MANSFIELD — Joe Nichols is far from a typical pastor. His path to the ministry has been long and rocky. Incarceration, teenage pregnancy and addiction are all a part of his story.
But God’s grace overcame every obstacle.
“Anybody can change,” Nichols said. “Sometimes you have to move a lot of dirt to find a piece of gold, but I believe that that’s in everybody. Everybody has gold in them.”
Joe and his wife Amanda are the founders of Project One, a faith-based ministry that seeks to support those recovering from addiction.
Project One began in 2014 by holding street recovery events and Recovery Road services, a faith-based 12 step meeting, at their family church.
Last summer, the couple purchased their own building in downtown Mansfield. The ARC Empowerment Center at 378 Park Avenue West serves as a home for Project One and other like-minded ministries to collaborate.
“It’s multiple ministries coming together and multiple churches coming together,” she said. “The vision really is just to empower people.”
“The odds were stacked against us.”
The Nichols have been together since the eighth grade, but their story is far from an idyllic fairy tale.
Both grew up in single-parent homes. His family was well known in the area for drug use and criminal activity. The couple met shortly after Nichols was released from juvenile detention.
“I think we looked at ourselves as rescuing each other because our family lives weren’t the best lives,” Amanda said.
Amanda got pregnant in the 9th grade and had their first daughter at 16. Another daughter followed five years later.
Joe and Amanda stayed together, but things weren’t easy. She worked dead-end jobs while he supported his family by selling drugs.
“When I turned 18, my mom went to prison. She was the only parent so I had to do something,” he said. “The only thing I knew how to do was deal drugs.”
Amanda became a Christian shortly after the birth of their second daughter. Joe continued dealing and using.
“I was really addicted to fentanyl, Percocet and oxycontin,” he said. “I had my bouts with cocaine, crack, marijuana my whole life.
“I was a full-blown alcoholic when I was a teenager. If you can name it, I probably done it.”
Amanda prayed for 10 years that her husband would come to Christ. When addiction nearly took his life, he finally relented.
“I wasn’t saved. I didn’t plan on getting saved. But she was gonna pray until something happened,” he said. “It got really bad there right before I got saved. It was either change my life or die, pretty much.”
Joe spent three days in a detox facility and quit cold turkey.
“It was 73 days later before I could sleep for an eight-hour stint,” he said. “Opiate withdrawal, it’s like the flu 10 times over.”
Meanwhile, the family faced other challenges. Their daughters rolled their car, but miraculously no one was injured.
A house fire took everything but the family’s two-car garage. They didn’t have home insurance, so the family of four spent 10 months in a one-bedroom efficiency apartment.
“You know, I’m supposed to be bettering my life. But hell is unleashing its power on me here now, what am I supposed to do?” Joe recalled thinking.
Nevertheless, Joe earnestly sought God in his newfound faith. It was a hard time, but the family also described it as a season of miracles. Forced together in close quarters, they found reconciliation and healing.
And then the Mennonites arrived.
“A Mennonite community church got ahold of us, they heard about our story,” Joe said. “They came out to our property. Long story short, they said, ‘We want to clean this up for you.’ And I said, ‘OK, that’s fine, thank you.’”
After cleaning up the property, the group asked to meet with Joe again. They offered to build the Nichols a new house for free.
“Every light switch was provided, every light bulb, every fixture,” Joe said. “We still live there to this day.”
Giving back
After receiving those blessings, the Nichols began asking God how they could give back. The phrase “Project One” began ringing in their minds.
In 2014, they founded Project One and began partnering with other agencies to offer services and street ministry focused on addiction recovery. They also founded a 24-hour hotline that refers callers to mental health and addiction services in the community.
Joe Trolian, executive director of the Richland County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board, said the Nichols are effective advocates because of their lived experience.
“That kind of on-the-ground advocacy really helps get people pointed in the right direction,” he said. “We have a lot of treatment options here in Richland county, but it takes the advocate relating to folks. Because they have their own personal stories, they’re able to relate to them on a level that a practitioner can’t.”
“I just want to people to know that no matter where they’re at in their life, it can be different. But on top of that, there’s still people out here that will love you through that and that’s what’s most important.”
The Nichols wanted to grow their ministry further, but without a building of their own, their opportunities were limited.
A few years later, another phrase began surfacing in the Nichols’ minds — “rebuild the ancient ruins.”
The phrase appears twice in the book of Isaiah, in chapters that talk about God’s gracious restoration and the call for his people to help the poor and oppressed.
In June 2020, it took on a more literal meaning. The Nichols took a leap of faith and purchased a massive old church in the heart of downtown Mansfield.
“It felt like the Lord was calling us in here,” Amanda said.
The building had fallen into disrepair. The sanctuary, big enough for a crowd of 1,500, sat empty for almost two decades as the congregation dwindled. Mice had nested in stacks of old furniture. Part of the lower level had flooded.
The Nichols and other volunteers have done a lot to spruce up the old building — from cleaning to painting and installing new floors. Now it’s a hub for organizations that help others.
Addy’s Attic is a thrift store whose earnings benefit the homeless.
Rubies Women’s Group helps female sex trafficking victims and women recovering from addiction with housing, employment and mental health.
“They have really brought the community together,” Rubies Founder Candace Williams said.
Project One now hosts Empowerment Services at the ARC building on Thursday and Sunday nights.
The services are designed to be a judgement-free space for anyone and everyone — including people struggling with addiction and those who have never set foot in church.
“I’m a grace guy ‘cause that’s who Jesus was,’ ” Joe said. “People call me ‘Pastor’ but my vision has always been ‘We’re all the same.’ I don’t need no title. I’m just here to grow with you.”
Despite hundreds of hours and tens of thousands of dollars spent, restoring the ARC Empowerment Center building is an ongoing process. Guests still wear coats inside the sanctuary during winter services. Rain continues dripping in from a hole in the sanctuary roof.
Project One is hosting a Rebuilding the Ancient Ruins fundraiser on Nov. 13 in order to keep the building running.
They hope to raise $500,000 to replace the building’s roof, heating and cooling and update the electric system.
The event will take place at the ARC Empowerment Center from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and include music, hors d’oeuvres and light refreshments.
Since founding Project One, the Nichols have seen transformation in the lives of those they serve. People have been baptized and given their lives to Christ. Some have gotten off the streets, enrolled in college or gained employment. Others have reconciled with their families. Some have even become preachers.
“There’s a lot of sad stories; you can’t save everybody,” Joe said. “But there’s those ones that really get it and their lives have changed.”
“I just want to people to know that no matter where they’re at in their life, it can be different,” he added. “But on top of that, there’s still people out here that will love you through that and that’s what’s most important.”
