Greener Pastures Recovery’s Story (GPR)
"My name is Bill Orthwein. I am the Director of Greener Pastures Recovery 501c3 Public Charity, and the Colorado State Ambassador for Celebrate Recovery Inside, (CRI).
Over the last 10 years I have been blessed to work with thousands of inmates/patients, and to witness significant transformation in many to most of those lives.
At GPR, we know people can radically change, and do-we literrally see it all the time.
Greener Pastures Recovery currently funds/runs 90+ Recovery Meetings per week, in over 60 facilities, throughout Colorado/New Mexico. We reach around 1000 inmates/week with faith-based and secular recovery programming.
With the help of over 85 incredibly gifted/committed Volunteers, GPR oversees roughly 50,000 inmate hours per year of Celebrate Recovery Inside (CRI), and other programs in our federal/state/county prisons, jails, halfway houses and rehabs.
Greener Pastures Recovery's Mission is to help people gain traction, anywhere on the continuum, from addiction/relapse/incarceration/rehab to lasting recovery, from seemingly hopeless end to endless hope, from wasteland to greener pastures, so they can live happy, joyous and free.
Our main purpose is to assist inmates on the inside, and individuals on the outside, break free from the bondage of addictive behavior/mental health challenges, so they can write new life stories.
Greener Pastures also provides Recovery/Reentry Coaching, Consulting, and Assistance to help newly released inmates/patients, on a wraparound basis, successfully enter the free world.
Celebrate Recovery (CR) is a Christ-centered 12-step fellowship/recovery program for life’s hurts, hang-ups, and habits. It’s like AA with the Bible, but it addresses more than just addiction. CR focuses on the underlying causes-i.e., all life issues. CR is based on the 12 steps from AA, and the Beatitudes from the Bible. CR started over 30 years ago at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA and to date has been launched in over 30,000 churches worldwide.
Celebrate Recovery Inside (CRI) is specifically designed for prisons, jails, rehabs, and transitional facilities. The CRI Mission Statement is “Taking Jesus, As He Is, To People, As They Are.” If you would like to learn more, you can visit our CR website at www.celebraterecovery.com.
CELEBRATE RECOVERY ON THE OUTSIDE, AND CELEBRATE RECOVERY INSIDE FIT LIKE A GLOVE; BY GOD’S GRACE, CR INSIDE OFFERS ONE OF THE BEST RECIDIVISM RATES IN INCARCERATION/REHAB HISTORY. ONCE RELEASED, INMATES/PATIENTS ARE WELCOMED WITH OPEN ARMS INTO VIBRANT FELLOWSHIP IN OUR OUTSIDE CR MEETINGS.
Estimates vary, but suggest that inmates can be 10 times less likely to return to incarceration, if they participate in CR on the inside, and continue on the outside, versus the general population.
This story will shed some light:
Prison Fellowship (PF) is the most well-known, and well-funded Prison Ministry group in the world. PF spends over $40 million dollars/year on Bibles for inmates, and they are politically connected. James Ackerman, the former CEO of Prison Fellowship, was invited to the first Trump White House to speak about the status of reentry. The President asked him what was currently in place across the Country that offers inmates the best chance for successful reentry. James Ackerman said the first thing out of his mouth was Celebrate Recovery!
Celebrate Recovery Inside programming has recently been approved as a Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) "FIRST STEP ACT APPR0VED PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITY".
Though our CR curriculum is Biblically based, all of our meetings are open to everyone, we are inclusive, we do not require participants to observe any certain faith-all are welcome at Greener Pastures Recovery/Celebrate Recovery. Our behind bars CR meetings regularly have Buddhists, Muslims, Norse God followers in attendance-all who are open benefit from our curriculum/fellowship.
GREENER PASTURES RECOVERY/CELEBRATE RECOVERY INSIDE URGENTLY NEED PRAYER, VOLUNTEERS, AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT!
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE, THIS MINISTRY IS WORTH YOUR TIME AND SUPPORT!
Donate NowIn 2021, a CRI supporter suggested that we form a non-profit to help with funding, which would allow individuals, churches, companies, corporations, and foundations to make tax deductible charitable contributions/grants. Shortly after applying with the IRS, Greener Pastures Recovery (GPR) was approved as a 501c3 Public Charity.
Statistics show an at best 50% recidivism rate for inmates, and an 80% relapse rate for patients coming out of rehab. This bears repeating: half of all inmates will likely return to incarceration, and 4 out of 5 graduates from rehab will likely drink/use again. Unknowable, what the exact the odds are, but they are daunting, too many times with deadly conseqences. At GPR we are dedicated to give inmates the best chance possible at a wholly new life.
As mentioned, Greener Pastures Recovery now has 90 weekly recovery meetings running in 60 different prisons/jails/rehabs across the state. A blessed start, but we are urgently wanted/needed in them all, (120+).
The need for Volunteers and lack of Financing are our limiting factors.
GPR purchased over $11,000 of books/materials in 2024.
Books, journals, DVD's, printing costs are roughly $500-$700/facility, travel is expensive, costs are ongoing.
Please consider Volunteering or Sponsoring a facility, i.e., financially supporting Greener Pastures Recovery! Churches, communities, benefactors love to help Prison Recovery Programming, but sometimes don’t know how to, so please share this!
((Tax deductible donations can be made by Venmo/PayPal at greenerpasturesrecovery or by credit card on this website. Checks can be made out to Greener Pastures Recovery and mailed to P.O. Box 6137, Denver CO, 80206.))
Thank you for your kindness and generosity.
God Bless You All!
Donate NowWhy volunteer or financially support CR programming inside a prison, jail or alcohol/ drug rehab?
Here are 5 great reasons:
- JESUS CALLS US THERE, HE HAS A HEART FOR PRISONERS --From His first sermon in Luke, "He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the prisoners". To His last Parable shared in Matthew, "The Sheep and the Goats", Jesus reveals his heart for prisoners. As Christians, if someone were thirsty, hungry, naked, sick, or alone we would know to help. But we are not hardwired, in the same way, to visit those in prison. So, it comes as a surprise when Jesus ties the importance of assisting with basic needs alongside visiting/helping prisoners. It’s not normally on our radar-but it is on His. In The Sheep and the Goats Jesus says, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was sick and you looked after me, and when I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Jesus repeats this same list four times, and for emphasis, ties our response to our salvation. Prisoners are important to Him, whether behind bars, or held in the bondage of addiction. “What you did, or did not do, for one of the least of these, you did or did not do for me".
- IT’S GOOD FOR OUR RECOVERY --The Recovery Triangle has Recovery/Reconciliation/Restoration across the bottom, Unity on the left side, Service on the right, and God at the top. We walk the Road of Recovery across the bottom of the triangle, as we get closer to God at the top, by engaging the action steps of Unity and Service on the sides. The bigger the Unity and Service commitments, the bigger the Triangle, the bigger our Recovery. Prison, jail, rehab ministries are effective and rewarding service commitments, and are great for our Recovery! This is a win-win-win-win-win-win ministry, everyone benefits-the financial supporter, the volunteer, the inmate, the inmate's pod, facility, family, community-ie, God's Kingdom.
- PRISONS, JAILS AND REHABS ARE A TARGET RICH ENVIRONMENTS – “Movemental Discipleship Making” is a thing. It is when one Christian leads another to Jesus, and then that Christian leads another to Christ, and so on, until there are 5 generations of Believers in a population. One of the only places in the United States this is happening today is inside prisons. Inmates have consequence, desire for change, and time on their hands for contemplation. They are experiencing real life problems, we have the Solution, which is Jesus. CR volunteers are Angels with Answers.
- CELEBRATE RECOVERY/CELEBRATE RECOVERY INSIDE FIT LIKE A GLOVE; BY GOD’S GRACE, CR OFFERS ONE OF THE BEST CHANCES FOR SUCCESSFUL REENTRY FROM INCARCERATION/REHAB TO THE FREE WORLD- Prison Fellowship is the most well-known, and well-funded Prison Ministry group in the world. PF spends over $40 million dollars/year on Bibles for inmates, and they are politically connected. James Ackerman, CEO of Prison Fellowship, was invited to the White House to speak about the status of reentry. The President asked him what was currently in place across the Country that offers inmates the best chance for successful reentry. James Ackerman said the first thing out of his mouth was Celebrate Recovery. This Ministry is well worth your time!
- IT’S A LOT OF FUN, AND IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE-GUARANTEED!
Bill Orthwein
Coach
Bill Orthwein is the Director/Recovery Coach for Greener Pastures Recovery (GPR), a 501c3 Public Charity whose main purpose is to fund and run 12 step Christ-centered recovery programming inside prisons/jails/rehabs, and to assist inmates/patients on the inside and individuals on the outside break free from the bondage of addictive behavior.
MY STORY
After 5 unsuccessful alcohol/drug rehabs, and 6+ unsuccessful surgeries to eradicate the “incurable” bone infection in my left hip, I decided I would retire to my farm in Costa Rica to learn to “drink responsibly”.
Blood oozed with each step out of a boil the size of a coconut from my left infected hip.
I was a dead man hobbling.
I found bottom after a 4-day party spree with no sleep, in a head over heels fall, off a 50-foot waterfall, alone, in the middle of the jungle. I have no recollection of the fall, but what I do remember vividly was the violent splash of water, and the brilliant yellow and blue flash of light as I regained consciousness.
Baptized, into a foot and a half of water, with a full on back-buster, from well over 30 feet.
Miraculously, I was unhurt.
I knew clearly God had just saved my life.
Desperate, hopeless, in shock, I prayed. I thanked God for saving my life. I told Him that if He would get me thru my 51st birthday, the same year in life that my mom had quit drinking, that I would try to lay the party life down and serve Him the rest of my life. I was 50 at the time.
Doctors in Costa Rica estimated my chance of death from the infection at 70%, amputation was assumed.
But God.
Out of nowhere, my mega successful friend and mentor Jamie heard I was going to die from my addictions, or the hip infection. He flew down, extricated me from Costa Rica, and arranged medical treatment in Dallas. My determining, final surgery was "coincidentally" scheduled on my 51st birthday.
My mentor’s son Jay, a good friend from high school and a disciple of Jesus Christ, dropped by my hospital room a week before surgery to give me a Bible, and pray for me. He prayed that the obsession for alcohol and drugs would be replaced with a passion for God, and that my leg would be healed. I said, “Jay, how exactly is that going to work? I have had 5 unsuccessful alcohol/drug rehabs, 6 new metal hips, lost three inches of left leg length, and the infection is still there. How is that supposed to work?" My friend said, “With God all things are possible". I told him I would need to see that for myself. Jay left me with this, “Bill if you don’t find Jesus in all of this you might as well keep on drinking". That stuck with me.
I woke up from surgery on my 51st birthday, looked down to see my left leg intact, and smiled at my doctor, who was smiling at me. He told me that the infection that had ravaged my body for the last seven years was gone, that he had given me a new hip, and that I would soon be able to walk out of the hospital. I attended my 6th and final rehab at i360 in Dallas under the expert tutelage of Dr. Kevin Gilliland.
I was planning on returning to Costa Rica, but my mentor warned me that "it's difficult to be a new man, in an old place". He suggested moving to Basalt, Colorado and that "moving forward I should try making different mistakes".
I relocated and began attending AA faithfully and reading the Big Book. A pivotal passage read, "When we became alcoholics, crushed by a self-imposed crisis we could not postpone or evade, we had to fearlessly face the proposition that either God is everything or else He is nothing. God either is, or He isn't. What was our choice to be?"
It suddenly dawned on me that opening my heart and mind to God was my lesson in all of this.
I immediately visited the non-denominational church across the street from my house, Cornerstone Christian Center in Basalt. Pastor Jim Tarr was pivotal in opening my heart and mind to Jesus, and the reality of God’s love for me.
By Godwink, there was a Bible Study starting the next week, so I began to read the Bible for the first time in my life. I thought there was nothing in there for me until I ran across Jacob, who after sending his earthly possessions across the river, found himself wrestling all night with God. That God had touched Jacob’s hip to get his attention, just like He had done for me.
But what stopped me in my tracks was Proverbs 23:29-35:
“Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has bitter disagreements? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake, and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind will imagine confusing things. You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. “They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?”
That hit me like a ton of bricks because all of that had been exactly my experience.
Then it occurred to me, what if the rest of the Bible was that true as well, and what those implications might be? Those readings piqued my curiosity, opened my heart and mind to want to know more.
In summary: 20+ years of chronic addiction, an incurable leg infection, and a fall off a waterfall led me to AA. AA led me to Church and reading The Bible, which led me to Celebrate Recovery. AA/Church/The Bible/CR led me to Service Work. Service Work led me to becoming the Salvation Army Red Kettle Captain for the last 13 years where I have watched God accumulate almost $200,000 for those in need, mostly in $1 bills. At my Church I was blessed to have become the Celebrate Recovery Assimilation Coach, Training Coach, Encourager Coach, Ministry Leader, then move into Prison/Jail Ministry with CR Inside. From there I have been blessed to be be the Colorado State Representative for Celebrate Recovery Inside in our state prisons, jails, and rehabs for the last 7 years and have had the pleasure of sharing my story and working with thousands of inmates, rehab patients and individuals across Colorado. Recently, I have become the Director of Greener Pastures Recovery, a non-profit 501c3 Public Charity whose main purpose is to fund and run Celebrate Recovery Christ centered 12 Step programming in our prisons/jails/rehabs, and to to assist inmates/patients on the inside and individuals on the outside break free from the bondage of addictive behavior. I teach people how to Journal their Journey, am a Public Speaker, a Recovery Coach (CCAR), and hope soon to be a published author.
God is good. I could not walk without excruciating pain for 10 years prior to my last surgery, but by God’s grace I have been blessed to ski pain free over 600 times over the last 12 years. If you would like to pray for me, pray that I get off the beginners slopes, it's getting embarrassing.
I don't climb waterfalls anymore.
Here are the reasons you can depend on Bill Orthwein to help you gain traction anywhere on the continuum from addiction/rehab/relapse to lasting recovery:
- REPUTABLE – Bill Orthwein has been around since 2015, a respected leader in his field and community.
- EXPERIENCED – Our proudest accomplishment are the large number of long term clients and satisfied customers who put their trust in us year after year.
- INTEGRITY – Building a reputation of integrity takes years, but it takes only a second to lose. We don’t believe in cutting corners. The foundation of our reputation is our commitment to do the right thing at all times, regardless of whether anyone is watching.
- RESOURCES – We offer a wide variety of development and training programs built on timeless principles that get results.
- CUSTOMIZABLE – All of our curriculum can be customized to specifically address your individual and organizational needs.
- 100% SATISFACTION GUARANTEE – We want you to be completely satisfied with our services. We will do whatever it takes to make you happy. No hassles, no problems.
Download your FREE eBook NOW!
Journal Your Journey...Tips for Rewiring, Retraining Your Brain to Live the Life You Want to Live
This eBook is one of Bill Orthwein's most popular publications available as a free download. Inside of this ebook, you will learn:
- How to Journal Your Journey to less stress and chaos, improved mood, more motivation, clarity, direction, organization, and accountability.
- How Journaling Your Journey can help transform your subconscious from self-destructive beast to powerful ally thru Neuroplasticity, the rewiring, retraining of your brain.
- How Journaling Your Journey can create a Life Map of your past, present, and desired future while increasing peace, happiness, productivity, health, and gratitude.
What People Are Saying:
DOC Prison Inmate
Faith Based Personal Development/ Grand Junction, Colorado
"I have known Bill for several years now and I can honestly say that there is nobody besides Jesus Christ that has had a more profound effect on my life than Greener Pastures Recovery and Bill Orthwein. Bill got me my first job, had me doing a lot of daily tasks to help me in my recovery like keeping a journal where I wrote out my objectives, my achievements, and goals for the future. Greener Pastures Recovery is called of God and the ministry will change your life if you let it."
Mark Pauck
All Things Hydrolic, Detroit, Michigan
"Without Greener Pastures Recovery and Bill in my life, his guidance and friendship, I would not be alive writing this today. He was the backbone of my recovery- it was his constant coaching and follow-up that made the difference. He got me to start writing in a journal. I was skeptical. I am not the “type” of person that journals. But I have so much respect for Bill and his transformation, that I decided to try it. Journaling My Journey, along with constant heartfelt prayer, changed my life. I know that Bill has the skills, will, passion and grace to help change and save other people’s lives. He is truly blessed."
Joadie Griebel
Professional Cleaning/Red Seas Ministries, Glenwood Springs, Colorado
"Bill Orthwein lives and breathes to help other people succeed. He didn't just become a success story and continue with his own life. Bill has dedicated his life to go back and pull others out the fire and help as many people as he can out of drug addiction, alcoholism and brokenness and show them that all things are possible to those who believe! I have seen Bill pursue people, encourage them to move forward regardless of their situation, and because of Bill's influence in their lives they have become some of the most successful people I know today in the community. He would call to continually to encourage me, and push me to not give up. Bill was probably the number one reason why I did not give up and pursued my legal situation and got the victory! Because of that my life is forever changed now."
John Leahy
Co-Owner The Ridge Alcohol and Drug Treatment Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
"Bill Orthwein, Director of Greener Pastures Recovery, has been my Recovery Coach since January of 2022 after leaving The Ridge Ohio Alcohol and Drug Treatment Center, where I am co-owner. His positive influence has made recovery, step work, and conversations of Faith a fun, joyous, and life changing experience. I would never have thought that possible. Bill's insistence on Journaling My Journey has had a tremendous impact on my getting and keeping traction-another surprise. 270 days later, I am not the same person and am truly living happy, joyous and free."
Mary Himes
Colorado Celebrate Recovery State Representative, Colorado Springs, Colorado
"Bill has done an excellent job in his capacity as State Representative for Celebrate Recovery Inside. He lives in Denver and travels all over the state giving his testimony and recruiting volunteers to go into the prisons and jails to lead CR programs inside, as well as to lead the crucial CR Step Studies. He has exhibited an enthusiasm to reach the hurting and broken that has far exceeded anyone I have ever met. He has such a humble, teachable servant’s heart that is rare to find."
Dan Blankenship
Transportation/CEO Roaring Fork Transportation Authority, Aspen, Colorado
"In the summer of 2016, Bill invited me serve as a volunteer at the Garfield County Jail, to help lead Celebrate Recovery classes (a Christ-Centered 12-Step program) for inmates. With Bill as my mentor and teaching partner, the experience has been very fulfilling for me. Celebrate Recovery classes have helped me to understand that drug and alcohol abuse and addiction are pervasive and play major roles in the behaviors that cause the vast majority of inmates to be incarcerated. Celebrate Recovery provides inmates struggling with alcoholism and drug addiction hope that through the redemptive power that comes through faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they can ultimately break free of the hurts, hang ups, and habits that have robbed them of the joyful, peaceful, productive, and honorable lives that God has planned for them.
Not content to share the message of hope, healing, restoration, and redemption with just the inmates in the Garfield County Jail, Bill's passion to help others and his commitment to serve Jesus Christ, have inspired him to introduce Celebrate Recovery in prisons, jails and rehabs across Colorado."
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