Help Bring Forged Into Jails and Recovery Programs
Turning a painful past into a tool God can use
My name is Randall Richards, and I am writing a Christian men’s discipleship program called Forged: Becoming the Man God Created You to Be.
Forged was born from my own story of addiction, incarceration, brokenness, restored marriage, recovered family, and redemption through Jesus Christ. I know what it feels like to believe you have gone too far, destroyed too much, and become someone God could never use.
But God did not discard me.
He took the raw steel of my past and began forging it into something new.
Today, I serve in jail ministry, teaching men who are battling addiction, shame, anger, broken families, and the consequences of their choices. Many of them believe their worst decisions have permanently defined them. Forged was created to challenge that lie and show them that surrendering their lives to Christ can change not only their future, but the future of their families.
What Is Forged?
Forged uses the process of working steel—fire, the hammer, tempering, sharpening, and surrender to the Blacksmith—to help men understand the work God wants to do in their lives.
The lessons confront subjects such as:
- Taking an honest look at the man in the mirror
- Refusing to use the past as an excuse
- Breaking generational curses
- Accepting consequences without believing they are condemnation
- Remaining faithful while God reshapes your character
- Picking up your cross and following Christ daily
- Becoming the husband, father, and man God created you to be
This is not a message written from a distance. I have lived much of what these men are facing.
I have battled addiction. I have sat in a jail cell. I was incarcerated when my first child was born. My children were removed from our home because of the decisions my wife and I made. I watched my marriage, family, business, and future begin to fall apart.
By the grace of God, that was not the end of our story.
My wife and I became clean. We fought to rebuild our lives and regained custody of our children. Our marriage was restored, our family was reunited, and God gave purpose to the pain we once believed had destroyed us.
Now I want other men to know that they are not beyond the reach of God.
The Mission
My goal is to complete, professionally prepare, print, and distribute Forged materials for men in jails, recovery programs, churches, and other ministries.
I do not want a man’s ability to pay to determine whether he receives this message. I want to place these lessons into the hands of men who may have nothing but time, regret, and a Bible—and show them that God can still build something powerful from the wreckage.
Funds raised through this campaign will help cover:
- Professional editing and preparation of the completed material
- Printing participant workbooks and teaching copies
- Binders, paper, ink, and other classroom supplies
- Distribution to jails, recovery programs, churches, and ministry leaders
- Future development of additional teaching and discipleship resources
- The practical expenses required to expand the reach of the ministry
I will be transparent about how the funds are used and will keep supporters updated as the project progresses.
Why This Matters
When a man surrenders his life to Christ, the impact does not stop with him.
His children may receive a different father.
His wife may receive a different husband.
His community may receive a different neighbor.
The next generation may inherit faith instead of addiction, love instead of anger, and stability instead of chaos.
There are men sitting in jail cells and recovery rooms who believe they are unreachable and unworthy. I know differently because I was once one of them.
If God uses Forged to reach even one man, help restore one family, or bring one soul into His Kingdom, then every painful part of my story will have been worth it.
How You Can Help
First, please pray.
Pray that God keeps this work faithful to His Word. Pray for the men who will receive it. Pray that hardened hearts will become willing hearts and that the message reaches the men who need it most.
If you feel led to give, your donation will help turn this material into something that can be placed directly into the hands of those men.
You can also help by sharing this campaign with churches, pastors, recovery leaders, jail-ministry volunteers, and anyone who believes in the power of redemption.
This is about more than producing a book.
It is about entering the fire with men who think they are beyond saving and pointing them toward the One who can pull them out.
Our past may shape us, scar us, and bring us to places we never believed we would go. But in the hands of God, that same past can become the raw steel He uses to forge us into the men He created us to be.
Thank you for praying, giving, sharing, and standing beside this mission.
Keep your boots dirty and your soul clean.
All glory belongs to God.
The Forged Manuscript Is Complete
I’m excited to share that the complete first manuscript of Forged: Becoming the Man God Created You to Be has now been assembled.
It includes ten chapters, reflection questions, closing prayers, original artwork, an invitation to follow Jesus, resources for men who need support, and the final acknowledgments.
This book began as a burden God placed on my heart for men struggling with addiction, incarceration, anger, shame, and the belief that their past has disqualified them. Today, it is a complete 134-page manuscript.
The next stage is professional editing, final interior formatting, and preparing the book for publication and printing. Every donation helps move Forged closer to the men who need its message—in jails, recovery programs, churches, and homes.
Thank you to everyone who has prayed, donated, encouraged me, or shared this campaign. God has carried this project from raw steel to a finished manuscript, and I believe He is only beginning.
The Master sees the finished product through the raw steel.
All glory to God.
—Randall Richards
