For the last 23 years, Jarad and Kelly have been involved in connections ministry, small group ministry, and evangelistic ministry. In October of 2021, Jarad started going to a local halfway house in Conway, Arkansas, where he began picking up men and transporting them to church with him on Sunday’s and Wednesday’s. Jarad saw first-hand Jesus radically transforming the lives of men in recovery. Jarad saw men who were once bound by several years of heroin and meth addiction give their hearts and lives to Jesus, who completely set them free.

From October 2021 through August 2023, Jarad continued the halfway house ministry for men in recovery, and eventually started holding clothing drives for men at the same halfway house. Jarad’s heart continually broke for men he met at the halfway house and found himself giving his own shirt off his back and shoes off his feet to men that needed them more than he did.
In August 2023, Jarad was invited to a faith recovery rally in Clarksville, AR, where he went there to educate men and women in recovery on Arkansas’ biggest drug threats, methamphetamine and fentanyl, but instead felt led by the Holy Spirit to see if the men and women there needed to have a “personal encounter” with Jesus. At the direction of the Holy Spirit, Jarad had an altar call, resulting in almost every man and woman in recovery rushing to the front for prayer. It was after Jarad and Kelly prayed for these men and women, they turned to one another and said, “we have to do more for men
and women in recovery.” Before the conference ended, Jarad was asked to baptize 3 men from SOZO Addiction Recovery Center, who wanted to rededicate their lives to Jesus. One of those men was someone Jarad met during his halfway house ministry; Jarad baptized him and 2 other men in a portable baptismal tank set up outside on the sidewalk in front of the high school auditorium. Before the conference was over, Jarad
was met by Link Church lead pastor, David Willis, and associate pastor, Mike Mize, who exchanged phone numbers with Jarad. This encounter eventually led to Jarad and Kelly being voted in as Recovery Pastors at Link Church in Clarksville, AR.
From November 2023 thru November 2024, Jarad and Kelly served as Recovery Pastors at Link church, where they developed and started a Celebrate Recovery (CR) program for men and women in recovery. In March 2024, twenty-nine men and women signed up for CR, but after 10 months, and only 15 session of CR, 1,755 men and women attended CR at Link Church, and 67 men and women gave their heart and lives
to Jesus. Jarad and Kelly had never seen such a move from the Lord; it was a true revival and awakening in a town with a population of only 9,600 people. This was a true testament of what Jesus said in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled; the Holy Spirt moved in a powerful way, and these men and women were living proof of 2nd Corinthians 3:17, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom!”
Jarad and Kelly were amazed at what Jesus was doing in CR at Link Church, but knew God was urging them to pursue a global ministerial vision. God gave Jarad and Kelly a vision of hosting faith and recovery revivals across the world for the recovery community, hosting recovery and restoration retreats for parents who have lost, or walking alongside, kids in addiction, and hosting relaxation and revive retreats for leaders in recovery. Therefore, in September 2024, all the while serving as Recovery Pastors at Link Church, Jarad and Kelly were approved by the State of Arkansas to start
Shackle Free Ministries (SFM), a Domestic Non-Profit ministry. SFM wants to: (1) bridge the gap between the recovery community and the local church to ensure men and women are accepted by the local church to serve, be discipled, and grow their walk in the Lord (2) Break stigma by educating the church on the benefits of a healthy recovery program and (3) Serve and minister to the recovery community, parents affected by addiction, and recovery leaders fighting to save lives during a national overdose epidemic, where 196 Americans are dying every day.