(ALGONA, IA) Church-goers in Akron and Sioux City got more than the typical Sunday sermon on February 12, 2012. Chris Buscher is no minister but his inspirational message is touching thousands from the pulpit and beyond.
Chris Buscher turns 25 on February 22, 2012, and he's been through a lot in his life so far. He became a victim of child abuse at just 3 years old and lost all sense of security. So he turned to drugs, spending his teenage years in his hometown of Algona, Iowa, as an addict and dealer. But it wasn't until he hit rock bottom that Chris turned his life around and he credits a higher power.
"I was a guy that was broken beyond repair. And everyone was trying to throw a little life vest or a saving raft but I didn't know how to reach onto it," says Chris Buscher.
Chris Buscher was just 18 years old when he went on a "suicide bender".
"I was taking over 100 pills three times a day, just trying to end my life," says Buscher.
He overdosed on January 23, 2006. His mother rushed him to the hospital in Mason City, Iowa, where doctors told her they couldn't help him.
"I guess my mother, she did what a lot of caring women would do, she started praying. And it was during that comatose state that my life, it changed forever," says Buscher.
Chris says the Holy Spirit came to him and he surrendered, finally at peace.
"For the first time in my life, at almost 19 years old, I knew what it was like to feel loved," says Buscher.
10 days later, Chris left the hospital - his body healed - after a very real brush with death.
One year after his overdose, Chris entered an 18-month addiction program in Colfax, Iowa, called Teen Challenge.
"It just changed my life and the only thing that they did was, I walked in there, they handed me a Bible and they said, it's real, believe it," says Buscher.
He's been sober ever since and spent the past few years traveling around the country studying his calling - mission work. In 2011, Chris started his own ministry - Lay Me Down - and took his message worldwide.
"Went to Brazil, preached in front of thousands of people. It was my first time preaching in front of more than several hundred," says Buscher. "When I preach, I like to let people know, hey, I am definitely anything but better than you. I came from so much lower than most of you and all I am is just a guy that said yes to God."
Chris shares his story of struggle and survival by reaching out to those who will listen.
"You don't have to have some church credential; you don't have to have some ministry credential. Every single one of us are called to impact this world. If God is raising up a 24-year-old ex-drug addict to do it, I think that's kind of a message to the church right now," says Buscher.
His next stop - the Middle East.
"We got about four more crusades in different countries lined," says Buscher.
At the end of March, Chris will travel to Pakistan, preaching in front of 10,000 Muslims every night.
"I try not to plan out more than 5 years of my life and when I do that, I definitely make sure to do it in personal because my ideas and God's ideas are definitely different," says Buscher.
If you'd like to learn more about Chris' mission work, you can check out http://laymedown.org/.
Reported by Erika Thomas. You can contact her at ethomas@kmeg.com.
Friend her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ErikaThomasTV.
