One would expect love, acceptance, and spiritual growth, among many other experiences, in a church community. However, the reality is that even within sacred spaces, hurt and trauma can occur. And said hurt and trauma can cause an aversion to trusting anything that resembles the source of the hurt.
Healing after church hurt is a complex and deeply personal journey. It requires courage, self-reflection, and a willingness to confront pain. By acknowledging the hurt, seeking support, re-evaluating faith, embracing forgiveness, rediscovering community, and embracing transformation, one can embark on a path towards healing and find renewed hope, purpose, and healing beyond the wounds inflicted within the walls of a church. At least, this has been my experience and one I’m still navigating and growing through.
Have you perhaps experienced church hurt? How did you navigate it? Are you still stuck? How is your trust doing?
It’s so important to recognise God’s place amid our hurt. As humans, we’re fallible, but God is not. As humans, we get stuck, but God does not. We need to understand our feelings while navigating our experiences when it comes to church hurt because it can be so easy to write God off because of the actions of our fellow man.
This brings to my mind Psalm 146:3-5 which says:
Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. When his spirit departs, he returns to the ground; on that very day his plans perish. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,
I want to encourage you that navigating and finding hope after church hurt is a journey. It requires us to be vulnerable and willing to have a deep work take place within us. If you need to talk to someone, don’t hesitate to contact our Youth Call Centre.
Written by Kabelo Milton.
The views expressed herein are those of the writer and not I Am Youth.
I Am Youth web radio is the go-to platform for today’s young adults. Our team of young, charismatic influencers is based in South Africa. We produce high-quality content on TikTok social media and YouTube. Our primary goal is to infiltrate the spaces that young people already occupy.
