A brand-new program director with Adult and Teen Challenge is releasing new music that shares his story of hope.
Dwayne Ajtay works for Adult and Teen Challenge (ATC) out of Winnipeg. As he releases music, he goes by the stage name 'AJ', which most of his friends know him as.
The Program Director released a single on April 2 called 'Follow You.'
"I've been with ATC since 2009 and it's been an amazing journey. Recently I took on the role of Program Director, it's been about a week now. I'm looking forward to this new adventure, this chapter," says AJ.
On June 13, 2008, AJ walked through the doors of ATC as an addict.
"This song is exactly that. It has a bit of my story, where I was and where I came from, what I was up to at the time, which wasn't good."
AJ says that his family and friends spent years trying to help him get clean to no avail.
"It was only Papa God and the freedom that Jesus offered that really kind of pulled me out of the awful life I was living."
He admits that the reason for coming to ATC was just to get sober, but God had a lot more in store for him.
"I'm hoping it'll have a possible relation to anyone out there listening. Maybe something they've gone through or something they're going through now. On another point, it's just a straight-up worship to God."
Singing is something AJ has done all his life.
"I carried some fear with me for such a long time. Maybe this will help others out there as well. Whether you're thinking, there are so many great singers out there and that you don't add up. I always found a reason why I couldn't put music out there."
Self-doubt has been playing in AJ's mind even as he stepped into the role of Program Director recently.
"There was always parts of me that thought, 'Maybe they'll be somebody better than me' and I carried that attitude for so long. I just don't want to do that anymore. I want to walk in the boldness that God has claimed, His promises. We don't want to let fear make our decisions for us."
This is the reason AJ felt led to put out his music at this time.
He shares the inspiration for it, saying, "I was taking a shower and all of a sudden the lyrics started coming out, I started singing and the melody was there. I just started crying and worshipping God. I thought I need to make this into a song because it's really hitting me."