God's Perfect Plan

Christ gave me purpose that I spent years trying to fill with drugs, money, and work success.

My name is Quentan Tobolka, I get the privilege to serve at Regen as well as my bride Sophia. We have 3 amazing kids, twins that are 5 and our youngest who is 3. I grew up in Dallas where I had a loving family but lots of dysfunction, mostly of my own making. I attended Christian school from kindergarten to 12th grade but was regularly in the principles office and kicked out of two different high schools. This naturally created a lot of strain in my family unit but it was most significantly impacted during my sophomore year of high school when I lost control of my speeding SUV after school one day. I was driving three of my friends home when we went off a bridge near White Rock Lake that tragically killed my best friend, Matt, and seriously injured the rest of us. This accident caused so much pain in Matt’s family, my own family, and many others. I carried this pain around for years and was the catalyst that drove me deep into alcohol and drugs.

This accident enabled me to find a way to resent God which I disguised in atheism. My substance abuse amplified to the point of pancreatitis 4 times from alcohol and a severe heroin addiction all by the age of 22.

Thankfully at the age of 22, in God’s perfect design, I Found sobriety with the help of the state of Colorado’s legal system after committing a spree of felonies. Mercifully I spent no prison time, entered a 30-day rehab, and started attending 12-step meetings. I started a spiritual journey that resulted in me accepting Christ in 2008 in a Denny’s diner while doing step work with my sponsor, Doug. Although I had been baptized at an early age I had always viewed Jesus as an insurance policy and not a mentor, giver of strength, or someone I could have a personal relationship with. This was the first time I truly understood Ephesians 2:8-9:

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.”

I realized that His grace was a gift. I was broken by my sin but realized that regardless of my past that He loved me and had paid the ultimate cost for me.

After sobriety from drugs and alcohol, I still bounced around from sin to sin with one foot in the faith and one foot in sin. There were periods of leading Bible studies, mentoring others with addiction struggles, sharing my testimony of grace while still struggling with lust, porn, and gambling behind closed doors. I was still filled with fear of being fully known assuming that man would cast judgment.

In God’s perfect plan, I met my wife at the dentist's office while restoring my teeth that I had damaged during the dark moments of my heroin addiction several years before. Furthermore, in His perfect plan, we go on our first date on my 4th anniversary of sobriety. We started dating and attending WM young adult ministry called The Porch. A year after our first date we got married and went on a fairy tale honeymoon. Life was great on the surface but we became isolated and avoided getting connected and becoming fully known. 6 months into marriage I hurt my shoulder and get addicted back to drugs and find myself fully addicted again over a period of 5 months. As painful as this time was and watching me cause so much pain to my wife, it was also the most life-changing moment as it started my regeneration journey. God used this relapse as the dynamite to blow down the walls of my pride. I learned in my regen step group what being authentic and vulnerable with other believers looked like and was met with so much grace in ALL areas of my life. I was embraced with so much unconditional love. I was so grateful for the men in that group and specifically Ronnie Johnson, my leader, that lead with authenticity and vulnerability.

After completing regen I started serving in regen. My wife and I got plugged into a community group and started to experience the fruits of living authentically with other believers as I confessed sin regularly and learned how to how to not hide from the “uncomfortable” conversations. From walking alongside hardships with others and through our own hardships with others our faith was strengthened even more. In regen I was given the opportunity to regularly watch God show up and be personally sharpened as I watched couples be reconciled, addictions being brought into the light, and sin being confessed. I am now leading in my 6th regen step group where I am still astonished at the greatness of God, as I watch the fog of sin and depression be lifted as someone fully understands the love of Christ.

Along this journey, my wife and I started having children and moved to Lucas where we jumped in head first to this body, City Bridge. We no longer hung around in the back fearful of becoming known but rather willing to be the first to speak up and steward the story of grace God had entrusted with us. We learned to seek council from others and His word. We watched this modeled faithfully by our leaders in our foundation group, leaders at regen, and participants. I was immersed in various discipleship classes with other members where I was poured into by different faithful leaders on this campus. We forged an authentic community where we confess sin, speak vulnerably about our struggles with addictions, materialism, lust, seeking comfort or purpose from work success, and parenting. Our community group is the place where I feel completely safe to share when I’m getting complacent in my walk with Christ and know they will hold me accountable, pray for me and encourage me. We try to remind one another what our true priorities should be, Loving Others as He has loved us. God has given us numerous opportunities to disciple and care for others in ways that I still am in awe as I look back at where I started.

We starting prioritizing Jesus's mission and have learned the more we pour our lives out for Christ the more satisfying and rewarding our lives have become.