BECAUSE OF PARTNERS LIKE YOU
WELCOME TO FIREPROOF MINISTRIES
Oh, and we also discovered another thing: the people who make porn need just as much love, grace, and mercy as the people who use it. The problem was huge.
We started way back in 1999 when I started traveling with my best friend all across the United States to speak at youth conferences and camps. The internet was just starting its major boom and more and more people were logging on. Streaming video was years away and the smartphone was still only possible in a sci-fi movie. But still: we began to notice that more and more people were getting caught up in online pornography. The quality wasn’t great (yet), but the availability was there, and it drew these kids like a magnet. That’s why we started XXXchurch.com, to help the people we found who were struggling with porn. But we soon noticed something: it wasn’t just teenagers. It was adults. Of all ages. Singles and marrieds. Dads and moms.
Too huge for one website. So we started expanding. We developed software. We spun off an entire ministry to reach those who work in the sex industry. We figured out how to do small groups online and make them successful. We wrote and released resources for parents. We helped strengthen marriages. And we aren’t stopping anytime soon. In fact, I think we’ve only just begun.
Craig
AT FIREPROOF MINISTRIES... We love and care for you and your family. That may sound a little odd coming from a ministry that deals so much with pornography, but we truly do mean it. We think strong families and strong marriages make the best porn prevention.
We believe in championing people when they make healthy online decisions. We believe in the power of accountability and honesty. We believe in empowering people through in-depth education. We believe in accepting our limitations and seeking information that we lack.
That’s why we have so many signature minisWe offer so many diftries; we believe in using multiple streams of minferent signature minisistry, knowing that they tries because we know that Jesus can be found all feed into the same anywhere, and the more river eventually: the rivways we can offer Him, er of spiritual, emotional, and sexual health. What streams might the more opportunities we have to introthose be? We believe in going to where duce people to Him and His love, grace, the sinners are as well as providing a home mercy, and power. for them to come to.
FIREPROOF HAS SEVEN SIGNATURE MINISTRIES:
XXXCHURCH.COM This is our main site and the one that started it all. We do a lot of things under the umbrella of XXXchurch, including our outreaches to porn trade shows where we interact with both producers and fans, letting them know that Jesus loves them, no matter what. We also post helpful, practical blogs on our site and engage with the world through our social media channels to start conversations for healing and encourage those who want to live porn-free.
X3WATCH.COM Is software that we developed from the ground up that helps people tell better stories with their lives. X3watch encourages users to invite people into their stories and to help them make healthy decisions through accountability and porn prevention. Over 1 million users have downloaded X3watch and made it a part of their online life.
X3GROUPS.COM For many, small groups are an essential part of recovery out of addiction; X3groups provide that vital lifeline, but through an online community that boasts a staggering success rate. There are groups for men, women and spouses. Our X3groups participants are loyal, committed, and dedicated; so much so that many of those who are in a group will, upon graduation, turn around and lead a group. Talk about a lifeline of giving.
X3WORKSHOPS.COM
From losing lust and porn to gaining great sex; from learning to be accountable to understanding the male brain; from pre-marital counseling to parenting strategies, our X3workshops use video and written content to instruct, inform, and inspire on a variety of topics in one online platform.
iPARENT.TV Parenting is hard; technology doesn’t have to be. iParent.TV is a destination site we developed to help parents make informed decisions about what apps, games, websites, and technology they will and will not let their kids use. We provide the information; parents make the decisions they feel are best for their children.
STRIPCHURCH.COM Jesus doesn’t just love porn stars—He also loves strippers. Our StripChurch network serves, teaches, and equips women across the world who share a heart and a calling to reach those in the sex industry. We provide training, resources, and critical networking opportunities so that women can be empowered to share the gospel one-on-one with other women in the sex industry.
STRONGERMARRIAGES.COM Forever is a daily decision, and the health of a marriage has a great impact on husbands and wives, their children, their community, and this world. The healthier a marriage is, the better equipped spouses are to tackle the challenges that life throws their way, which is why Fireproof has put together StrongerMarriages.com. This all-in-one site serves as a hub for advice, tools, and resources from a variety of well-known experts, all in the name of helping married couples strengthen their most important relationship: the one they have with each other.
IT TAKES RESOURCES TO DO ALL THAT WE’RE DOING AND THERE IS MUCH WE DO THAT MOST DO NOT SEE. Take for example the endless phone calls and emails we receive daily. Students who are bombarded with the social norms of the sexual culture they live in today yet have the innate sense that what they are saturated with is not conducive with the life they want to lead and live.
The young woman who calls and says she met us at a porn convention and had no one else to call— she’s been working in the adult film world for years and has no idea how she got here or how she will ever be able to leave and find work apart from the sex industry.
Young girls and women who are filled with shame because sex and porn was always accepted as normal in a man’s world and they have no idea how to talk about their own struggles without fear, shame, embarrassment and pain. Parents who thought their homes were a place of safety only to find their children violated by the images of pornography when visiting a friend’s house, or worse, in their own homes when innocently using the internet for school projects.
These are the countless stories we hear day in and day out. Because of you we are able to answer those calls, to extend compassion, to offer the hope of the gospel with tangible resources whether that be through a phone call, workshops, live accountability groups, a mentoring or X3coaching program, or one of our many other valuable resources. We know that without you, we wouldn’t be here, those resources wouldn’t exist and these people wouldn’t be receiving life-changing help!
Men who have struggled for a lifetime with no real hope for escape, let alone a future of redemption and restoration leaving behind their white-knuckling existence.
You have provided that lifeline. You are the answer to a problem. We value and appreciate you and we are so grateful for your generosity.
A note from a parent: Thank you for speaking to my husband and I about our 11 & 13 year old boys. We are pretty open with them about sex but you pushed my thinking beyond where it had been. I plan to bring up the topics of pornography, sex before and in marriage more often as we see it in our daily lives. A response to a workshop scholarship made possible by donors just like yourself!
A note from someone who worked with a coach through X3coaching “You guys have helped me so much in my battle and struggle. I especially want to thank you for starting the coaching program. I got so much out of it and now that coaching has ended for me I feel so prepared for this battle even that much more. “I was taught by my coach that coaching is very similar to like a personal trainer in a gym. I learned so much from coaching, but most of all I just want you to know that everything that you guys do does really make a huge difference. I never really thought I would see lasting change in my life to be honest, but I now am really seeing real change in my life! I thank God for you guys.” X3groups Testimony “I joined an X3 group at the beginning of the year. I found each meeting very therapeutic. I was not alone--and I was constantly hearing the struggles of others. I began to see the trends and patterns of behaviors that lead to looking at porn. I really feel like I became a ‘porn-addiction expert’ just through listening. Most inspiring was the knowledge that some guys had gone months without looking at porn. ‘Was it possible?’ I thought to myself, ‘Could they really stop--altogether?’ And, to my own amazement, I never looked at porn again. Slowly and steadily the days simply added up. I stuck to my plan, did the confession with my wife, and I never had to say, ‘I looked at porn.’ First it was 21 days, then 40, then 60, 100, then 200! And today is day 260 of sobriety from porn and masturbation for me.”
From a former porn producer/web owner “I was ‘in the trenches’ but I was lured in by the money. I have to admit XXXchurch was what I needed to make the change. As a single parent with limited help, I found the adult internet business to be a quick and easy buck - it kept a roof over our head and food on the table so it was hard to break away. Your website was more of a wake-up call...and helped me get focused. I was never really addicted to pornography, I was addicted to the money that it created. I was contributing to the internet’s underworld and hated myself for it. But I’ve determined I’d rather be poor and living God’s word than be wealthy and living in sin.”
We received an email from a young man (age 20) who has been caught up in porn since he was 12 years old. He wrote: “Last night I just couldn’t resist the temptation to watch porn. Afterwards I ended up watching some programs, and one of them was a documentary about the industry of porn and also the information about XXXchurch. It was such an answer to prayer, and I could never imagine I would find it while practicing this sin. God is so awesome!” As a result of XXXchurch being online, this young man was able to find an abundance of FREE resources that are made available because of you and others who make it possible. The mission is in full gear and we know that this story is just one of thousands currently developing. Please know how much we appreciate your partnership and all that you have given to support our vision and our work.
“Oh my gosh!! You have just brought me to tears. Thank you so much, this has to be the best Christmas present I could have ever been given because this has been such a long struggle and for over a decade I have put off looking for help and had no idea where to turn. I know that this workshop is going to change my world and you have given me back hope for restoring purity. Ironically I am a leader of a ministry and prayer house (taking a sabbatical to get this stuff sorted out in my life). What you do is incredible and just what I needed. A note from a thankful husband who attended a StrongerMarriage event: “My wife and I appreciated the help you have given us. It has opened some wonderful dialog in our marriage for the first time in way too many years.” A note from a sex-worker entering our mentor program: “I feel broken. I feel like because I was in the sex-industry, I have no value, I have no worth. I feel like I won’t be able to get better...like, this is what I deserve, or it’s my ‘fate.’ I’ve lost so many people....so many friends, who don’t understand and who I can’t explain this to. I often tell myself, which I know deep down is not true, that I must be trash, and I will never get out of this hole. Losing my kids destroyed me. I gave in, when I knew I should have fought. How do I go on?...” This is the reality of the condition many girls come to us in. Together with your partnership, this young lady was offered: • pastoral/church referral in her area • professional counseling services • one-on-one mentorship with a female member of our staff for a commitment of one year, with the option to renew based on her participation and growth. • care packages designed specifically for her needs by her mentor. Without you, this would not be possible.
HOW TO DONATE:
• Online - www.fireproofministries.com/donate You have a voice here and can designate where you want your resources to go. • Stocks, Bonds or Properties Contact Jeanette Gross jeanette@fireproofministries.com • Snail Mail Want to send a check, money order or a box of cash? Use the contact mailing address below. Contact: Fireproof Ministries, PO Box 50048, Pasadena CA 91115 (626)628-3387 info@fireproofministries.com