USA (MNN) — Today is Veteran’s Day in the United States, a national holiday honoring people who served in the military.
(Graphic courtesy of Warriors Set Free)
Army veteran Steve Prince leads Warriors Set Free, a division of Set Free Ministries. Veteran’s Day events allow Prince and his team to connect with fellow vets.
“A perfect day for me would be going to two or three events and finding one to 50 veterans who are hungry to grow in their faith, heal from the past, and win life’s battles,” Prince says.
Veterans gain crucial skills from their military involvement. Unfortunately, some experiences – especially combat – leave veterans with invisible scars.
As noted here, veteran suicide is 50 percent higher than the nonmilitary population. One in 10 veterans deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan has substance abuse problems.
“Veterans carry the trauma of life we all carry. But on top of that, they’ve volunteered to kill our nation’s enemies; to go to war, risk their life, and maybe come home, maybe not,” Prince says.
Christ offers the healing veterans need. However, that healing often lies out of reach at the local church. “It (military experience) separates us” from the general populace, Prince says.
“Veterans will walk into a church, look around and go, ‘Nobody here has any idea of who I am or what I’ve been through, and I can’t connect.’”
That’s where Warriors Set Free comes in. Connect with the ministry here.
“We refer to what we do as freedom ministry, and we use a gift from Neil Anderson called The Steps to Freedom in Christ,” Prince says.
In walking with veterans through Anderson’s seven-step process, “the goal is for them to see their identity in Christ as far more important than their history as a veteran,” he continues.
Then, “they can fit back into the community. They can be godly men and women who, by the way, are phenomenal leaders with unique skill sets.”
Header image courtesy of Warriors Set Free.
