Revelation 12:11 says, "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony."
Luke Bigham
Graduated in 2017
My name is Luke West Bigham and I was born in Tuscaloosa, AL, but my parents divorced when I was 3 years old, so I was raised in Trussville, AL.
I’m currently 32 years old, but I have lived quite a bit of life in those 32 years. When I was 11 years old, I was given the opportunity to play 10 year old Ricky Bobby in the movie Talladega Nights. I’m not blaming this opportunity for my issues with drug addiction, but it did make it a lot easier to get high. A lot of people wanted to party with me growing up because folks thought it was cool to chill with a guy that had been in a movie.
When I was 14 years old, I smoked weed for the first time, even before I had my first cigarette. By the time I was 16, I was getting high every single day and already snorting cocaine. By the time I was 19-20 years old, I found myself getting bad off on crystal meth. Needless to say, I had some serious issues going on and didn’t know what to do.
I stayed high all throughout high school and even into college, where I attended Troy University for 3 semesters. I had gotten so bad off on Ecstasy that I found myself having a mental breakdown and left college.
After I left college, it only got worse. I was arrested time after time after time. Heck, even TMZ picked up some stories on me. I am going to throw this in here that TMZ said I ran my mother over with a dirt bike and pushed her down some stairs, which isn’t even close to being true. Those charges got dropped because I didn’t do either one of those things, but what you will find is when you are in addiction your word doesn’t mean much.
I could spend all day telling you of all the laws that I broke, but this testimony is about what Jesus has done for me.
On September 11, 2015, I went to Restoration Ranch in Tuscumbia, AL, and two days in I was baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire and came up speaking in tongues. That was most definitely the moment where all of my demons left me, and since then I have stayed in the Word of God.
I have now been drug and alcohol free for over 10 years completely because of Jesus Christ. I spent a year at Restoration Ranch, and then I took on what would be by far the greatest thing I have ever done with my life. Bill Murphy, Kevin Collins, Greg Ruggles, and myself pioneered Genesis Mission Bible Training Center, where I spent another full year. I still continue to teach almost every Sunday.
I have been married for 5 years now to a beautiful woman who has been loving Jesus a lot longer then me. While I was doing drugs, she was spending her time in Africa taking care of orphans. So I married up for sure.
I am also the proud father of a 3 year old little girl named Hosanna and a 1 year old named Lazarus. My life is more beautiful today then I have ever known it to be, and it is completely because Jesus saved me and let me sit down at Restoration Ranch and continue ministry at Genesis.
Words don’t begin to define how grateful I am to both of those ministries and to everyone who has been apart of the process of leading me to Jesus. I am truly eternally grateful.
My name is Trent Lesley. I’m 33 years old, married to my beautiful wife, Madison, and we have a happy, healthy 3 year old son named Rafe. From the outside, I had lived a life many people would dream of — a loving family, a strong upbringing, a college degree, a successful career, and opportunities I once prayed for.
I grew up learning the value of hard work. Over time, work became more than something I did — it became where I found my identity. After graduating from mechanical engineering school at The University of Alabama, God opened doors for Madison and me to move to Orlando, where I began working as one of the youngest engineering leaders at Disney.
By the world’s standards, I was becoming successful. The phone calls, meetings, promotions, long hours, and accomplishments all made me feel important. But my character wasn’t keeping pace with my success. My career had become an idol, and I didn’t realize how far I had drifted from the Lord.
In 2019, on a red-eye flight from Houston back to Orlando, I remember suddenly feeling completely empty. I had accomplished so much, but spiritually, I was ice cold. Little by little, stress, fear, anxiety, and pressure began to take over. I started using alcohol to sleep, to numb what I was feeling, and to keep going.
By 2023, my life had completely derailed. I was hospitalized multiple times, went to three inpatient rehabs, and attempted suicide. My wife didn’t know the depth of the alcohol addiction I was battling, and honestly, neither did I until I couldn’t stop. The shame and guilt were suffocating.
On October 7, 2024, my wife reached her limit. She and my son were leaving until I was ready to quit. That moment became a surrender. I called my brother and my cousin, and they took me to Genesis Mission Bible Training Center.
The first week is mostly a blur, but I remember the staff carrying me to my bed because I couldn’t walk. A song was playing over and over: “Your kindness leads to repentance.” I remember lying there, begging Jesus to let me truly fall in love with Him.
It’s impossible to explain everything God did at Genesis. I arrived full of anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, anger, resentment, and bitterness. Today, the peace I have is unlike anything I’ve ever known. It is a peace I protect and guard like my life depends on it. On October 7, joy was the farthest thing from my mind. Today, I wish I could share the joy I have so others could taste it and know that hope is real.
Staying still at Genesis was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Daily, I thought about Jesus staying on the cross. He could have come down, but He chose to stay for us — so I chose to stay for Him.
God was not trying to ruin me. He was rebuilding me.
The staff and teachers at Genesis showed me love and truth in a way I will never forget. They truly are the hands and feet of Jesus. God used them to bring me closer to Him, sharpen me, and expose weaknesses that He now uses to strengthen others.
Since graduating Genesis, the Lord has blessed me with starting a business. My wife and I now serve together at Church of the Highlands in Tuscaloosa, where I’ve had the privilege of helping lead men through Freedom Groups. During my time at Genesis, Madison also began her own journey through Freedom, and God has healed our marriage in ways we never could have imagined.
God restored what was almost broken. He put our marriage back together with Him at the center. He restored the years the locusts had taken — and He continues to do it every day.
My purpose now is simple:
Know God. Make Him known.
— Trent Lesley
Trent Lesley
Graduated in 2025
Dakota Jones
Graduated in 2026
My name is Waylon Dakota Jones. I was born September 1990 in Northport Al.
A lot of my story is different than others; my life was perfect until it wasn’t. I grew up in one of the best family settings anyone could ask for with a living dad and mom, I also had a step dad who loved me and my sister. I lived in Destin, FL every other week with mom, then she met my stepdad who was a big business man and even though he did love us he wanted to buy me and my sister’s love.
I ended up finding my identity in money, no matter how much I had, it never satisfied and was never enough.
As I grew older I made choices that led me down the road of dealing and using drugs. The saying, “It’s a lonely road at the top” is so true especially when Jesus is not at the center and number one. Everything else is lonely and meaningless.
I was raised in the Church of God all my life until I turned 16 then it was all about money, cars, chasing women and partying. The Lord has saved me over and over from that lifestyle I was living; eventually it caught up with me.
I was looking at 15 years in prison and the Lord opened the door for me to be able to come to Genesis last year. Looking back, I know it was the Lord but I was only doing it because I was court ordered and was trying to dodge a prison sentence.
Seeds were planted but they fell on the rocky ground and nothing was able to take root. I ended up leaving after completing the program and within no time at all I had picked up right back where I had left off but this time it was 7 times worse just like the Bible says.
The director at the mission, Bobby, would always call and check on me telling me that I needed to come back and a bed was here waiting on me. I finally ended up making it back to Genesis (barely) it was only by the grace of God I made it back and alive. God has blessed me so much and has spoken to me that even though the world had once overcame me, that the One who overcame the world still wanted me and never left me, I just left Him.
He has taken this broken person who was once ruled by power, money and drugs, and continues to mold me into the child of God he has called me to be, by renewing my heart and mind.
I know the Lord has big plans for me in the Kingdom.
So my word to you is, never give up or think it’s too late, just turn to the Lord.
He is waiting!
My testimony. Where do I even begin?
Well, I’ll go back to the beginning. I grew up in Mississippi — for the first few years, I lived in the Mississippi Delta (just outside of Clarksdale) and when I was 9, we moved to Tupelo. Yes, my parents divorced when I was 13, but I didn’t ever want for anything.
I think what honestly stands out the most as I look back at my childhood was how the enemy was after me from the very beginning. When I was 7, I started struggling with anxiety, which led to excruciating migraines. By the time I reached middle school, my anxiety was out of this world and I reached for anything I could to take it away.
When I was in 7th grade, my locker number was 666. When I was in 8th grade, my lunch number was 666. At the time, I thought it was just random coincidence. But now, looking back, I see it was a warning that the enemy had a plan for my life just as God had a plan. I made straight A’s and Homecoming Court and all the things, but I was most definitely known as the girl that partied the hardest. I had a weird knack for identifying which kids’ parents took pills, and I tended to hang around them because I knew it would put me close to what could numb the pain.
By the time I was 18, I was getting prescribed Adderall and Xanax, and then my sophomore year in college at Mississippi State University I hurt my back doing a P90X workout and got prescribed pain pills from the doctor on campus. That’s when things really took a turn for the worst and I started getting them off the street because 4 a day wasn’t enough.
I turned 22 in rehab, despite saying, “I don’t want a bunch of junkies singing me happy birthday.” After all, I was in college for Psychology to study THEM, not me. Well, six months later, I found myself with a needle in my arm.
I spent years in and out of institutions, but looking back, it was all SO spiritual. (I was actually covered in chills just now as I wrote that.)
Long story short, I ended up at the lowest of lows (spiritually speaking) in the summer of 2022. It was the loneliest I had ever been in my entire life. No, I didn't have a needle in my arm (that chapter ended long ago) but I hated the feeling of existing. That summer, I awakened to the spiritual world around me. Looking back at moments in my life, I knew angels existed or else I wouldn’t be alive today. But demons? Nah. That wasn’t even on my radar until I was tormented by them for days on end and reached out to a friend for help after trying sage and crystals to no avail.
Little did I know, the answer would be the one that was right in front of me all along:
Jesus.
God led me to someone all the way in Cali who told me about spiritual warfare and taught me how much power there was by simply speaking the name of Jesus. I witnessed it firsthand. It was the only thing that made any of the nonsense stop. I’ll never forget laying on the cold hardwood floor looking up at the ceiling at all of the dark energy above me. But this time when I spoke the name of Jesus, not only did it all stop, but I heard an audible voice say, “Be still and know that I am God.”
I instantly got into a posture of surrender for the first real time in my entire life. I said, “Okay, God. We’ve done it my way for far too long. Let’s try yours.”
One step at a time, He led me to the beautiful life that I have now. And one of those steps was Genesis. I remember my first week there thinking that I had lost it and somehow made the wrong choice because it wasn’t one of those 28 day programs where you get fancy chef-cooked meals 3 times a day and horseback riding. My grandfather once said, “You need to build some character,” and it turns out, he was right. Genesis allowed me to do that and to learn more about the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts and all the things that really matter after all. (And when I tell you that place is the most peaceful place I've ever been to, I genuinely mean that. The presence of God covers it and you can feel it the moment you pull into the driveway.)
Being human means I’m not immune to struggle. But now I know where my help comes from. Now, I believe in miracles. Now, I believe there’s power in the tongue. Now, I believe in the power of fasting. Now, I believe in the power of prayer. Now, I know I have the power to overcome anything because the Holy Spirit dwells in me.
I once was so caught up in my identity of being an addict that I lost sight of who I really was in Christ. Now I’m a new creation. I'm married to the love of my life that no doubt was hand-picked for me, we have an 8 month old baby boy, Shiloh Reign — which translates to “Jesus Reign” — and I have the sweetest 9 year old bonus son. We love getting to tell them about the spiritual world around them and the authority they have in Jesus.
I now own my own marketing agency (Aligned Marketing Co.) and even had the honor of making this website. And I know, without a doubt in my mind, this is just the beginning. The best is yet to come. Habbakuk 2:3
Olivia Nelson
Graduated in 2023
Michael Finley
Graduated in 2026
My name is Michael Finley.
Growing up, my grandfather was a fire and brimstone preacher, but my mom rebelled against her Christian values and had me at the age of 17. She soon returned to the Lord and raised me in church, but like my mom, I rebelled too. My rebellion just lasted a lot longer than hers.
At the age of 15, I quit school, moved in with my uncle, and went to work with him in the family bricklaying business. At that time, I began selling marijuana, and in just a few years — five to be exact — I had become a large supplier and was distributing to several counties.
At the age of 21, I was engaged to my soon-to-be wife, and my daughter Lauren was born. A year and a half later, my son Trey was born. I had continued dealing and started feeling the heat of the police watching me, so we packed up and moved to Pell City, where we would live.
I stayed clean and raised our children. We had a good life, or so I thought, but I had become an alcoholic. Over the years, the alcohol got out of control, and my wife divorced me. My family of 17 years was destroyed.
From that point forward, it was drugs, women, more alcohol, and jail. But God saw fit to put a family of angels in my life to bring me back. The Langley family brought me to Genesis and put me on the path to do what I was predestined and called to do — serve my God!
2 Timothy 4:2 says, “Preach the Word and be ready in season and out of season.”