Art Adams is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), and Licensed Clinical Addictions Counselor (LCAC), a Certified Alcohol and Drug Addiction Counselor—Level 4 (CADACIV), a Nationally Certified Parenting Evaluator (NCPE), a Nationally Certified Child Evaluator (NCCE) and Internationally Certified in Addiction Counseling. He holds the four-year certificate of Achievement for Biblical Studies from Florida College, a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Purdue University and a master’s degree in Social Work from Andrews University. He is a member of several honor societies for his GPA standings. Mr. Adams has served as an adjunct professor at Andrews University and Indiana University/Purdue University (IUPUI). Mr. Adams is first a gospel preacher having preached fulltime for seventeen years followed by twenty-two years of part time evangelism. He is from a family of gospel preachers. He currently works with the church of Christ in Plymouth, IN. During his twenty-five years in mental health and addiction, Mr. Adams has served as therapist, clinical director, chief operation officer, JCAHO consultant, Corporate Vice President of Operations, Corporate Addictions/Trauma/Recovery Specialist, board chair for ACP group homes, director of the family program at a residential center for recovering addicted families, Senior Director working with homeless persons, including homeless veterans. He has served on numerous committees including the All Hazards Advisory Board to the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction for Homeland Security. He led a fourteen-county disaster team during the flood disaster in central Indiana in 2002. During hurricane Katrina, he was deputized and deployed by the Governor of Indiana as a “first responder” and honored by a citation from the Mayor of Indianapolis. Mr. Adams was a key player with a central Indiana team that promoted tobacco cessation and changed local laws regarding second hand smoke. He has presented over forty weekend seminars/gospel meetings on addictions in recent years and is in demand for presentations on addictions, mental health and family issues in the church. He is Executive Director for Leaving the Pit Behind, an organization designed to provide mental health and addiction education services to church leaders. Leaving the Pit Behind also provides digital and face to face clinical counseling services to members of the church. Plans are in early stages to build a team of Christians to open a residential treatment center for mental health and addiction issues arising among members of the church. Mr. Adams can be contacted via email at artadams3049@yahoo.com or by texting him at 574-229-7983.

Art will have the topic "Overcoming Addictions" at 11am on June 25, 2019 on the new Athens Bible School campus in Athens, AL.