Church. We often go there to worship, fellowship, and grow in our relationship with Jesus. But do we go to church when we need healing? Is it the place we recommend when a friend or family member is hurting?

American Bible Society’s Bible-based Trauma Healing Ministry believes every church should be a place where those experiencing trauma can bring their heartache to Jesus and find healing in him. We believe that it’s the role of the church to be equipped and respond to the suffering in its communities.

But churches often struggle to know how to respond to those experiencing trauma. That’s where Bible-based Trauma Healing Ministry can help.

Healing Trauma Using Scripture

A person may become traumatized after experiencing an event or series of events that overwhelm their capacity to cope. Trauma impacts every part of a person—both body and spirit. It also disrupts faith and spiritual connection to God. Many survivors of trauma doubt God’s love for them. They may wonder, “If God loves me, why did he let this happen?”

Bible-based Trauma Healing is a ministry designed to lead traumatized people through a restorative process to heal and restore the brokenness in their hearts and lives. But it takes knowledge and skill to help people who are in pain, without hurting them more. That’s why Trauma Healing Ministry equips and trains churches to become a safe place for people to share their suffering. Using the trauma healing curriculum, trained facilitators help participants talk through their pain, write their own laments, lay their sorrow at the feet of Jesus, and begin the hard work of rebuilding their lives. Throughout this process, hundreds of Scripture passages are used to remind them of God’s love and presence amid their suffering.

And God is healing lives! A recent study spanning 24 countries and nearly 3,000 participants show that just months after completing a trauma healing group, 93 percent reported a significant decrease in trauma symptoms. Praise God, people are experiencing freedom from the pain they’ve been carrying.

Today, we invite you to join us as we pray for God to restore broken lives through the local church.

Let’s Pray Together

Father, thank you for every church in America. We pray that the church will be a place of hope for the hurting, a place that supports and comforts victims of trauma. Let the church rise up in this time to do what Jesus commands: love our neighbors. We also pray that churches will utilize Bible-based Trauma Healing Ministry to help the suffering in their communities restore connection with God, themselves, and others.