The local Christian community is coming together during the next week to offer practical support, resources and encouragement to area residents of all ages during a revival event at the Logan County Fairgrounds, set for five nights — Wednesday, Nov. 20, through Sunday, Nov. 24.
Focusing on the theme, “Together is Better,” each night features a different theme, and begins with a free meal served at 5:30 p.m. at the fairgrounds community building, followed by a panel discussion and worship.
The evenings conclude with a speaker, Community Pastor Dougie Boggs, who will be sharing different aspects of his faith journey and his powerful story of overcoming addiction and a near fatal overdose in 2021.
Pastor Gary Brown of the Bellefontaine First Church of God said the event is a collaboration between a number of local churches, and the focus is not on who is putting on the event, but instead, the opportunity to offer the outreach to the community. During recent months, the revival idea developed through conversations among leaders in the the faith community.
“We have the privilege to get to know the residents of our community and also the issues that people are struggling with,” Pastor Brown said. “Through seeking the Lord, we’re wanting to be able to address some of these issues and offer help and practical support.
“We want to bring our community together to overcome stigma. Our huge focus with this revival is unity in the community.”
Along those lines, the themes for each night and panel discussion leaders are: Wednesday — Student Struggles, led by Drew Sutherin; Thursday and Friday — Addiction and Recovery, led by Kathy Zeller; and Saturday and Sunday — Mental and Emotional Health, led by Angelia Parsons.
In additional to the panel leaders, other professionals in the field and those with lived experiences will be joining in the discussions. Along with the practical experiences and advice, practical resources will be offered during this time as well to connect residents with the help they need.
Worship will be led by musicians from various churches starting around 7 p.m., followed by Boggs’ preaching.
Boggs said this week that his struggles with addiction began in early adolescence with him drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana and gradually progressed from there, with the area resident noting that he was using drugs regularly at the age of 15.
Soon, Boggs’ drug issues led to criminal convictions for drug-related crimes and thefts, and eventually, landed him in prison multiple times.
His family also suffered a great tragedy in 2017 when they lost his brother to a fatal overdose. Just a few years later in 2021, the now community pastor found himself fighting for his life after a fentanyl overdose, he said. He was hospitalized in an intensive care unit on life support, and miraculously, survived the ordeal thanks to “God and Narcan,” according to a T-shirt he wore at a recent recovery event.
“It took a few weeks for the fog to clear after I got out of the hospital and to kind of get over the frustration with myself and the embarrassment. I couldn’t believe I let my family down, after we had lost my brother.
“I began realizing that Jesus saved my life, and that was a real turning point. I wanted to live for Him and seek recovery from addiction. Now, I’m in that lane that God has me in, and it has been amazing. I’m on that accelerated course that God has me on. I recover outloud.”
Boggs completed the Logan County Court of Common Pleas Adult Recovery Court and continues to serve in a mentoring role in the program. He described the many positive relationships and supports built through Adult Recovery Court, along with the Recovery Zone, and now also ministering to inmates at the Logan County Jail, where he previously was incarcerated.
“There have been so many people who loved me and supported me, sometimes when I was not so loving myself. Now it’s a real honor to be able to give back to others,” Boggs said, noting that he helps to run Life Recovery Bible studies six days a week at different locations in the community.
Pastor Brown said Boggs and his wife, Christy, got married in December 2023, and now he gets to be a role model to her children, too.
The featured speaker hopes that sharing his testimony can show “what is possible” in just a few short years, and “how God operates outside of time.”
“I hope to reach each person there, and to offer that relatability.”