Spotlight : Centered for life

A love for God and love for people are common threads woven throughout Steve and Debby Temmer’s story. Their dedication to seeing people live in authenticity and freedom through God’s truth has been their life’s work together. After their marriage in 1983, the newlyweds immediately began serving in their local church in Denver, Colorado. In 1994, Steve’s sales job moved him, Debby, and their young daughter to Kansas City, Missouri. Shortly after their move, a friend introduced Steve to Athletes in Action, a Cru Ministry. Still working his sales job, Steve joined Athletes in Action. Debby was committed to serving as well leading women’s Bible studies, in-home group studies, and inner city ministry. It wasn’t long before Debby realized there was a brokenness in people that she wasn’t equipped to help: anxiety, substance abuse, eating disorders, trauma, the list goes on.

Driven by her love for people and her obedience to, as Debby says, “do the next right thing”, she began grad school to complete her master’s degree in clinical counseling. In 1997, the Temmers moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. During their time there, a friend from St. Simons began asking Debby to come minister to the women of St. Simons Community Church at their annual Women’s Retreat at Honey Creek. Busy with grad school, ministry in Cincinnati, and the throes of motherhood, Debby couldn’t make the trip. Finally, in 2005, another invitation was extended, and Debby was able to commit to the 2006 Women’s Retreat. Debby had no way of knowing that just a few months later, Steve would be invited to come on staff with St. Simons Community Church. When they made the trip for the Women’s Retreat, they would arrive on St. Simons in a moving van.

Shortly after the retreat, Debby opened a counseling facility in Brunswick with her first clients being six women from the retreat. In those early days of counseling, the fundamental principle of her work was a desire to see people center their lives around Christ. Debby felt in her spirit that they were not to advertise; God would take care of leading clients to them. In 2013, only by word of mouth, they had completely outgrown the space in Brunswick.

After prayerfully considering what the next step should be, the opportunity arose to purchase a suite on Demere Road on St. Simons. The space was open with no structured rooms - not a conducive space for counseling. Debby, however, had a vision. Scribbled down on a napkin, Debby laid out the design for the contractor. During the construction process, people were invited to come and write prayers and verses on the studs of the rooms. The people who would soon enter these rooms for counseling were already enveloped in prayer. In May 2013, the new location was complete. Debby and Steve, who had transitioned off Community Church staff, both began counseling full-time. Walking the halls of the new not-for-profit Centered for Life, Steve wondered how they would fill this much space. Debby, however, knew her vision would soon outgrow it.

Centered for Life offers all types of faith-based counseling: individual, family, marital, and group counseling. But what makes Centered for Life such a valuable and unique resource to people in our community and nationwide is their intensive trauma counseling including EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitizing and Reprocessing), an integrative psychotherapy approach for treating trauma. The counseling team at Centered for Life has historically counseled 500-550 people per year. In the last year, Centered for Life has counseled more than 800 people totaling 7,200 hours of counseling. Not surprisingly, COVID-19 amplified existing problems prompting many people to reach out for help. Restrictions in 2020 led Centered for Life to launch Telehealth allowing people to receive the care they require both locally and worldwide.

The Centered for Life team is committed to their mission of helping others to heal regardless of their ability to pay. Thanks to generous donations, Centered for Life has been able to donate over one million dollars in services. Most faithful donors are those who have experienced healing themselves at Centered for Life. In 2023, Centered for Life plans to expand into Brunswick making counseling even more accessible for all people. Steve and Debby’s hope is that one day they will work themselves out of a job seeing people everywhere healed, restored, and renewed. Steve firmly believes that every place they’ve been, God has already been there preparing the way. They are only responsible for their own obedience and willingness to do the next right thing.