“I cannot express how I have been helped and blessed by DivorceCare. I am just into my first four weeks, and already I can’t believe the help I have received. My husband of 33 years put a note on the counter and left. My world was shaken. Thankfully, the body of Christ gathered around me, and now that DivorceCare has started up in our church, I feel even greater support. God is with me, and now a group of people who know what I am experiencing and will walk with me through it. I can identify with what is shared on the videos. Knowing that I am not alone and help is there, makes a big difference. Hearing the testimonies of those who have come through it, and made it, brings hope and comfort. – Joann, DivorceCare participant
There was a time when divorce within the church was quite uncommon and carried with it a stigma that left people whose marriages had ended feeling isolated. Much of that has changed as divorce has become more prevalent within the church. Though the divorce rate among Christians is lower, marriages still fail and leave broken people in their wake.
DivorceCare recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. It was born out of a growing need to bring hope and healing, through Christ-centered support, to those whose lives had been upended by separation and divorce. Men and women suffering the fallout from broken marriages needed a safe place to bring their pain, their concerns, their self-doubts.
Steve Grissom and his wife, Cheryl, understood the struggle all too well. Both had been divorced before they married. They wanted to help others walk through the tough times they had faced, so they started a divorcee support group in their home with the blessing of Providence Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, their home church. Each week people gathered for a time of teaching, followed by group discussion and time to talk about everyone’s week.
The group started out small but grew quickly. Before long, it was so large they had outgrown their townhouse and the parking available in their neighborhood. It was time to move their meetings to church.
Steve was spending a great deal of time preparing each week’s lesson, drawing from available materials from a variety of sources. When he began searching for biblically-based materials for those going through divorce and separation, he discovered there were none. He felt compelled by God to create some sort of formal curriculum that would address common concerns created by broken marriages, and it wasn’t just something he would be able to do in his spare time.
Steve and Cheryl were still newlyweds adjusting to their new life together. Cheryl had just left her job to be a stay-at-home mom, which meant some financial adjustments. What would happen if Steve gave up his job, too? Despite his concerns about their financial security, Steve left his job to begin the work God had called him to. Together they followed God’s lead to establish a new ministry: DivorceCare.
Beyond having personally gone through a divorce, Steve knew he wasn’t qualified to address all the concerns without input from professional counselors. So, he recruited a team of experts. Together, they created a video-based church support group to walk participants through the difficult days ahead. Now in its 30th year, DivorceCare has been a lifeline for countless souls touched by separation and divorce.
Each DivorceCare ministry is affiliated with a local church and facilitated by lay leaders. The ministry provides training and support for group leaders so all those involved get the same level of care.
“It was not until I attended DivorceCare at a local church that I began to heal. I give praise to God and DivorceCare for providing me with a life after divorce.” -Thomas, DivorceCare Participant
You can learn more about DivorceCare, starting a ministry through your local church, or tapping into an existing group near you at: www.divorcecare.org.
