Life, Family, and Purpose Restored: Mike Jone’s Story

His brother, a Superior Court judge, kept an aluminum bat by the door in case Mike showed up. You’d never know it to see him today, but Mike was a 16-year meth addict with a history of violence.

Mike watched his siblings go through college and some to law school. He felt he just couldn’t measure up and turned to drugs to feel different. At first it looked like fun—but in reality, it was a disaster.

The youngest of seven children, Mike’s addiction engulfed everyone in his family. His behavior spun out of control as meth took over his life. Stealing, jail, homelessness. These defined his life. The violence led to restraining orders, and his family moved from Chino to Fresno in an attempt to leave Mike behind. But a month later he showed up in Fresno.

Though his family never stopped caring about him and praying for him, they also worried about their own safety. So a baseball bat stood next to the front door, and Mike was told, “Don’t come back.”

A friend had recently told his mom about Teen Challenge, and she mentioned it, then told him to read Psalm 91. Less than a week later, he had a bed at San Diego Teen Challenge. When he graduated a year later he went on to the Teen Challenge Ministry Institute.

Mike is the Assistant Director at Central Valley Teen Challenge today. Two of his brothers, both of them Fresno Superior Court judges, watched the dramatic turnaround Mike made at Teen Challenge and now keep an eye open for others in their courtrooms who might need Teen Challenge. As one brother tells them, “If my brother can change, so can you!”

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