What is Celebrate Recovery?
Celebrate Recovery (CR) is a ministry focused on bringing the healing power of Jesus Christ to people's hurts, habits and hang-ups using a hot meal, worship, small groups, and the Celebrate Recovery 12-step program. CR is a program everyone! The 12-step recovery process applies to all facets of life that we struggle to surrender to God- from codependency, to overspending; from healing from abusive relationships to healing from growing up with an alcoholic parent; from chemical dependency to battling an eating disorder; from sexual addiction to "I just need someone to talk to"!
St. Pete Vineyard and House of Hope have partnered up to come alongside the community as they heal from all of their hurts, habits and hang-ups.
So, welcome home, we're happy you're here.
St. Pete Vineyard and House of Hope have partnered up to come alongside the community as they heal from all of their hurts, habits and hang-ups.
So, welcome home, we're happy you're here.
CR & COVID-19
*updated 2/1/2021*
Celebrate Recovery St Pete has resumed meeting in-person every Thursday at 7:00pm! We are also continuing to stream online for our most vulnerable that cannot attend physically. The St Pete Vineyard (and by extension Celebrate Recovery) requires masks to be worn when entering, exiting and moving about the building. Once seated and 6ft away from all others outside your household, masks may be removed. We thank you so much for helping to keep our community safe by doing so, and invite you to join our online services if you would prefer not to wear a mask.
Yes, it's true!
A free hot dinner is provided every Thursday at 6:15pm in the SPV Cafe, worship begins at 7:00pm!
We are not currently meeting for small groups, but will let you know the moment that changes, as it is a vital part of the Celebrate Recovery process!
Clink the link below to be taken to the Celebrate Recovery Facebook page where we livestream on Thursdays and post updates each week.
Don't forget to like and follow the page to receive notifications about when we go live!
Much peace and love to you all,
The Celebrate Recovery Team
Celebrate Recovery St Pete has resumed meeting in-person every Thursday at 7:00pm! We are also continuing to stream online for our most vulnerable that cannot attend physically. The St Pete Vineyard (and by extension Celebrate Recovery) requires masks to be worn when entering, exiting and moving about the building. Once seated and 6ft away from all others outside your household, masks may be removed. We thank you so much for helping to keep our community safe by doing so, and invite you to join our online services if you would prefer not to wear a mask.
Yes, it's true!
A free hot dinner is provided every Thursday at 6:15pm in the SPV Cafe, worship begins at 7:00pm!
We are not currently meeting for small groups, but will let you know the moment that changes, as it is a vital part of the Celebrate Recovery process!
Clink the link below to be taken to the Celebrate Recovery Facebook page where we livestream on Thursdays and post updates each week.
Don't forget to like and follow the page to receive notifications about when we go live!
Much peace and love to you all,
The Celebrate Recovery Team
One Step at a Time

Meeting THURSDAYS at 6:15
St Pete Vineyard
5000 10th St N
St. Petersburg, FL 33703
Schedule
6:15pm - A hot meal! Served by House of Hope in the St. Pete
Vineyard Cafe... It's a different meal each week, and always delicious.
7:00pm - Live worship by the St. Pete Vineyard band and guest worship leaders
7:30pm - Lesson or testimony.
7:50pm - Chip ceremony. Chips are coins that we use to
celebrate each time milestone in recovery. This is also your chance to
get a "blue chip" or a "day 1" chip, where the journey to recovery begins!
8:00pm - Break apart for small groups. We have 2 small groups currently: Men's A-Z, and Women's A-Z. See our small group guidelines section for more info!
8:50pm - Pray in small groups.
9:00pm - Head home
Anonymity and confidentiality are BASIC REQUIREMENTS at Celebrate Recovery.
What happens at CR, stays there - What is said at CR, stays there. Please no photos during the service or small groups.
St Pete Vineyard
5000 10th St N
St. Petersburg, FL 33703
Schedule
6:15pm - A hot meal! Served by House of Hope in the St. Pete
Vineyard Cafe... It's a different meal each week, and always delicious.
7:00pm - Live worship by the St. Pete Vineyard band and guest worship leaders
7:30pm - Lesson or testimony.
7:50pm - Chip ceremony. Chips are coins that we use to
celebrate each time milestone in recovery. This is also your chance to
get a "blue chip" or a "day 1" chip, where the journey to recovery begins!
8:00pm - Break apart for small groups. We have 2 small groups currently: Men's A-Z, and Women's A-Z. See our small group guidelines section for more info!
8:50pm - Pray in small groups.
9:00pm - Head home
Anonymity and confidentiality are BASIC REQUIREMENTS at Celebrate Recovery.
What happens at CR, stays there - What is said at CR, stays there. Please no photos during the service or small groups.
The 12-Step Program & FAQ
What are the 12 Steps to recovery?
1. We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. We made a decision to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God.
4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. We humbly asked Him to remove all our shortcomings.
8. We made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. We made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. We continue to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
11. We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us, and power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual experience as the result of these steps, we try to carry this message to others and practice these principles in all our affairs.
What is a 12-step Small Group? 12-step small groups are separate from our Wednesday service. They meet on a different day of the week, and require a 12-week (3 month) commitment to go through the steps with the same group of people. We have sign-ups for these groups quarterly, until then, you can let the leaders know you're interested by signing up at the welcome center for the group you would like to join. Joining a 12-step group is often referred to as "working the program" because its where you can get really into the steps, and walk through them with support and love.
Can I attend a CR without doing the full 12-step program? Yes, but we would love to have you in one! In recovery we recommend you attend as many Celebrate Recovery's as possible because it creates accountability, and keeps Jesus at the center of your vision. You will also see many of the steps, just by attending the lessons.
So how does the Wednesday service tie in to the 12-steps? On Wednesdays we also go through the steps, but in the form of lessons and testimonies. All of the lessons are based on a single step, and the steps are the main talking point of the small groups. The benefit of a 12-step group is that it is the same group leader, the same group members, the same focus, and usually similar hurts/habits/hang-ups being talked about each week... Whereas the Open Small Groups have more variation: guests are welcome to share, the leaders can rotate, and they don't talk about the same hurts/habits/hang-ups each week.
How do I get started at Celebrate Recovery? Come join us on a Wednesday night, and tell a leader it's your first time! We have a fresh meal at 6:15, worship starts at 7:00, then small groups break away at 8:00. Take it one step at a time!
1. We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. We made a decision to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God.
4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. We humbly asked Him to remove all our shortcomings.
8. We made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. We made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. We continue to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
11. We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us, and power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual experience as the result of these steps, we try to carry this message to others and practice these principles in all our affairs.
What is a 12-step Small Group? 12-step small groups are separate from our Wednesday service. They meet on a different day of the week, and require a 12-week (3 month) commitment to go through the steps with the same group of people. We have sign-ups for these groups quarterly, until then, you can let the leaders know you're interested by signing up at the welcome center for the group you would like to join. Joining a 12-step group is often referred to as "working the program" because its where you can get really into the steps, and walk through them with support and love.
Can I attend a CR without doing the full 12-step program? Yes, but we would love to have you in one! In recovery we recommend you attend as many Celebrate Recovery's as possible because it creates accountability, and keeps Jesus at the center of your vision. You will also see many of the steps, just by attending the lessons.
So how does the Wednesday service tie in to the 12-steps? On Wednesdays we also go through the steps, but in the form of lessons and testimonies. All of the lessons are based on a single step, and the steps are the main talking point of the small groups. The benefit of a 12-step group is that it is the same group leader, the same group members, the same focus, and usually similar hurts/habits/hang-ups being talked about each week... Whereas the Open Small Groups have more variation: guests are welcome to share, the leaders can rotate, and they don't talk about the same hurts/habits/hang-ups each week.
How do I get started at Celebrate Recovery? Come join us on a Wednesday night, and tell a leader it's your first time! We have a fresh meal at 6:15, worship starts at 7:00, then small groups break away at 8:00. Take it one step at a time!
The History of Celebrate Recovery
Celebrate Recovery started in 1991 at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. At that time, the church was meeting at a high school gymnasium. John Baker wrote Pastor Rick Warren the “now-famous, concise, 13-page, single-spaced” letter outlining the vision God had given John for Celebrate Recovery. After reading John’s letter, Pastor Rick said, “Great, John — go do it!”
The first night 43 people attended, and Celebrate Recovery was born. Celebrate Recovery is now the number one outreach ministry at Saddleback Church, with over 70 percent of its members now coming from outside the church.
There are now 35,000 Celebrate Recovery churches around the world, and that number continues to grow. So almost 30 years after it was founded, in 2019, St. Pete Vineyard has felt the call to start it's own Celebrate Recovery as a gift to our community! We have officially joined a movement that is bringing the healing power of Jesus Christ to the hurting and broken through working Celebrate Recovery’s open small groups, step studies, and services.
In addition, Celebrate Recovery is not just growing in our church, but in recovery houses, rescue missions, universities, and prisons around the world. It is a program for anyone with a hurt, a habit, or a hang-up, and the world has no shortage of those! New Mexico was the first state to adopt Celebrate Recovery into its state prison system and now has Celebrate Recovery pods in all its state prisons. In August 2004, Celebrate Recovery was announced as California’s state-approved substance abuse program for prisons. This is an exciting and growing outreach opportunity for every Celebrate Recovery.
We are a part of something much larger than our one church’s Celebrate Recovery- We are part of a movement that brings healing into a hurting and broken world.
The first night 43 people attended, and Celebrate Recovery was born. Celebrate Recovery is now the number one outreach ministry at Saddleback Church, with over 70 percent of its members now coming from outside the church.
There are now 35,000 Celebrate Recovery churches around the world, and that number continues to grow. So almost 30 years after it was founded, in 2019, St. Pete Vineyard has felt the call to start it's own Celebrate Recovery as a gift to our community! We have officially joined a movement that is bringing the healing power of Jesus Christ to the hurting and broken through working Celebrate Recovery’s open small groups, step studies, and services.
In addition, Celebrate Recovery is not just growing in our church, but in recovery houses, rescue missions, universities, and prisons around the world. It is a program for anyone with a hurt, a habit, or a hang-up, and the world has no shortage of those! New Mexico was the first state to adopt Celebrate Recovery into its state prison system and now has Celebrate Recovery pods in all its state prisons. In August 2004, Celebrate Recovery was announced as California’s state-approved substance abuse program for prisons. This is an exciting and growing outreach opportunity for every Celebrate Recovery.
We are a part of something much larger than our one church’s Celebrate Recovery- We are part of a movement that brings healing into a hurting and broken world.
Small Group Guidelines
1. Keep your sharing focused on your own thoughts and feelings. Not your spouse’s, someone you’re dating, or your family members’ hurts and hang-ups, but your own. Focusing on yourself will benefit your recovery as well as the ones around you. Stick to “I” or “me” statements, not “you” or “we” statements. Limit your sharing to three to five minutes, so everyone has an opportunity to share — and to ensure that one person does not dominate the group sharing time.
2. There is NO cross-talk. Cross-talk is when two people engage in conversation excluding all others. Each person is free to express his or her feelings without interruptions. Cross-talk is also making distracting comments or questions while someone is sharing. This includes speaking to another member of the group while someone is sharing, or responding to what someone has shared during his or her time of sharing. This creates a safe, open, atmosphere for everyone to speak, and we want to protect that.
3. We are here to support one another, not “fix” one another. This keeps us focused on our own issues. We do not give advice or solve someone’s problem in our time of sharing or offer book referrals or counselor referrals! We are not licensed counselors, psychologists, or therapists, nor are the group members. Celebrate Recovery groups are not designed for this. It is up to the participants to include outside counseling to their program when they’re ready.
4. Anonymity and confidentiality are basic requirements. What is shared in the group stays in the group. The only exception is when someone threatens to injure themselves or others. We are not to share information with our spouses/family/co-workers. This also means not discussing what is shared in the group among group members. This is called gossip. Please be advised, if anyone threatens to hurt themselves or others, the Small Group Leader has the responsibility to report it to the Celebrate Recovery Ministry Leader.
5. Offensive language has no place in a Christ-centered recovery group. Therefore, we ask that you please watch your language. The main issue here is that the Lord’s name is not used inappropriately. We also avoid graphic descriptions. If anyone feels uncomfortable with how explicitly a speaker is sharing regarding his/her behaviors, then you may indicate so by simply raising your hand. The speaker will then respect your boundaries by being less specific in his/her descriptions. This will avoid potential triggers that could cause a person to act out.
2. There is NO cross-talk. Cross-talk is when two people engage in conversation excluding all others. Each person is free to express his or her feelings without interruptions. Cross-talk is also making distracting comments or questions while someone is sharing. This includes speaking to another member of the group while someone is sharing, or responding to what someone has shared during his or her time of sharing. This creates a safe, open, atmosphere for everyone to speak, and we want to protect that.
3. We are here to support one another, not “fix” one another. This keeps us focused on our own issues. We do not give advice or solve someone’s problem in our time of sharing or offer book referrals or counselor referrals! We are not licensed counselors, psychologists, or therapists, nor are the group members. Celebrate Recovery groups are not designed for this. It is up to the participants to include outside counseling to their program when they’re ready.
4. Anonymity and confidentiality are basic requirements. What is shared in the group stays in the group. The only exception is when someone threatens to injure themselves or others. We are not to share information with our spouses/family/co-workers. This also means not discussing what is shared in the group among group members. This is called gossip. Please be advised, if anyone threatens to hurt themselves or others, the Small Group Leader has the responsibility to report it to the Celebrate Recovery Ministry Leader.
5. Offensive language has no place in a Christ-centered recovery group. Therefore, we ask that you please watch your language. The main issue here is that the Lord’s name is not used inappropriately. We also avoid graphic descriptions. If anyone feels uncomfortable with how explicitly a speaker is sharing regarding his/her behaviors, then you may indicate so by simply raising your hand. The speaker will then respect your boundaries by being less specific in his/her descriptions. This will avoid potential triggers that could cause a person to act out.