“If drugs are so bad, why do people keep using them?” a middle schooler pondered.

That was just one of the many difficult questions that drug and alcohol prevention speaker Matt Kelley from Livingston, Alabama, heard from students while presenting at local schools last week.

Like most teenagers he started drinking at a young age. At 17 years old he smoked marijuana and cigarettes. By 18 he dabbled with prescription pills. Later he experimented with cocaine, hallucinogenics and acid.

“So, until I was 35, with three busted marriages, broken to the core of anything good, considered suicide but just kept on partying my life away abusing the fore-mentioned activities. Finally on June the 14, 1998, I committed my life to Jesus Christ! He saved me from my addictions and he has been restoring my life ever since!” Kelley recalled.

After getting clean, he worked in detox unit counseling. Around that same time, Kelley started pastoring a church. In 2016 he said, “God gave me a vision of helping teenagers through a preventative program involving the outdoors. To speak in schools using decoys to show what it looks like to be deceived and the results of living deceived. So far, I have spoken in five states, in front of thousands of students with this ministry!”

To this day he has witnessed thousands stand up among their peers and take a pledge to live their lives sober. Kelley frequently travels to speak at men’s ministry events and wild game supper events, like the one that was hosted by New Day Fellowship church in St. Regis on May 5.

With it being Cinco De Mayo attendees were served elk and deer meat tacos, and following Kelley’s hunting and gospel themed message a drawing was held for a new fly rod and a shotgun.

During his presentation Kelley demonstrated numerous hunting calls; duck, goose, turkey, deer, elk, and varmint.

“Isn’t it amazing how each of these calls falsely displays a sound to these animals and convinces ‘em to come right on in," Kelley said. "That’s a lot like addiction.”

Volunteers young and old from New Day Fellowship prepared the dinner event that was well attended by dozens of local residents. Over 24 pounds of elk burger were generously donated by St. Regis resident Dave Carrott. And numbers wise the other impressive count was the nearly 2500 miles Kelley travelled to Montana to share his personal testimony of faith and his mission of drug and alcohol prevention.

In addition to the Wednesday night gathering, Kelley also had the opportunity to speak in both St. Regis and Superior Schools earlier that week.

During his presentation at St. Regis School he said, “Every one of the middle school and high school students stood at the end and took a pledge of sobriety. I know that may not mean everything, but it’s a start.”

In his public declarations Kelley shared his own struggle with addictions that turmoiled his life for over 15 years.

Shaun Ball is the Principal of St. Regis School District, but not only that he is the father of two teenage boys. He expressed, “I feel like drug and alcohol abuse is definitely an important topic to address in our school. Some of our students live in or around addiction, so it is important to teach students to have hope and provide them with the skills necessary to overcome this lifestyle.”

“Matt Kelley did an amazing job making this topic relevant for our kids. He was able to share his experience through addiction and most importantly, share his story of sobriety. His story touched many hearts,” said Ball.

Mostly Kelley has travelled across the southeastern part of the country speaking to middle school and high school students, teaching them to recognize the beginning temptations of substance abuse.

Montana is pretty far from that region so how did he wind up in St. Regis?

Pastor Morris Hill at New Day Fellowship heard about Kelley’s Ministry and asked if he would come to Mineral County and speak at the local schools and at a community event.

As an avid hunter, it was only natural that while in Mineral County, Kelley would venture out and try to bag an animal on his trip. For several days he was turkey hunting in search of a nice tom, one of his favorite pursuits. On Thursday with the help of St. Regis resident Andy Cadman they gobbled one in.

Kelley plans on returning again to St. Regis later this summer. During the first week of August, he’ll be helping New Day Fellowship with a youth and children’s Bible camp as well as an end of Summer party. As he prepared to fly home to Alabama though he expressed, “To leave one thought for the citizens of Mineral County, get proactive in loving the addicted!”

For more information on Equip Ministries, Kelley’s program you can find his page on Facebook and Instagram, or visit his website at https://equiponeministries.org/

The programs slogan is the core purpose he expressed, “Because every teenager is at risk, they all need to hear this message of challenge and encouragement to live sober.”