We must renew these values to restore our country. A belief in the transforming power of faith. A belief that no one is finally a failure or a victim, because everyone is the child of a loving and merciful God, a God who counts our tears and lifts our head. The goal of these faith-based groups is not just to provide services, it is to change lives. And lives are changed.
Addicts become examples.
Reckless men become loving fathers. Prisoners become spiritual leaders, sometimes more mature and inspiring than many of us can ever hope to be. In Texas, there is a young man named James Peterson, who'd embezzled his way into a prison term. But when he was offered parole, he turned it down, to finish the InnerChange course, which teaches inmates to rely on faith to transform their lives. One example, but a miracle that is common.