Our History

Since the 18th century, The United Methodist Church and its predecessor denominations have a long legacy of healing ministries and championing efforts to address substance abuse issues. As early as the 1916 General Conference, the Methodist Episcopal Church created the Board of Temperance, Prohibition, and Public Morals to be a social witness and lead advocacy efforts against the excessive use of alcohol and other drugs. The Board of Temperence advocated to the powerful halls of U.S. Congress about the dangers of alcohol and related issues during the early 20th century, and that strong tradition continues today as the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society (GBCS).

With the international flow of illegal drugs into the United States at an all-time height and drug-related violence on the rise, in 1990 the episcopacy of the United Methodist Church asked the question: "Where is the Church and what is its role in drugs and drug-related violence?" That year, the Council of Bishops launched the Bishops’ Initiative on Drugs and Drug Violence. For two years, Bishop Felton Edwin May (now retired) directed a team of United Methodist leaders in examining the drug and alcohol situation in the United States. Church leaders conducted research, met with experts, and gained a firsthand view of the dramatic impact of substance abuse on communities in the United States.

The Council of Bishops’ report findings revealed that alcohol and other drugs were wreaking havoc in the lives of individuals, their families, and communities. In response, the 1992 General Conference, the denomination’s top legislative body, enacted the Special Program on Substance Abuse and Related Violence (SPSARV) to respond "in a cooperative effort" to the drug crisis on a national and international level. Under the leadership of the Council of Bishops, SPSARV was launched to offer resources on alcohol and other drugs denomination-wide in collaboration with the general boards of Global Ministries, Church and Society, Discipleship, and Higher Education and Ministry, and the General Commission of Religion and Race. The General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) houses and administers SPSARV.

During its first quadrennium, SPSARV waged a spiritual war against drugs and drug-related violence while working with United Methodist leadership in the U.S. and Europe. The 1996 General Conference reaffirmed SPSARV, making this ministry an ongoing initiative of the denomination.

Since the 1996 General Conference reaffirmed SPSARV, each General Conference leading up to 2008 has approved the ministry, solidifying the denomination’s commitment spanning four centuries to addressing substance abuse and related violence.  To date, outreach efforts to foster ministry and advocacy responses and deliver key resources to United Methodists and ecumenical partners have significantly expanded throughout the U.S., Europe and Africa. SPSARV continues to expand its programming throughout the United Methodist connection system.