“This ignited in me a hunger for more of the freedom I knew there was in a very personal relationship with Christ.”

Janet Mabie
Spur Ottawa Writer

Union City Church has re-launched LifeLab—a discipleship program for those struggling with addictions (whether drugs, alcohol, pornography, eating disorders, or anything else). Their fall semester offers participants in person and online options, bringing hope, direction, and community along a spiritual journey.

“A driving initial concept is that no matter what we go to as the solution to our internal turmoil or unrest, we can all recover together,” shares Vikki Ruby, whose husband (Jon) created LifeLab. “Most of us, if we’re honest, turn to something to be our solution. God is the real solution to the problems we find ourselves tripping over in life.”

Now back in person, the program runs every Wednesday, starting at noon, for 17 weeks.

“We run two semesters a year, September to January and February to June,” Ruby states. “Each semester has daily practices, homework, teaching, and peer-to-peer support that we call ‘pacesetters’.”

Pacesetters are program graduates who have come back to lead others through the process. This September, they had three new groups start, including their first women-only group. The groups meet for a meal, watch the teaching, and go over the homework together.

“God sent it along at just the right time, when I had realized some big sin in my life and needed help repenting from it.”

Tamarah, a participant taking the program a second time, says LifeLab is one of the best things she did for herself. “I learned to deal with my emotions—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I had a strong faith in God, but this program gave me tools to work even stronger on relying on Him.”

Another participant says, “LifeLab helped me grow in my relationship with God and in healthy relationships with others. God sent it along at just the right time, when I had realized some big sin in my life and needed help repenting from it. LifeLab gave me the tools and support I needed to grow and change.”

Karen is a pacesetter this semester. She says the program taught her that she needs Jesus to be Lord of her entire life, not just parts of it.

“LifeLab had a huge impact on my life. At a time when I was struggling to recover from a divorce and realized that my eating was disordered, I knew I had to do something different. The workshop was a starting point into the deeper, fuller life that I now experience. It was a space where I could be honest about the hard things in life. It helped me identify the things that I needed to turn over to God.”

Through the program, Karen says reading her Bible, prayer, and worship became a part of her everyday life.

“This ignited in me a hunger for more of the freedom I knew there was in a very personal relationship with Christ. Now, as a pacesetter, I get to pass that message on to other women and encourage them on their own journeys. Each time I am there to point another woman back to Jesus, I come away with a new realization, a new discovery, and a deeper dependence on my Savior. It is Him who does the work, not me, but I get to be a witness to the miracle of submission to His will, one day at a time.”