Prophetic voices: Women on the front lines of church and community impact—Lacey Ondracek

Lacey Ondracek integrated her life experiences, love for hurting people, respect for church ministry and professional curiosity during her internship with the Center for Church and Community Impact (C3I) in Baylor University’s Diana R. Garland School of Social Work this academic year.

Ondracek focused on helping congregations understand addiction and recovery, a passion founded upon her own recovery journey. Her year-long internship culminated in an honors thesis and a presentation at a National Association of Christian Social Workers conference. 

But beyond that, the internship helped her build tools she will use across the arc of her ministry. She sharpened her skills in coaching ministers to understand substance use disorder and recovery, as well as how to serve people struggling with those challenges. 

This spring, she completed her Master of Social Work degree in the Garland School after earning an undergraduate degree in social work at Tarleton State University and serving as a bivocational youth pastor alongside her husband, Nate. 

Fellowship Southwest and the Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation collaborated to fund all four C3I internships this year. For Ondracek, it was an eventful season, stacking her social work studies and internship on top of bustling family life that included parenting her daughter and moving forward with the adoptions of two nieces. 

As an intern, Ondracek conducted a nationwide review of church practices and models for ministry to people struggling with substance abuse. She looked at what congregations are doing to support individuals in recovery, the language they use to talk about recovery and addiction, and the outcomes of the ministries.

“Our language—albeit unintentional—such as the words ‘addict’ and ‘alcoholic,’ are harmful,” she said. “If we can start changing our language to reflect the reality that those of us in recovery are new creations in Christ, we can identify with our future by looking ahead, rather than at our past. 

“When I think about being called an  ‘addict,’ I feel ‘othered.’ We are not going to bring about change as congregations if we continue to make people feel ‘othered.’” 

Her literature review and developing expertise encouraged and empowered her to write. “This may sound silly, but for me personally, I’ve been given the opportunity to use research to advocate for (people struggling with addiction) through my writing,” she explained. “The columns I’ve been able to write have been inspired through research and give me a chance to communicate with people and congregations nationwide that I’ve never been able to communicate with before.”

Ondracek also conducted primary research. She interviewed pastors to learn more about their congregations’ relationships to recovery and addiction, what they are doing to serve people in recovery, and what they think needs to be done. 

Then she and C3I colleagues collaborated with the Beauchamp Addiction Recovery Center staff at Baylor. They created and administered a survey to determine what congregational ministries and resources exist for people in recovery in the region. 

“As I minister alongside individuals with substance use disorders in Waco, it seems there are two paths towards a life of healing in recovery—get diagnosed and receive clinical health, or let Jesus help you,” she reported. “I believe the answer is both/and. A lot of people exiting treatment facilities are seeking faith and a safe faith community where they can continue to heal and grow through connection and mindfulness. 

“I want to see churches not afraid to network with and have a relationship with these treatment centers, mental health facilities, counselors and therapists. What better way to reach our communities than to provide safe spaces of connection and support to continue to heal as they orient to life again?”

For example, a church in Houston engages people in recovery practices each week. After the Sunday sermon, people in recovery stay for lunch to discuss the sermon with the pastor, examining the sermon from the lens of recovery, she said. They ask such questions as: “What does this mean for me in recovery? What does this message mean for my life?” 

Healing and recovery take a long time and require systems of support to help people work out their sobriety and allow their brains to heal, she said. “If congregations better understood the science behind addiction and recovery rather than approaching it as a moral failure, they could aid in normalizing and destigmatizing recovery from addiction,” she stressed.

Ondracek learned about C3I when she attended a luncheon for trauma-sensitive churches as an undergraduate, and she was intrigued from the start.

“I was fascinated by the way C3I was able to connect with congregations to do the back-end work of what pastors may not have the time to do,” she said. “C3I digs into the complex issues facing congregations to discover and train them in how to ethically navigate and connect with people in a sensitive way. They do try to look out for the wholeness of the church and community.”

Looking back, she feels gratitude for the experience. “I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to intentionally integrate my faith in my practice through this internship,” she explained. “Something as simple as being able to sit down and look at the research and be able to talk about it from a faith perspective has been meaningful to me.

“C3I has been this space to have conversations around complex issues affecting the church that otherwise would not be talked about. Entities in our communities—mental health facilities, churches, etc.—are siloed and do not trust one another. C3I provides intentional spaces to bridge these worlds together, serving as an advocate for both the church and the social work profession.”