Train the Trainer

Dear Pastor: There's Something You Should Know

If you are the pastor or spiritual leader of a body of worshippers, here's a domestic abuse statistic you should know:
That's right. If you connect with every fourth person facing you as you preach, you're bound to look into the eyes of someone who needs help escaping or recovering from the violence of domestic abuse.

Staggering statistic isn't it? Or perhaps you're already aware of family violence statistics because members of your flock are knocking on your door for help. If so, you already know that families today are in need of spiritual leaders who have the courage and the knowledge to take on this sin against families.

In too many homes, domestic violence is a family value. Domestic violence is always sin against the family. That it's happening in Christian homes today is undeniable. That too many pastors don't know what to do when confronted with it within their congregation is also undeniable.

What Train the Trainer Does

Train the Trainer is a 2 ½-hour program that trains pastors and lay teams to work with abuse victims and abusers in the church.

Specifically, the training seeks to

• Equip you to recognize domestic abuse
• Support you in counseling the abused person and the abuser (separately)
• Connect you to a network of services that can help you protect and heal the abused person and hold the abuser accountable
  

You'll learn crucial information that could save lives in your church, things like:

• Why domestic violence counseling is not the same as marriage counseling
• Why you never counsel the abused person and the abuser together
• How to help the abused person get restraining orders for her or his protection
• How to decide who stays and who goes (this is about safety, not divorce)
• How pastors sometimes re-abuse the victim, and how you can ensure you do no harm while trying to help

What's Next?

Read our tips for pastoral care of the abused and abusers. Also, please sign up to stay on our e-mail list, and we'll alert you to any Train the Trainer sessions in your area. Would you like us to train you and your staff? Contact us.

What Can I Do to Help?

Prayer breakfasts that bring religious leaders and law enforcement together are regularly scheduled events in virtually every community. They are a tremendous opportunity to focus the work of these two powerful forces on issues of importance to the community they serve. If you know of an upcoming prayer breakfast in your community, please contact us and invite us to speak and set up new Train the Trainer sessions. In this way, we can extend the network of knowledgeable resources available to stop domestic violence in your community.