Breaking chains: a testimony of callings, recovery and faith

Throughout his life, Kevin Elkins viewed drug use as the norm. He started smoking pot at the age of nine and escalated to harder substances by the time he graduated from high school. For an extended period, he labeled himself as a functional drug user; outwardly, his struggles with drugs remained hidden from those around him.

Elkins thought he was living the best life, even when his drug use put him in life-threatening situations multiple times – including a time when he was left on life support for four days. Deep inside, however, he knew something was missing. He specially felt this eight years ago when his older brother passed away.

“My brother was my best friend,” Elkins said. “I remember being so lost after he was gone. I had a needle in my arm and a gun in my mouth. I was not excited to live anymore. This is when God started getting my attention.”

Elkins tried leaving the world of drugs behind, but as he did, his friends started offering him free drugs. Despite his efforts to quit, Elkins would often relapse into old habits. Then, he started having heart complications and was told by doctors that his life was at risk. This was the second time Elkins felt God trying to get his attention. 

“I realized I did not want to die,” Elkins said. “More importantly, I realized God was telling me to go to Him first. If I went to Him, He would take care of the rest.”

So, Elkins got a Bible and started diving deep into its pages. Through his studies, he learned about Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and God’s gift of salvation. He also learned about the Sabbath and began searching for churches that observed it, though with little success. On more than one occasion, local churches turned him away when their responses failed to satisfy his questions.

However, Elkins did not want to give up and, instead, asked his cousin to baptize him. In September of 2022, Elkins was baptized in a swimming hole behind his home in Kentucky.

“From that moment, God took away my drug addiction,” Elkins said. “Though I still faced temptations, I could no longer be around drugs or be associated with them. When God said He would take care of the rest, He did – He removed drugs from my life.”

During this time, Elkins also came across a sermon by Pastor Doug Batchelor and signed up for Bible Studies with Amazing Facts. On July 7, 2023, he received a call from Pastor Kevin Burk, from the Winchester and Stanton Churches in Kentucky.

“I had been contacted by Amazing Facts about this person in my area who had completed their Bible studies,” Burk said. “When I finally got in touch with [Elkins] he was so excited. He kept on saying how he had discovered something so beautiful in the Adventist message that he just couldn't stop talking about it.”

Since then, Elkins has been attending the Stanton, Ky., Church – a church plant that emerged just as he had begun praying for a church family. According to Burk, Elkins has become an integral member, actively participating in community service projects and facilitating ministry outreach to those dealing with substance abuse. Elkins continues his Bible study with the Stanton Church and plans to get rebaptized in March of 2024.

“I hated myself for a long time,” Elkins said. “But now I roll out of bed every morning and I praise God for the joy he's brought in my life and into my heart. I was dead inside, and He resurrected me.”