SPARKS — The Eagles’ famous song, “Life in the Fast Lane,” could have easily described Keith Stith before turning his life over to Christ.

Stith lived a fast-paced life, one that included racing cars at the ThunderBowl Speedway; one that was riddled with drug and alcohol addictions.

“I was always looking for more than I was experiencing in an effort to lay hold to the emptiness that I was sensing in my own life,” says a more mature Stith. “ ... that’s what drove me to this fast-paced life, searching for what was missing.”

He never expected that on Feb. 9, 1997, he would witness an experience that would forever change all of this.

“I was promoting races at the ThunderBowl Speedway, and I went into my office on a Sunday, and I just had an encounter, or an awareness of an encounter that God had come to the racetrack that day to come visit me,” said Stith. “I realized during this visit or encounter from God what was missing in my life was Him, so I surrendered my life to the Lord, and just as radical and fast-paced as it was before, from that prayer and commitment forward it has been just as fast-paced and radical in the opposite direction.”

From the beginning of this new direction in life, Stith has devoted himself to the House of Grace ministry, a nonprofit men’s rehabilitation center that brings men closer to work while teaching them how to become productive members of society again.

“What I teach these men to do, I know what works because I’ve already been through it,” said Stith. “What worked for me was I developed a relationship with God and put him first instead of putting Keith first, so that’s what I teach these men.”

He began serving the House of Grace Inc. in 2001, when the ministry still received money from the government through a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant for its day-to-day operations.

“We got money one time a month, paid our bills, and we cared for the men, but it was very limited,” said Stith.

In 2008, the grant ended and funds ran out. Stith and other board members were forced to figure out a way to keep serving these men, while at the same time paying to keep the ministry alive.

With the little money that was left, Stith and staff members purchased used furniture and appliances to refurbish and sell out on their front lawn. They also began washing cars inside and out to provide additional funding for the ministry.

“We’ve done so good on furniture and appliances, we’ve been able to expand upon the relationships with those we work with and have continued to expand through the years,” said Stith.

Now, the ministry handles a car wash in Adel, a car wash in Sparks, a thrift store, a full-care lawn service and a new/used appliance center. It even offers handyman services for the surrounding area. On the House of Grace grounds, hundreds of used or slightly damaged stoves, washing machines, grills and other appliances are worked on by men that live at the center for future sales. During the winter, men chop wood to sell to the community.

“These men come from all types of situations, homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction, detoxification centers, federal or state prison and the local county jail,” said Stith. “We try not to focus on how long they stay because then they focus on the time and not for the reason why they’re here. The men that come to us already realize that their lives are out of order and are at a point where they realize they need some help.”

Stith is thankful for the money received by the government during the earlier years, but he is convinced that the ministry is stronger than ever before.

“These men are not bad men and neither was I. They’re men just like me and you. They’ve made some bad choices,” said Stith. “What I do is to teach them to do what worked for me, which is to develop a relationship with God and then surrender totally to His will and be disciplined enough to walk it out.”

The men are required to attend church services on Wednesday and Sunday at the center and to complete daily chores for facility upkeep. A Life Class is also taught each night to help the men learn more about their newfound relationship with God, teaching them how to apply biblical principles to their lives.

Stith describes the problems plaguing men as “an epidemic” and believes the House of Grace offers the kind of structure needed for men getting out of undesirable situations of homelessness, drug addiction or incarceration.

“They can come here, and instead of them being dependent on the government, we can teach them to be dependent on their Creator in a structured environment,” said Stith. “We can help them get their priorities in order and grow in their relationship with God. It’s helping the community in so many different ways, taking these men who don’t even act like citizens, reprogramming them, so to speak, getting them plugged in and productive, and then having them sent back to their respective communities rehabilitated.”

Stith believes his approach to rehabilitation works better than many other programs.

“There’s no pill out there that can fix your life, but if you will go to the One that created you and let Him instruct you on how to live your life, you can be set free from anything,” said Stith. “Putting a Band-Aid on a wound that really needs 60 stitches is not going to work.”

For a man that gives so much to others, Stith now finds himself at the mercy of others. On Tuesday, May 10, veins ruptured in his neck and he nearly bled to death. After being rushed to South Georgia Medical Center, he learned that his platelet count was 13,000; a normal count would be 350,000 to 500,000.

Test results confirmed that his liver was severely scarred and that he would need a complete liver transplant.

Friends and family from the community have begun working together to raise money to save the man that has saved so many others. A separate account has been opened at Commercial Banking Company, titled Mission Account for Keith’s Liver Transplant.

Stith states that he is uninsurable due to the his liver condition and is ineligible for government medical programs. He needs between $350,000 and $500,000 to pay for the liver transplant.

“A lot of people live and die and never know what they want to be when they grow up,” said Stith. “The best part of what I do is I know that I’m in the center of what God put me on the earth to do right now. There’s a lot of peace in that and a lot of satisfaction when you help somebody turn their life around. I’d do it for nothing, in fact I did do it for nothing for a number of years.”





• Call the House of Grace at (229) 549-6744 to learn more about the center and to support Keith Stith’s liver transplant campaign.

On the web: www.thehouseofgracega.org.