Lion of Judah New Life Ministries Inc. Is a comprehensive and compassionate decipleship program and addiction and treatment center Serving McDowell County West Virginia, Tazewell County Virginia, and Carter County Tennessee. Our goal is to empower you to overcome your addiction and re-engage in a meaningful life through the power of Jesus Christ.
We are here to guide you through the process. We are a 12 month residential program for individuals who have a desire to overcome addiction and life controlling issues. Our mission is to help them build an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ while also teaching them job skills that they can take outside of the ministry to become successful members of society. We want to reach those who are lost and hurting and replace that hurt with hope in Christ.
We want to restore Mothers and Fathers back to their children and families. Provide safe transitioning back into society so they can live a life full of success. Our Job Skill training will involve Public Speaking, E-Commerce/ Marketing, Book Publishing, ServeSafe Certifications, Automotive Technology, ASE Certifications, Diesel Certifications, Carpentry Work, Leadership Skills and More.
Board of Members
President Founder
Reba Shawnessy Potter
I suffered in addiction for 20 years and at one time in my life I believed I was a lost cause! I believed I had done too much to turn back and thought I deserved death, hell and the grave! I have overdosed more times than I can even tell you! I remember being mad that someone would even hit me with Nar-can and bring me back as bad as I wanted to die! I can remember taking a shot praying it would be my last and that I wouldn’t wake up! At one time I was facing a life sentence after being set up in a robbery that almost cost me my life and had me facing life! My best friend had me set up in a roberry because I had a lot of money and drugs and they would have killed me for it! I fought my way out and left with my life but was facing a life sentence! The only reason I didn’t spend 20+years in prison is because no one testified against me! I went to a maximum security prison with the worst of the worst and was labeled a violent criminal. It hindered me from getting jobs and even getting help! I have seen a lot of foul things inside the jail systems with inmates and even treatment from officers! I took up for a lot of people to standing up to 10 women inside of the pods to fight for someone's rights who had the inability to speak up for themselves! I have walked the streets in prostitution and stayed in abandoned buildings! I have taken pizzas out of little caesars dumpsters because of hunger pains! I have even built fires inside of a pot just to stay warm inside of abandoned buildings! I have stood on the side of a bridge looking to jump but was too much of a coward to take the leap! I have had two pimps and wrote statements on one’s behalf and they beat all of their charges and escaped from the other! I was an awful person and became so dark and hard hearted! My only escape was the needle and each time I wanted it to take me out of my misery! I was so far in, I couldn’t climb out and thought I would die in the streets! I have been beaten half to death numerous times and even hit by a car trying to escape a twisted trick! My childhood is another story all on its own and honestly this small paragraph doesn’t even touch everything I have put myself through and seen! At one time I thought I had it all together and swore my life would be different from my mothers! I grew up in a bar and started using at 9 years old. My mother also suffered from trauma and addiction! We suffered from neglect and abuse and at age 11 I woke up to my Moms boyfriend being on top of me and my mother telling him to stop but never doing anything about it. My sister also had something happen to her at age 9 and at age 15 my Mother lost custody of us! My grandparents tried to help us the best they knew how and I really put them through a lot! I left as soon as I turned 18 and tried to turn my life around. I had a beautiful family and only wanted a good life with my sons and their father! My kids father cheated on me all the time and when I finally left him and moved back to West Virginia. The people I needed the most turned their backs on me and stole everything I had of value. I became homeless with my two sons and couldn’t get on my own two feet and had no help! I lost custody of them at ages 2 and 3. They were adopted and I had a choice of who I wanted to give them to. I chose my aunt and my uncle on my mothers side. They couldn’t have children and I thought they would be good to my kids. I was told I would be able to see them but NONE of that was true. I had lost all hope to live or survive or care I lost! But God showed me the power of forgiveness and even he will give you a door but sometimes it happens by stepping into the fruit of the spirit! When I forgave it was like the chains fell off of me and I was Free! The Girl that set me up in a robbery walked into Tazewell county jail. We had the same lawyer. I was good to her and everyone asked me why but In doing so I saw we had the same attorney. I was able to fire my attorney on a conflict of interest and received a Christian attorney who had me write my testimony! I was facing 4 years and 15 months to 999 years at 85%. The Judge showed me mercy. I was given an alternative faith based program that changed my life. God changed my life. He heard my cry and rescued me as hard as I was in death. I want to serve him even more! If he can change a wretch like me I know he could change anyone! I am passionate in helping others because I understand the mental anguish and strongholds of addiction. Joel 2:25 “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust,
CEO Founder
Rickie Lynn Potter
My name is Rickie Potter. Looking back on my life I can see that addiction has been presented from the beginning. My father has been in active addiction, my whole life, and still this to this day. Some of my earliest memories are of him getting arrested, and my babysitter molesting me when I was around five or six years old I don’t remember much of my childhood, but I do remember my mother telling me that I don’t have to be like my father and I can achieve anything I want in life, and she worked hard to shield us from the addiction. Growing up my childhood was pretty normal at that point, but I do remember that I was happier when my father wasn’t home then when he was home because he did take me to drug houses and lock me in bedrooms while him and his friends were getting high in the other room. But even though that sounds terrible, I do look back and see my childhood was a blessed one, because of how hard my mother worked to keep us safe. Going through high school all my friends would go to parties and drink and smoke and do drugs. I can honestly say that I’ve never drank or smoke, and most of that I give credit to my mother for making good choices, and not alowing me to participate in those activities. One year after graduating high school my best friend was found dead in a jail from an overdose. He just turned 19 years old, that was the first time addiction took somebody from me. Fast-forward to about the age of 27. I met a girl who will later become my first wife. She told me that she was in recovery and I thought cool Ya beat addiction. The most I knew about it was, I just thought recovery meant you beat addiction. We got married to dating and the year later we had our daughter. That was when her relapse happened was after the birth of our daughter. When my wife was 20 she was forced to have an abortion. By her boyfriend because she thought that he was gonna leave her and she’d be homeless. She told me she just didn’t know what to do. She was pregnant with twin boys and so she followed through with the abortion and later tried to commit suicide because of the pain that it caused her. After the birth of our daughter, she thought why is she worthy to have this kid when she already murdered two others. She began active addiction again for the next four years until her addiction took her life. She went to two rehabs, and was arrested twice nothing would get her sober not even her daughter. After disappearing for a couple days and coming home on my birthday. My wife and I had an argument, and then me and my daughter went to bed and when we woke up the next morning, we left to go to the bank and upon arriving back home, we found my wife, her mother dead on the couch from an overdose! And the last thing I said to her the night before was, I hate you! That is something that I have to carry with me for the rest of my life. And it may sound strange to say this, but her death led me back to Christ. The pain that I went through an experience I prayed for death. I didn’t know what to do but by the grace of God, he sent people into my life to help me get through this terrible tragedy, and now I’m no longer mad at my wife for her addiction and what she did to our family. I do know that it was just pain and drugs and she was trying to heal something that cannot be healed without God in your life. I began to go back to church and seek God. I’ve started volunteering in a ministry to help people in addiction. And when I look back at that always laugh because a few months earlier, I hated people in addiction. I didn’t want anything to do with them. Something now I just want to help them I don’t want people to go through the pain that my wife went through that myself and my daughter have to go through for the rest of our lives because of her addiction! And helping other people in that ministry I met my second wife, my current wife and God has prepared me to help her in her recovery. I have the tools and the knowledge and how to talk to somebody if they are struggling with addiction. My wife and I have now started Lion of Judah New Life Ministries and we are hoping that we can help change lives and restore lives, and bring people back to Christ! Put parents back with their children, God has given me so much in my life and has blessed me tremendously gave me a wife again gave my daughter and mother and I just love him so much and I look forward to seeing what he does in my life and my family‘s life and other lives through this ministry.
Director
Dr Donald Farmer Jr
Hitherto hath Jehovah helped us 1 Samuel 7:12
Director
Mitch Presnell II
1 Peter 2:17 KJV- Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.
Director
April Marie Brown
1 Corinthians 1:27-29 KJV But God hath chosen the foolish things of the workd to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to condound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things wich are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
Our Facilities
We are a newly founded organization targeting a poverty-stricken area in McDowell County, WV. Our vision is to start with men in our facility in West Virginia and, once our Recovery center is repaired in Tazewell County, VA, move our men there and start housing women in our facility in West Virginia. We will provide students with hands-on experience in job skill training, building essential skill sets to become more than conquerors upon graduation. At Lion of Judah New Life Ministries, we want to equip both men and women with valuable trade skills and coping skills through Biblical principles. We want to give students continuous relationship and mentorship even after graduation. We are also in the process of opening a sober living in Hampton, Tennessee. This sober living will provide individuals with accountability and guidance in a faith-based environment while also learning the responsibilities of normal adulthood. If you would like to get involved and help support our mission, we have several ways of doing so. You can volunteer, become a monthly sponsor, or make a one-time love donation. We are also in need of building materials for our men's center. If you have any questions on how to help our mission, please email or call our office at shawnessy@lionofjudahnewlife.org or 423-433-7069.
