A pastoral couple in North Carolina has been using their triumphs over their past addictions to help others accomplish the same freedom they now experience. 

Kyle DeLong was an addict for most of his life, cycling in and out of both prison and rehab until he finally surrendered his life to the Lord in 2006. After gaining his district minister’s license in 2014, he became a youth pastor at Concord Church of the Nazarene in North Carolina. He met a few other people while helping with the Celebrate Recovery program, and together they started Capstone Recovery Center for Women. In addition to serving on the board, Kyle became an instructor on boundaries and relapse prevention with a curriculum he created himself. “Anybody can go to recovery,” Kyle said. “But getting out and walking in recovery, that’s the hard part.” 

Kyle met his wife, Wendy, through Capstone Recovery Center. After she graduated from the program, Wendy started working toward being a counselor and volunteered as a peer support specialist with Capstone. Kyle and Wendy became friends and eventually started dating before getting married in 2018. Wendy currently works in a local recovery center and will finish her bachelor’s in psychology from Trevecca Nazarene University this summer. 

Together they have formed a team that is passionate about recovery and making change last in a person’s life. After Kyle’s father died in August of 2021, they began to convert his house into a “Hope House,” which is a transitional house for women coming out of recovery. 

Now, Kyle pastors both Hickory Church of the Nazarene and Cherryville Church of the Nazarene. He plans to move into the parsonage at Cherryville and turn his current house into a prison re-entry house. Re-entry to society is something Kyle views as a vital area of ministry due to his own experiences and teaches re-entry classes at three different prisons in the area. 

“They know I’ve been down (in prison) several times,” Kyle said. “I think the last time I counted how many times I was incarcerated it was 16. So, they see where I came from and they want to get where I’m at. They tell me, ‘I want to see the Lord do with me what he’s done with you.’” 

Kyle is also a lead sponsor at one of the prisons, and he helped another church member become qualified as well. Because of their designation, they are allowed to check out up to three prisoners who are on good behavior for up to six hours. They bring them to the Hickory church and take them lunch. Kyle said the church loves when the prisoners visit. 

“They are so on fire for God,” Kyle said. 

Kyle and Wendy care deeply about recovery and prisoner re-entry ministry. That’s why they encourage the local church to get involved. 

“Churches will do clothes closets and food pantries, and that’s good,” Kyle said. “But there is a bigger step in the Church in the Nazarene. We are built on missions and compassionate ministry. Helping utilize already existing ministries in the local church to resource ministries like recovery ministries is just another step that churches can take.”