Great Lakes Adult & Teen Challenge Given Unique Honor on National Stage

The 2024 Republican National Convention afforded the privilege of singing the National Anthem to a choir of Wisconsin residents, actively fighting for recovery from addiction and substance abuse.

For adult men and women enrolled in the Great Lakes Adult & Teen Challenge program, participation in the choir is mandatory. However, as Jennifer Harper, associate director of programs and services, explains, the Thursday night choir practice is something that almost every student looks forward to.

“It’s a testament to our choir director,” she says. “She makes it a great experience and it is very appealing to them.”

The choir, which tours the state annually, has been in existence for 42 years, formed the same year the facility was opened. Harper states that each Adult & Teen Challenge program in the country has its own “flavor.” The 12-month Milwaukee program focuses on evangelism and community outreach.

One of the community outreach tools used is the operation of a thrift store, located adjacent to the program’s main building. Each month, students sell over 17,000 items including clothing, furniture, and appliances. The location not only makes it easy to supervise, but also encourages a great deal of foot traffic. In fact, its success has sparked conversation of the opening of a second location.

“Students run the store and are supervised by our staff,” states Harper. “It’s a huge blessing because students don’t have a gap on their resume when they complete the program, and they have a manager to give them a reference when they are applying for jobs.”

For some, transitioning from student to staff is possible through their “emerging leaders” internship program. This career pathway is comprised of a leadership component, a Bible curriculum component, and a job-shadowing component. The internship has five men and women currently enrolled, and the four most recent staff hires at the facility have been graduates of the program.

Another way students and staff engage with the community is through their weekly evangelism and food distribution outreach.

“Every Monday, they go to 53206, a zip code known for its crime and unemployment rates to distribute food and present the gospel,” Harper says.

A local food bank donates at least 5,000 pounds of food each week and teams of students and staff look for open doors to share the gospel as they fill a great need for the residents.

For many of the 43 current students, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was presented in early July when the choir was asked to sing the National Anthem at the Republican National Convention.

“We try to take as many opportunities as we can get for the choir,” states Harper, who cites past invitations to events such as the Governor’s Prayer Breakfast and other state events, including performances at an average of 80 in-state churches per year. But an “out-of-the-blue” email just days before the event was a welcome surprise to everyone.

“We were presented with the idea about ten days prior to the event and were told we wouldn’t know anything for sure until closer to the event,” says Harper. “So when we got the confirmation, we only had two rehearsals in the large space.”

Harper recalls the “neat experience” as both exciting and nerve-wracking. “We had to go through a major security check and were ushered in the back before the performance with secret service,” she recalls.

Yet despite the colorful backgrounds of some students and the many different political views represented by all involved, Harper states that everyone had the attitude of “wow, we can represent our choir and Adult & Teen Challenge well!” Even in the long hours of waiting, she says the attitude of the students made her very proud.

Following the performance, there was a flood of media coverage, including two local news stations who have done feature pieces on the program. “We even had to take our website down so it didn’t crash from all the traffic,” she says.

One student remarks that although the crowd was much bigger than their normal audience size, it was a great experience. Another recalls feeling like God was proud of him for being at Adult & Teen Challenge which was a very special moment.

A current student, Krystle, says, “It was a memorable experience. I felt excited and honored to be on that stage. I hope people were inspired.”

Harper says, “I am so proud to live in and represent a country where we get to help people out of addiction by presenting Jesus. In a lot of countries, you can’t do that. But we live in America, and we have that religious freedom. All the guests that attended were amazingly kind and sang with our choir as we honored our country and one another.”

Harper and her husband, Craig, who has served as the executive director for 33 years, state that being able to expand the awareness and reach of the Adult & Teen Challenge program offerings has been amazing.

Ashley B. Grant

Ashley B. Grant has a master's degree in Human Services Marriage and Family Counseling from Liberty University and is a credentialed Christian counselor through the American Association of Christian Counselors. Grant also holds certifications in crisis pregnancy counseling and advanced life coaching. Ashley is a fourth generation Assemblies of God preacher’s kid and has one daughter and three sons.