USA (MNN) — Barna Research defines trauma as “an act of extreme violence or abuse, or a near-death experience, that produces intense fear, helplessness, or horror.”
More than one-in-four adults in the United States – including Christians – have experienced a traumatic event. But many churches aren’t a place of healing.
“I think our churches have to start teaching and preaching on this, and how to use faith to combat the fear and lies that the enemy is using to subjugate people,” Dean Vander Mey of Set Free Ministries says.
“Jesus is saying, ‘I’ve come to heal you,’ but the Church has to be prepared to be agents of healing as well.”
Freedom and healing
Often, but not always, traumatic experiences leave people “trapped” in cycles of anger, anxiety, depression, fear, or shame. Jesus offers an escape from these bonds.
(Photo courtesy of RODNAE Productions/Pexels)
Trauma awareness has come a long way in the past decade. Some churches do an excellent job teaching about the healing Christ offers. Others struggle to address trauma and don’t know where to start.
Set Free Ministries exists to help people find freedom and healing through Christ. Often, but not always, traumatic experiences leave people “trapped” in cycles of anger, anxiety, depression, fear, or shame. Jesus offers an escape from these bonds.
“The mission statement of Jesus is Luke 4:18: ‘The spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me. He has anointed me to preach the Good News to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, open the eyes of the blind, and set captives free,’” Vander Mey says.
“Anyone who has been traumatized [and is reading this story], know that [this verse captures] the true heart of God.”
Connect with Set Free here if you need help dealing with trauma.
“We’re helping people from all over the USA. You can go to our website, put in your application for ministry; we do Zoom calls,” Vander Mey says.
If you’re blessed to have good connections in your local church, “call someone you can trust who’s a godly man or woman and say, ‘I have some junk in my trunk I have to get out, and I want to obey the Word,’” Vander Mey says.
“Jesus, in John 14 through 17, kept saying, ‘If you love Me, you will obey Me.’ Obedience to the Word is freedom; ‘you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.’”
Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Susan Wilkinson/Unsplash.
