650, including the book and Recovery Plan workshop, and a single weekly test at R80. Check the current programme page for up-to-date arrangements.
02 · THE HEART OF REACH
What we believe.
Our mission is to create an environment where, through the love of Christ, people can become whole, free and fully alive. Our vision is to be a lighthouse: reflecting His love and guiding people towards safety, healing and hope.
Transformation
No past or present struggle puts you beyond Christ's power to change a life.
Community and accountability
Honesty grows in safe relationships where truth, love and responsibility meet.
Faith and action
Faith is lived out by showing up, doing the work and choosing the next healthy step.
Grace
Recovery is a journey of fresh starts and daily mercy, not a demand for perfection.
Hope
Your story is not over. Through Christ, a new direction remains possible.
The REACH pathway
R Realise the truthE Evaluate the damage and rootsA Adapt new patterns and boundariesC Change through surrender and actionH Heal and grow forward
03 · BEGIN WITH A DECISION
My commitment to myself and to REACH.
The manual asks each attendee to own their recovery. Read the commitments below, tick each group when you understand it, then save your personal commitment on this device.
Show up and participate
- I will attend REACH every Tuesday, arrive on time, check in when I arrive and check out when I leave.
- I will complete my homework even when I cannot attend on a Tuesday.
- I will complete my Boundaries and Recovery Plan within the first three months and hand them to the Programme Director.
- I will complete a leave form, signed by the Programme Director or Social Worker and my facilitator, before going on leave. A leave form is also needed if I come only to test and do not attend the programme.
- I understand that after more than four continuous weeks away from REACH I may be placed in another step-study group.
Be accountable for testing
- For the first three months, I will undergo a urine drug test every Tuesday if this applies to me. The manual excludes referrals from that specific initial arrangement. After three months, volunteer attendees can meet the Programme Director or Social Worker to discuss progress and whether testing may move to every second week.
- I understand that alcohol use is regarded as a relapse even when alcohol is not my drug of choice.
- The Programme Director or Social Worker may request a urine or alcohol test at any stage. I will discuss prescribed medication with my doctor or pharmacist and provide the required doctor's note to REACH.
- I will take responsibility for any medication that could affect a test result and discuss it with the team and my prescribing clinician.
Protect my recovery
- I accept responsibility for my recovery and healing, and I know the Programme Director and Social Worker are available when I need help.
- I will avoid familiar faces and slippery places that put my recovery at risk.
- I will discuss accountability around cash and access to my phone or contacts with the team, including providing proof of payments where appropriate.
- I will tell the Programme Director if my contact details change.
Respect the programme and others
- I understand that the Programme Director may ask me to leave if I do not follow REACH guidelines, and the Programme Director and Social Worker will act if someone's recovery is put at risk.
- If I have a court date, I will arrange an office appointment with the Social Worker two weeks beforehand.
- I will respect privacy, group boundaries and the recovery of other people.
04 · A SAFE COMMUNITY
What to expect from us and one another.
Our commitment to you
We care about each person. We provide room to learn and progress, an atmosphere of love and belonging, healthy challenges, respect for privacy and opinions, a safe place to share and a commitment to confidentiality. We hope REACH can be a turning point in your life.
We encourage growth without promising quick fixes. REACH does not provide employment, transport or a dating service, and it does not replace professional therapy where needed. We do not judge, pressure people with Scripture or keep secrets that harm recovery. Romantic relationships within the group are discouraged. We help people take responsibility without rescuing them from every consequence.
Small-group guidelines
- Share your own thoughts and feelings for around three to five minutes.
- Allow each person to speak without interruptions or side conversations.
- Support one another without trying to fix someone else's life.
- Keep what is shared within the group, subject to safety and legal responsibilities.
- Use language that respects a Christ-centred space.
Testing and attendance rules from the manual
- Attendees registered for chemical or alcohol dependency test on Tuesdays. REACH accepts tests supplied and supervised by its testing team.
- Testing takes place from 18:00 to 18:30. Tests are not provided on credit. A disputed result requires another test at the attendee's cost.
- Tell your doctor or pharmacist that you are in recovery and attending REACH when medication is prescribed. Provide a doctor's note for medication that may affect a test.
- For an absence, provide a doctor's note or leave form. The manual states that otherwise the absence is marked and a positive test result is captured.
If a rule affects your situation, speak directly with the Programme Director or Social Worker before making decisions about your treatment or attendance.
05 · USE THIS GUIDE
Learn it. Apply it. Live it.
The 12 Steps and eight principles provide the foundation. Read the teaching, work through the questions honestly and bring what you are learning into your weekly group.
Look honestly at what God is showing you and where you need to grow.
Focus on a scripture and let it shape your thinking.
Talk with a trusted person or group. Healing happens in community.
Take one practical step this week and keep building from there.
Your answers in the tools save in this browser on this device. Download them when you need a copy for your group or facilitator.
My Recovery Plan
Understand addiction, recognise triggers and relapse signs, then write a personal plan for your routine, goals and support.
Open Recovery Plan →My Boundaries Plan
Learn about healthy boundaries, clarify your rights and values, then plan how to set, communicate and maintain your limits.
Open Boundaries →The 12 Steps
Journey through all 25 book chapters with teaching, honest reflection and practical foundations for every step.
Explore the 12 Steps →KEEP LEARNING
More from REACH.
These pages open on the REACH website so you can explore the programme and continue reading.
Quick recovery glossaryExplore key terms from the guide
- Abstinence
- Stopping an addictive substance or harmful behaviour completely.
- Aftercare
- Ongoing support after an initial treatment process.
- Boundary
- A healthy limit that protects wellbeing and relationships.
- Chemical dependency
- Dependence on alcohol, illegal drugs or prescription or non-prescription substances.
- Codependency
- A relationship pattern in which another person's harmful behaviour is supported at one's own expense.
- Craving
- A strong urge to use a substance or return to an addictive behaviour.
- Denial
- Difficulty acknowledging a problem or its consequences.
- Detoxification
- The process of clearing a substance from the body, sometimes with medical supervision.
- Dual diagnosis
- When addiction and a mental health condition occur together.
- Drug urine screening
- A test used to check for drugs during recovery.
- Enabling
- Shielding someone from the consequences of harmful behaviour.
- Gratitude
- Recognising and appreciating what is good in life.
- Habit
- A repeated behaviour that may become harmful or compulsive.
- HALT
- Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired: states that may increase vulnerability to cravings.
- Hang-up
- A thought pattern, emotional difficulty or behaviour that keeps someone stuck.
- Holistic recovery
- Healing across physical, emotional, mental, social and spiritual life.
- Hurt
- A painful experience or emotional wound that still affects life now.
- Mindfulness
- Paying attention to the present moment without judging it.
- Recovery
- An ongoing journey of changing harmful behaviour and rebuilding wellbeing.
- Recovery plan
- A personal plan for goals, support, coping with triggers and preventing relapse.
- Relapse
- Returning to a substance or addictive behaviour after a period of abstinence.
- Self-care
- Intentional actions that support physical, mental and emotional health.
- Sobriety
- Living free of the substances or behaviours that were a problem.
- Sponsorship
- Guidance from an experienced person through the 12 Steps.
- Support network
- People who help you stay connected to recovery.
- Trigger
- A person, place, thing or feeling that may prompt a craving.
- 12 Steps, biblical approach
- A Christ-centred pathway using the 12 Steps and biblical teaching for recovery.
- Withdrawal
- Physical or emotional symptoms that can occur when reducing or stopping a substance.
If you use a shared device, download your answers and clear them from the browser when appropriate. Your responses are stored locally in your browser.