John Munch

My name is John Munch, I’m 59 years old and I’m from South Jersey. I’m writing this to tell my story and show how Shall Never Thirst Ministry and Jesus Christ not only changed my life, but saved my life. As I said earlier I am 59 years old and I’ve been putting some type of substance in my body since I was 14 years old. The last 3 ½ years before coming to Shall Never Thirst it was heroin and cocaine by use of needle. I also had a run with opiates in the early 90’s for about 4 years. I’m not going into what other types of drugs I’ve used, but in the 45 years of using I’ve done about every type of drug up until this last run with heroin and cocaine. I’ve always had a good job, with the same company since 1978 where I made good money and could afford my drug use. I lost my job about 3 ½ years ago, after sending me to rehab 7 times. I’ve stolen from my job, which is another reason for them letting me go. I also stole from my family as well as conning them out of money, along stealing from different stores.

Like I stated earlier it’s been 45 years of drug use and addiction, so I am not going to go into every detail of my drug use. What I would like to do is tell you what I’ve given up in my life due to my addiction and drug abuse. I’ll start in 1978 when I got a scholarship to play football for the University of Western Kentucky. I went to school for about 5 weeks and then quit because I wanted to get high and party. I wasn’t interested in putting in the work necessary to keep my scholarship. I came home and started working for the company I spoke of earlier installing natural gas pipelines. At the age of 18 I was making more per hour than most of my friend’s fathers and almost as much as my own father. My drug use continued but it only got worse as I made more money. The drugs become harder and more frequent. I started to fail drug tests at work, they would send me to secular rehabs where I would stay 30-90 days and then come back to work. I would stay clean for a while and then go back to using again. Seven times my company did this for me until this last time when they discovered I was stealing from them.

During this time of my life I met and married my wife, who was a weekend user. After buying our house, she was able to stop her drug use but I could not. This woman was at the time the best thing to come into my life and I chose to give her up for drugs. So far I’ve given up a college education, a very good job, a house, a vacation cottage, and the most loving woman in the world.

In January of 2015 I went to Florida for rehab, completing the program and right after I started using heroin again. This led me to 14 months of homelessness and addiction. I came home to New Jersey and continued to use heroin and cocaine for about a year until I had nowhere to go and came to Shall Never Thirst. When I first came to the ministry I wasn’t planning on staying. I was going to get my weight up, rest, and then get right back out there to chase whatever it was I thought that drugs gave me. But something happened almost immediately. The men I called Jesus freaks the first morning when I woke up, showed me love and genuine concern. I am not talking about the love and concern I was used to, but the love that comes from walking with the Lord. I also saw what they had, they were happy and I wanted that. My Pastor Chuck Miller showed me this same love, he also taught me about the life and ministry of my Savior Jesus Christ and the love He has for me. Chuck introduced me to the Word of God and it saved my life.

On March 23rd 2018 at Calvary Chapel, when the Pastor asked if anyone wanted to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior to stand up I began to feel a chill in my body that started at my feet. At first I thought is was the effects of the heroin withdrawal which I was still feeling, but it didn’t continue to run through my entire body as the withdrawal usually did, the sensation stopped at my heart. At that moment I knew that I had to stand up and nothing was going to stop me from doing just that. So I stood up and accepted Jesus into my heart. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into but I knew that I had to stand up. This past summer I was baptized at one of the Jesus Christ block parties we have in the neighborhoods in Philadelphia. When I came out of the water I felt that sensation again I had felt at church before accepting Jesus. I know it was the Holy Spirit entering my body, the only thing I could do was cry and pray.

Since that time through Bible studies that we do with the ministry and the teachings that my Pastor has given me, I am not the same man I once was before. I genuinely care about people and am concerned about there well being, not because of what I can get from them but because the love that Jesus put in my heart. The love of Jesus has truly changed me. I am now welcomed into my family’s home, the same family that not too long ago I stole from to feed my addiction. This is only possible because they see the heart change in me. With the help of Pastor Chuck I’m able to get my driver’s license back by going to court and taking care of the issues I neglected during my addiction. I’ve recently started working full time, something I haven’t done in a long time. I am no longer the same man I used to be and that is all because of Jesus Christ and Shall Never Thirst Ministries.