The Agape Difference

Agape Community Services offers a holistic, long-term solution through our 9 to 12 month therapeutic community. Everything we do is intentional, layered, and designed for lifelong impact.

A different kind of evidence-based recovery

  • We use a therapeutic community model where peers hold each other accountable, model healthy behaviors, and grow together. This model shows a 75% success rate for long-term recovery and is rooted in mutual respect, structure, and shared responsibility. Our participants are not just receiving care—they are becoming leaders.

  • We integrate Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and RDAP (Residential Drug Abuse Program) developed by The Change Companies, which reduces recidivism by up to 60%. Residents will also learn:

    • Confrontation and communication skills

    • The Five Rules of Rational Thinking

    • The Attitudes of Success

    • Living in community and resolving conflict

    • How to level up through leadership and integrity

  • Agape is a Christ-centered program, but being a Christian is not required to enter or graduate. Participants are free to explore or opt out of the biblical components of our curriculum. We believe that real love is never forced—and everyone deserves to be met with dignity, grace, and acceptance.

    No matter your beliefs or background, you are welcome here. We are committed to loving you right where you are, walking beside you as you heal.

We are not a shelter or a 30-day program. Agape is a movement that restores men, heals families, and transforms cities.

a phased program with structure

Our program is broken into four intentional phases, each building upon the last with clear goals and accountability.

1. orientation

Stabilization, identity formation, and trust building

2. Core

CBT Curriculum, relapse prevention, and life skills

3. Transition

Employment readiness, financial training, and mentorship

4. Launch

Return to community with continued coaching and leadership training

  • Mentorship-Based Recovery

    Every man is paired with trained peer mentors and certified recovery coaches, receiving personalized support and Christ-centered guidance. We will train men to become peer recovery coaches themselves, ensuring sustainability and leadership development.

  • Vocational Training & Micro-business

    Agape is launching a micro-business initiative to prepare men for real-world employment. Initial projects include a pre-packaged meals operation offering affordable, healthy food to the community while providing job experience. Residents will learn time management, kitchen and food safety skills, customer service, inventory and teamwork.

    All micro-business revenue will be reinvested into the program and support our sustainability model.

  • Recovery Café & Community Space

    We are building a Recovery Café inspired model with dedicated space for healing, storytelling, peer connection, and celebration. Based on national models, Recovery Cafés reduce relapse and boost connection by providing:

    • Peer-led support groups
    • Weekly check-ins and shared meals
    • Creative arts, poetry nights, and spoken word
    • A judgment-free, high-accountability community

  • Spoken Word, Art & Identity Work

    Many of our men have never had a safe space to process pain. Through creative therapy and public sharing, we teach them to:

    • Reclaim their God-given identity
    • Use spoken word and poetry to tell their story
    • Create artwork and journaling that documents transformation
    • Build courage to lead, speak, and serve

    These experiences become healing for them—and hope for others.

addressing the opiod crisis head on

Our program is fully aligned with Iowa’s opioid response strategy and Exhibit E core strategies. We offer a compassionate, multi-layered approach that meets individuals where they are and walks with them into healing.

    • Long-term recovery support for men with opioid use disorder (OUD)

    • Evidence-based treatment through CBT and the RDAP curriculum, proven to reduce relapse and recidivism

    • Warm, gentle handoffs from hospitals, jails, and other treatment providers to ensure continuity of care

    • Peer recovery coaches trained to navigate medical systems, mental health supports, and housing needs

    • Access to MAT (Medication-Assisted Treatment) for participants who require it, with clinical oversight and integration into our therapeutic community

    • Opportunities for participants to become mentors and coaches themselves, ensuring a cycle of leadership and restoration

    • A full continuum of care that addresses addiction, housing, employment, trauma, mental health, and spiritual identity

    • Men with opioid use disorder and other substance use disorders

    • Those diverted from incarceration or reentering society post-incarceration

    • Men experiencing homelessness or unstable housing

    • Individuals living with co-occurring mental health disorders

    • Fathers seeking family reunification and a return to leadership in the home

    • Veterans and others lacking long-term support structures

    By building resilience and restoring identity, we offer true recovery—not just sobriety. This is how we break cycles, rebuild lives, and change the future for generations.

Our Impact:

Measuring what matters

“We’re not just raising sober men—we’re raising pro-social leaders who serve in their homes, churches, and neighborhoods.”

We believe success is not just getting sober—it’s becoming who God made you to be. Our Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) reflect this vision:

  • 5 years of sustained sobriety

  • Employment and housing stability

  • Reintegration into families as present fathers and husbands

  • Reduction in local recidivism and foster care rates

  • Active church and community involvement

  • Volunteerism and servant leadership

  • Trained peer recovery coaches serving others

Agape is a new thing!

This is more than a program. This is a Kingdom movement to heal our region from the inside out. The body of Christ, the power of evidence-based treatment, and the resilience of brotherhood all come together at Agape.

We’re building a community where men lead well, children come home, and cycles are broken. This is a new thing—and you’re invited to be part of it.