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Abuse is an egregious sin that is far too common in our society—and churches.
Even within the church, abuse has been hidden, unchecked, and often ignored. None of us wants to allow abuse, but what do we do if we don’t know how to help? What can we do to create safe and healthy communities?
Our churches should be the safest places for the vulnerable and the hurting. With the Holcombs’ guidance, your ministry can become a place of healing, protection, and justice.
Why this course?
Safety
Abusers often target churches, manipulating their members with spiritual language and cheap grace. Learn about the policies and practices that will make your community safe for the vulnerable, not for abusers.
Justice
All abuse is sin; most abuse is criminal. The church must prevent abuse and expose it so justice can be done. The Holcombs will give you practical steps for responding to abuse and explain why the most loving thing we can do for abusers is to allow them to feel the full consequences of their sin.
Hope
Abuse is a devastating sin that radically changes a victim’s life. But there are meaningful ways pastors can point abuse survivors to the living hope we have in Christ. This course will help you build a support network of trauma and abuse professionals, pastorally care for abuse survivors, and create a community of hope.
At the end of this course, you will...
Create a suite of policies and procedures that protect your community from abuse.
Learn how to address trauma and point abuse victims to hope and healing.
Discover the various forms of abuse, their clinical definitions, and how to best minister to victims of each.
Learn how to identify, confront, report, and minister to abusers.
Build a network of abuse professionals, trauma experts, and non-profit organizations that can help you safeguard and care for your community.
Included in this course:
Seven 30-minute teaching videos
from Justin and Lindsey Holcomb.
Discussion guides
to guide team conversation or reflect on your own.
21 practical exercises
and a suite of additional resources to help you protect your church and respond to abuse.
Accept God’s calling to create communities that reflect his character in a world where abuse is common.
Discover the clinical definition of abuse and its various forms.
Uncover the practical ways to protect your church from abuse and volunteers and staff from false reporting.
Learn how to identify and guard your family ministry from child abuse.
Discover how you can equip your entire congregation to guard against abuse and care for abuse victims.
Learn to confront abuse, how and when to report abuse, and how to pastorally respond to the abused and abuser in the wake of abuse.
Uncover the complicated effects of trauma and the ways you can serve abuse survivors even if you are not a trauma expert.
Justin and Lindsey Holcomb
Justin and Lindsey Holcomb have co-authored multiple books on abuse and abuse recovery including Is It My Fault?, Rid of My Disgrace, God Made All of Me, and God Made Me in His Image.
Lindsey Holcomb is a former case manager at a sexual assault crisis center and is the cofounder of REST (Real Escape from the Sex Trade).
Dr. Justin Holcomb is the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida, an adjunct professor at Reformed Theological Seminary, and on the board of GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in Christian Environments).
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FAQ
This course is included in your RightNow Pastors+ subscription. Not a subscriber? Click here for more information.
You can use this course on your own or with other leaders at your church. The written curriculum is geared toward group discussion, but it can also be used individually.
In this seven-session series, Justin and Lindsey Holcomb will equip you to identify and respond to abuse and protect your church from abusers.
Yes. This course is only available with a RightNow Pastors+ subscription as part of a RightNow Media account. Click here for more information.
Plan for an hour to an hour and a half to go through each session, especially if you’re going through the content in a group. The videos in this course are all around 30 minutes long, and the discussion questions and activities will likely take up the remainder of your meeting time.
This course is seven sessions long. Feel free to cover the sessions in increments that make the most sense for you and your leadership team. For some, it might work best to go through one session a week; for others, it might be better to cover one session a month. We do not, however, recommend doubling up on sessions in a single meeting. Give yourself space to digest and apply what you will learn.
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