Information: 7bridgestorecovery.org
There was a time when you didn’t want to run into Dan Wells in a dark alley or even in the light of day. That imposing figure was involved in drugs, illegal guns, money laundering and organized crime. But the man who goes by Pastor 7, an imposing figure in his own right, is an altogether different sort.
For the past 14 years, he has sought out and provided shelter to lost souls living under bridges or women and children fleeing abusive men. Pastor 7 knew Dan Wells because he was him. After he found God in prison, he disowned that fellow, changed his name, and following his release, began ministering to people living in the city’s shadows.
Today his nonprofit, 7 Bridges to Recovery, provides shelter and services for 30 men in southeast Atlanta and 60 women and 46 children at his church and shelter in Smyrna.
“I am driven by love,” Pastor 7 says. “I believe the best in all people, even when I see the bad. I am a God man.”
Q: Why do you call yourself Pastor 7?
A: I prefer just 7. It was on my 60th day in solitary confinement when I fell to my knees and said, 'I don't know who you are but I surrender.' It was God and He radically changed me. He gave me the name 7.
Q: You were abused and started living on the streets when you were just a kid. Was that part of God’s plan?
A: Now that I know who I am, I believe that His hand has always been upon me. I had done more methamphetamine and cocaine than anyone on the face of the Earth and he still kept me alive for a reason. It is phenomenal that He had a purpose for me.
Q: Why did you start 7 Bridges To Recovery?
A: Before I got out of prison, I had a dream that I was feeding the homeless. When I did got out, God told me to go over to “The Bluff,” you know, that area of Atlanta called the “The Lost City of the City” where people go to buy heroin and crack cociane.
He told me to walk the streets and to teach the people about love. Everyone over there called me the crazy bald headed white man with the tattoos and the Fu Manchu.
Then I was driving one night and He said, “Go under the bridges and set the captive free.” I thought, here we go again.
Q: Where do the people you serve come from?
A: We still go over to The Bluff and under the bridges. We also get people through various court systems. I just had a 15-year-old mandated through the juvenile system.
Q: So why are people homeless?
A: A lot of reasons. A lot of people have lost their jobs and can’t pay their bills. Some are the victims of domestic violence and come from other states, running from husbands who are trying to kill them and their children. They have stories that would blow your mind.
Q: How do you support your ministry financially?
A: We go on blind faith. I never know from one day to the next where the money is coming from. Every man and woman and child that we serve is fed and clothed and sheltered. When we get too many donations, we take what we need and give the rest to other ministries.
Q: How do you measure success?
A: I see men and women who have been broken who leave the ministry and start careers. I see them reconcile with their families. I see transformations.
Q: You call yourself a God man but not a religious man. How so?
A: The only book I have ever read in my life is the Bible. But religion is too limiting. You are putting God in a box. I don’t limit Him to anything.
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