Joel Damiani was having one of the worst nights of his life when the doorbell rang at 10 pm. He was shocked to see three guys from a men’s ministry at Blue Ridge.
Joel had texted one of the men earlier that evening to say he had given his wedding ring back to his wife: “I’m finished.”
After months of separation and fighting, he was done. His wife wasn’t willing to come home, so Joel decided to drink himself to sleep. Just as he took his first sip, Danny Hamilton, Jared Hesse and Christopher Westin showed up.
The guys had been praying for Joel, and felt led to go to his house. They challenged him: Where are you with God? Are you sure you have a relationship with Jesus?
“No, I don’t,” Joel told them.
They walked through what salvation looks like and asked if Joel wanted it. He did. That night, on his living room floor, Joel prayed and surrendered his life to Christ.
Three weeks later, as Joel went on a hike with Danny and his sons, Joel’s wife, Galyn, met with Danny’s wife, Dawn. Galyn also gave her life to Christ.
As Joel and Galyn began to repair their relationship, Danny and Dawn walked with them and encouraged them to attend the men’s ministry Follow and Women’s Bible Study. As Joel and Galyn moved toward God, they also moved toward each other.
“If I hadn't gone to Follow and my wife hadn't gone to Women’s Bible Study, I don't know if we'd still be married,” Joel said.
Follow helped Joel to connect to church in a way that he never had. Actively serving the local fire department, Joel had not been able to come consistently to Blue Ridge in the four years he’d been attending.
“I had always used that as an excuse not to show up to stuff at church. I didn't care about it. I wasn't following Christ at all,” he said. All of that changed when he surrendered his life.
Follow helped him see what it looked like to live out this new life as a Christ follower.
Joel is now a table leader for Follow, which is currently going through the book of Mark. He says he likes the format, which keeps guys at the same table week to week, with the same table leader. There are six guys at his table, and they stay in touch through the week, often by text.
“It's not just the Monday night, it's all week....I’ve had multiple guys texting yesterday and today. It's a lot of community, which guys don't typically do,” he said.
Joel said Follow helped heal his marriage.
“I shared with them my troubles. They confronted me when I wasn't dealing with the hurt properly. There was no judgment, but we prayed through and they followed up … I had all these men around me who cared about me. They cared enough to invest time.”
Men can join the study of Mark at any time. Follow meets Monday nights at 7 p.m. at Blue Ridge.