The Christ-centered 12 Steps

for Conquering Chemical Dependency

Step 1 - Admitting My Powerlessness

We admit that by ourselves we are powerless over chemical substances––that our lives have become unmanageable.

Proverbs 14:12 - There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. 

Step 2 - Coming to Believe

We come to believe that God, through Jesus Christ, can restore us to sanity.

Philippians 2:13 - For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. 

Step 3 - Turning It Over

We make a decision to turn our will and our lives over to God through Jesus Christ.

Romans 12:1 - I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 

Step 4 - My Moral Inventory

We make a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Lamentations 3:40 - Let us examine and prove our ways, and let us return to the Lord. 

Step 5 - Freedom Through Confession

We admit to God, to ourselves, and to another person the exact nature of our wrongs.

James 5:16 - Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. 

Step 6 - Acting in Faith

We commit ourselves to God and desire that He remove patterns of sin from our lives.

James 4:10 - Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. 

Step 7 - Ready for Change

We humbly ask God to renew our minds so that our sinful pattern can be transformed into patterns of righteousness.

Romans 12:2 - And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. 

Step 8 - Forgiveness and Amends

We make a list of all persons who have hurt us and choose to forgive them. We also make a list of all persons we have harmed, and we become willing to make amends to them all.

Luke 6:31 - And just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way. 

Step 9 - Making Amends

We make direct amends to such people where possible, except when doing so will injure them or others.

Matthew 7:12 - Therefore, however you want people to treat you, so treat them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. 

Step 10 - Recognizing and Responding

We continue to take personal inventory, and when we are wrong, promptly admit it.

Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. 

Step 11 - A Growing Relationship

We seek to know Christ more intimately through prayer and meditation, praying only for knowledge of His will and the power to carry that out.

Matthew 6:33 - But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. 

Step 12 - Assisting Others

Having had a spiritual awakening, we try to carry the message of Christ’s grace and restoration power to others who are chemically dependent and to practice these principles in every aspect of our lives.

2 Corinthians 5:19-20 - God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ.