"I have a passion to help people find freedom (from addiction)," said Rob Weatherholtz, director of discipleship for The Potter's House. "I want to see healed relationships and marriages. We don't just do recovery; we want to inspire the next generation of game changers in society."

Rob gives presentations about the mission of The Potter's House, a nonprofit, Christ-centered ministry that offers a holistic approach to the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of pre-release and post-release prisoners and individuals desiring to overcome addictions, and about his own journey, which he has chronicled in his book, "A Raptured Heart," which was released in March.

"It's a long, long story," said Rob, playfully slapping the book where it lay on the counter in his home at Still Waters Recovery Center, a campus that also includes a group home for Potter's House students. Land for a second group home was recently broken at the site. Rob's story begins in Elizabethtown, where he was the youngest in a family of seven. He describes his childhood as "tumultuous," noting that his father, Robert Weatherholtz Sr., was in and out of his life. After graduating from Elizabethtown Area High School in 1978, Rob worked in construction, learning the roofing trade. He opened his own roofing business, but financial issues with clients eventually caused the business to close. Rob began doing work on modular homes, traveling from Connecticut to South Carolina and only spending a short time each weekend with his wife and three sons. By 2004, he was abusing alcohol and found himself in Lancaster County Prison after being arrested for driving under the influence. It was in the prison that he had an encounter with the Lord and a vision of a healing center for those who had encountered brokenness in their families and addiction. The center would be located on his father's property along the Conestoga River in Brownstown.

In 2005, Rob became a student of The Potter's House in Leola. He restarted his roofing business, hiring Potter's House students to work for him. In 2013, Lloyd Hoover, executive director of The Potter's House, asked him to join the board. Rob eventually became full time on The Potter's House staff, and he sold his roofing business to the organization.

In 2016, when his father died and Rob inherited the property in Brownstown, Rob realized the vision he had while in prison could be accomplished. "All the pieces of the puzzle came together," said Rob. He partnered with The Potter's House to build Still Waters Recovery Center on the site. Land was broken in 2018, and the center opened in 2020.

Rob is now a volunteer chaplain in Lancaster County Prison. "I have a passion for healing and deliverance ... for transformational ministry," said Rob, who is now a licensed pastor.

Rob spent eight hours each Saturday for a year writing "A Raptured Heart." "(It's about) all I went through and what God did," said Rob. "God turns our tests into testimony and our mess into a message." Rob will speak at Village Chapel Mennonite Church, 335 Wissler Road, New Holland, at the 9:30 a.m. service on Sunday, July 31. He also partners with Breakout Ministries, 2400 Anita Court, Leola, for Jesus Advantage, held on Saturdays from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Readers who want to know more about "A Raptured Heart" may visit http://www.arapturedheart.com. Those who wish to speak to Rob may contact him at rob@arapturedheart.com.