Alcoholics Victorious (AV) is one of the “Christian AA” groups that considers AA to be secular and prefers a more overtly Christian approach to recovery. As their website states, “there is a ‘spiritual’ element in addiction that must be addressed through the true GOD.” Non-Christians or non-believers can attend, provided they “feel compelled to search out the true ‘higher power’ Jesus Christ, attempting to identify Him, to come to know Him, and then to trust Him for healing power.”
AV is an official program of Christians in Recovery, which is a ministry of TechMission, which is a nonprofit organization that operates City Vision College. AV chapters are required to annually renew their charters with the official organization, including forms and fees. Meetings can involve Bible teachings but are not intended to be Bible study groups.
History
Alcoholics Victorious was founded in 1948.
The “True Higher Power”
“Those who have not yet placed their faith in Christ have an opportunity to come to know the true “Higher Power” spoken of in AA, finding an atmosphere of accepting Christian love in which to form a personal relationship with the Lord.”
It’s interesting that the premise of the group isn’t necessarily a meeting space for those who have chosen Jesus as their Higher Power for the Twelve Steps, but those who believe that the Higher Power of AA is Jesus. The term “true higher power” appears multiple times on the site.
“Founded in 1948, Alcoholics Victorious support groups offer a safe environment for people recovering from the effects of alcoholism or drug addiction. We recognize Jesus Christ as our “Higher Power” and gather together to share our experience, faith, strength and hope. AV meetings use the 12 Steps, the Bible and the Alcoholics Victorious Creed.
June 2019 News: Royal CBD is offering 30% off to all Alcoholics Victorious chapter members on their 250mg and 500mg CBD oils using code AV30.”
No, that’s not a mistake. That text about the CBD oil is there because that’s literally on the front page of Alcoholics Victorious. Since it’s from June 2019, I’m willing to bet that it’s probably not an active offer and it’s safe to share without enticing anyone.
My guess as to what happened has to do with this article from July 2019: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cbd-cannabis-christian-book-distributors-weed-marijuana-a9013666.html
Apparently, there was a company called the Christian Book Distributors that went by the acronym CBD and held the domain www.cbd.com
““I was driving my mum down the road recently,” he told the New York Times. “She saw a sign that said ‘CBD sold here.’ I was like, ‘No, mum. That’s not us.’””
Major advertising networks like Google Ads banned cannabis-related ads, which means companies like Royal CBD are far more dependent on search engine optimization (SEO) to appear higher in Google search results. One approach to SEO is to place links to your website on niche high-authority websites. Alcoholics Victorious is a niche community, so the official home page has high authority on the topic. The website owners may have thought that the CBD making them an offer to be paid for a backlink was somehow related to the Christian Book Distributors, especially if the latter or an agency they hired was sneaky about the pitch. It’s plausible that someone not familiar with marijuana might interpret “CBD oils” as some kind of accessory wellness product sold alongside spiritual wellness literature.
Either that, or this is a really, really flexible group.
There’s other things about the website that are strange too. If you’re compulsive about numbers, you may have realized that if AV was founded in 1948, then to be serving needs for 66 years brings us to 2014.
Unfortunately I couldn’t find much material about Alcoholics Victorious out there. It seems to have always remained a niche but enduring group for Christians whose spirituality might come entirely from Biblical teachings.