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Friday, March 29, 2024 - 04:09 AM

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

First Published in 1994

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF
UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

The Wisdom in Living Life Ministry of Winn Freeman is desperately needed, highly effective and must be continued. Community church and business support is necessary to carry out his vision of a “Beyond Recovery” campus in Northern Greenville County. The Freeman method is the God method for providing a permanent cure for addiction of all kinds.

Hundreds of friends joined the family of Winn Freeman, Saturday afternoon, to celebrate his life and remarkable ministry. Attendees had only to look around the sanctuary of Renfrew Baptist Church to see evidence of the miracles God has performed through a former alcoholic and drug addict whose productive life began after age 30 and ended much too soon. This Southern Baptist Church on Saturday probably had the largest gathering of former (cured) drug addicts ever assembled in Upstate South Carolina. Many of them were giant black men, praising God and giving thanks for what Winn Freeman, a quiet white man of small stature, had done in their lives.

Sean Hamilton, a former addict and now an ordained Baptist Preacher, enjoyed putting his arms around Winn, less than half his size and calling him “Daddy.” People would laugh, but it was sincere. “Every time I was in jail, and I was there a lot, and they told me I had a visitor, I knew it was my mother or Winn,” Hamilton said.

Winn Freeman had dedicated the remainder of his life, after he was “born again” and became a new creature, to teaching other addicts that addiction was “sin” not a disease, and that Jesus Christ was the only cure. He would teach them all he had learned and be their mentor and friend until they were able to duplicate what they had been taught in other addicts who were ready for change.

Winn had literally “hit bottom” when he called on Jesus Christ and discovered the truth in the promise contained in II Corinthians 5:17. “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away, BEHOLD, all things are become new.”

He had come to the realization that he was going to die soon or spend the rest of his life in jail. He was ready to become a new creature. When he was gradually transformed from a pathetic, hopeless addict to an articulate minister of the Gospel, he earned the respect of influential people. But most of all, he was able to influence the lives of other addicts who had tried all the secular treatment programs and had reached a destination of incarceration and desperation.

Winn trained scores of former addicts to duplicate his work. What is needed now is strong leadership by Christian churches to make the entire community aware of the miraculous results achieved by this ministry with little financial support. In recent years Winn sold his home in order to support the ministry. At the time of his death, he and his family were living in a small-donated trailer.

Individuals and taxpayers in the Upstate are spending millions of dollars each year to deal with the “drug problem.”  Many of the car wrecks, and criminal acts, are alcohol and other drug addiction related. Lives and families are being destroyed. Most of the taxes and private funds are going into “treatment” programs that only provide temporary relief at best.

Winn Freeman had one problem that he was never able to overcome. This will continue to be a challenge in the future. The drug addiction treatment industry does not appreciate competition that provides a free cure for addiction. Also, some Christians reject the truth that God can totally change lives, and turn to secular programs for treatment of friends and family members.

If you know someone who is struggling with addiction and sincerely wants permanent relief, visit youraddictionendshere.com.

 

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