The Importance of Healing from “Church Hurt”: Recovery Guidance & Testimony included
Why do we need the church?
The church is a place where people can run to and cry sanctuary. It is a place where people who love God and carry His attributes of serving, like how Jesus served here on earth, are available to those seeking help. The church is here to be a home for believers in Christ to fellowship, hear God’s Word of Truth, receive guidance and prayer, and where you can cry and praise God, our Heavenly Father, with worship. The church is a home that every believer needs as they run their race in life to the finish of eternal life.
But what happens when you have or had a home that “betrayed” you and ran you away with such hurt that it created a wall where you refuse to step into another House of the Lord?
First, before I start with the hams of running away from the church, I want to tell you that God did not hurt you; people did. Please do not live another day in your one given life thinking that the people in the church are God and that you cannot trust Him or that you feel hurt by God by going through your experience because God is all-loving and would not hurt you Himself. Now His children, moved by whatever spirit they allow to rule them at the time, can cause hurt. Sometimes, it is hurt that they are not aware of doing it, and other times, it is them being used and choosing un-Godly actions to hurt you. But just as Jesus said on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34). I will not tell you to go back to the church where people hurt you, nor will I tell you the opposite. Still, I will tell you to forgive them and run to God, knowing that He was not the hurt and pain caused, but He is the Healer of your solution in this time.
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32
And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
Mark 11:25
Harms Of Not Having A Home Church
1. Lack of Community.
- Isolation & Loneliness
Becoming comfortable in isolation is unhealthy. The loneliness from lack of community and just genuine friends can mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically be detrimental to your health overall. I will explain more later about the importance of community but let us focus on what loneliness can do to you alone. Do you feel alone and left out right now? Have you questioned life and the value of life in it? Loneliness has a tricky way of making you question the reality of God’s intended purpose from when He created you. Yes, you can hear from God alone, but that is ONLY if you are spiritually in tune with Him during this time. But if God is not your focus and go-to communicator and presence currently, then who is? Who is keeping you company? Where are your thoughts coming from? It can seem peaceful at the beginning of loneliness, but when you do not have any Joy in your days and find yourself in an unhealthy state, you can see that the lack of community harm has finally sunk into your reality. It does not have to be like that, though. Keep reading, and I will lay out the importance of community and ways to gain an enriching community that can help transform your life.
If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
John 1:6-7
2. No accountability.
Having no accountability is like looking into a mirror to figure out the problem after the Holy Spirit has revealed your issue. Accountability partners help you stay on course and are truthful in telling you what you need to hear rather than what you want to hear. They remind you of that problem in the mirror, help you figure out solutions, and check on you through your healing and recovery process.
3. Spiritual Warfare and attacks (you’re an easy target).
When you lack a community of brothers and sisters walking in the Spirit together, then you are prone to wander into other peers that can have a community of dark spirits, which would then expose you more to demonic lifestyles and have you face a demonic spiritual warfare that you are not ready to fight. Nor could you fight alone. You become an easy target when you lack prayer and fellowship, as well as the Holy Spirit’s Word pouring into you from friends, family, pastors, and a community of believers. Yes, you can still be attacked by spiritual warfare as a believer, but just as God has His Angel army ready on the hillside, so would you need your brothers and sisters prepared to pray and cast out and speak life over you.
4. Weakening Spiritual connection
Have you ever gone through a season where you noticed your lack of the Holy Spirit bringing a feeling to your life due to the distance of your relationship in hard times? For example, I have faced times when I was distracted by pick a thing in my life and lacked prayer, alone time with God, church, and worship. I started feeling anxiety and depression come over me. I assumed it was the stresses of inevitable situations that can occur daily, so Instead of running to my Father, I ran to a substance that could not fulfill me. I grew an addiction to sugar and other foods that I was not used to eating and could not figure out why I was eating poorly when, in the end, the food made me feel sick. Then, one day, I was distraught, talking to God and apologizing for the distance I had created between us through the distractions in my life. I was apologizing because I knew how my life was complete, even in some storms, because of the fire I felt through the Holy Spirit, and I could not believe I had let so much time and distractions pull me away from Life itself. God. I knew at that point I needed to have alone time with God and create a retreat for us just to be me and Him pouring into each other and just being together with no distractions. I knew I needed that retreat to reconnect. (Please know that you should not base your relationship with God on a feeling because sometimes you may not feel Him, but He is still there. I just used my example because I was used to relying on the feeling of God at the time rather than relying on the truth of God and knowing He is still here no matter how I feel.)
The longer you try to live life without God, the more disconnected you will feel from Him. This can also include hearing His voice. The more you ignore His voice and tune Him out, the greater the chance of you tuning out His voice entirely until you cry on your knees, begging to hear from Him again.
Yes, you can still have a relationship with God outside the church, but the church helps through the Holy Spirit to pour out His message rather than through the pastor or other believers. He will always be there when you call on Him if you have found yourself disconnected from Him, but if you are not there yet, do not drift there. Yearn for His Spirit now!
- Disconnect values & Teachings
As I said before, when you are disconnected from God, you will find yourself finding value and becoming easily persuasive to the teachings of the world, adjusting to a lifestyle that God did not create your body and soul for. Submit yourself to God and connect with Him to resist the enemy and his schemes that can devour you. Choose to stay and Live in God, your Heavenly Father’s protection.
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
James 4:7
The Importance Of Having A Church Home
1. Fellowship
There is nothing like living life with other believers of Christ. It may be easy to make friends with anyone, but when you grow a bond with people who love God just as much as you, then the encounters are rich in peace and purity. Every gathering may feel like you, as a believer, can be utterly natural with who you are because your brothers and sisters in Christ can fully understand what you mean and build you up with the Word of Truth in any situation. Fellowship allows you to share life with them and receive honest advice and prayer from them in your time of need.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Acts 2:42
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
2 Corinthians 13:14
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:24–25
2. Accountability
As I said before, you need people who will keep it real with you because, ultimately, they love you so much that they care for your eternal life and will tell you what you need to hear to keep that life you are running the race for. These brothers and sisters hold you to your word, speak life in you, and help steer you in the right direction when you are slightly off from demonic attacks (from anything that can be thrown at you). These people holding you accountable are people you should thank God for even when you have those urges of needing space and freedom to do something worldly. Be kind to the people who approach you about your choices and lifestyle as a follower of Christ because they ultimately love you and care about your salvation.
So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
Romans 14:12
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
James 5:16
3. Contribute Spiritual Gifts
Spiritual gifts are blessings that are meant to be shared with others. Think about it. After walking life with Him and seeing/knowing the truth, Jesus commanded the disciples to go amongst nations, telling people about the Good News known as the Gospel of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. The disciples could have kept that blessed experience to themselves, but it was a command to share the good news.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
Mark 16:15
The blessing of you having such an anointed gift from God is also meant to be shared amongst the nations. You are to be used by God, your Heavenly Father, with your gifts for non-believers, struggling believers, and His chosen people whom He died for overall. If you are blessed to teach, serve, pray, encourage, worship, speak tongues, and dream about things that can guide you and others, you can pray ahead of time with discernment and His timing. You are blessed and used to receiving those gifts so the Holy Spirit can work through you to get, talk, and love the children He needs to reach. Through You! Do not hesitate to keep such gifts for yourself. Your heart’s ultimate desire is that everyone will know the Love of our Heavenly Father the way you do and share the Gospel.
Where does church play into all of this? There are brothers and sisters in the church who are also blessed with spiritual gifts that can help you navigate or grow comfortable using your gifts, and believers who may be a part of your journey using their gifts to tie in with you for confirmation and/or Spiritual encounters for God’s children. There is a high chance of you being used in the church, so in the thinking process of returning to church and having a church home, I hope this helps you decide. Be a part of building the kingdom, sister!
Now, about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Romans 12:6-8
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
1 Corinthians 12:4-7
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 4:10-11
4. Shared Faith & Worship
I cannot express the emotions you can experience in a room with believers who share your love for God. You witness the tears from pain rolling down people’s faces in their healing process and the awe of raw emotion of others pouring out their souls in worship for a Father they love with all their hearts. Being a part of those experiences and seeing/ feeling the atmosphere change when the Holy Spirit is present, with intense heat and radical worship expressed tremendously, is genuinely remarkable. Do you remember that moment from the past before you left the church? Suppose you have not witnessed such a scene. In that case, I’m telling you right now that when you walk into a room seeing it all play out with a set attitude from hurt or just this being a new experience, the Holy Spirt will have a way of coming into your heart from such heavy presence where you will leave feeling like you left a spa or a wilderness retreat leaving everything at the feet of Jesus.
*I want to add that it does not have to be an entire room of people. Even if it is just 2-3 believers present with you, really sensing the Spirit, and in true worship, the Holy Spirit will make His presence evident and work through everyone there, including you.
If you have experienced this, remember the joy and freshness you felt standing with your brothers and sisters. Remember how free you felt being able to worship and share faith with other people. If you have not experienced this, please be sure to venture out on this kind of shared faith worship gathering. I promise you will not regret it. You will leave transformed, wanting more, or at least mindful of the experience you were part of.
I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ.
Philemon 1:6
Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.Psalm 40:5
Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
Colossians 3:16
Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.
Psalm 34:3
“Our faith becomes stronger as we express it; a growing faith is a sharing faith.” — Billy Graham
5. Serving Impact
Today, we live in a society where we wear our emotions loud and clear and expect to be served without so little selfless serving given back to the community. Just as we spoke about our blessings of Spiritual gifts or any other blessing given, serving is a character trait that a believer and Christ follower MUST exhibit when exemplifying Jesus our Lord and Savior. Why? Because Jesus came here to earth to serve people of all kinds and love them so much that He gave His life for them. He walked with disciples, teaching them to humble themselves and serve others.
When God said that He made us in His image, not the image we imagine or that benefits us, but His Word and Truth image, part of it is seen through Jesus’ days on earth, where He SERVED! What are you doing for your community? Who have you served without expecting anything back? How have you been selfless and thoughtful towards other people’s needs and served God’s children?
He has sent someone for you and His children to serve you with your hands and heart open and ready to receive, but have you been that same person to others who need it?
Hear from God, be obedient, and in love, serve! You were made to do it!
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11
And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.
2 Timothy 2:2
Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
1 Peter 5:2-3
6. Spiritual Growth
You cannot be a seed expecting to be a flower or a tree without being adequately planted, watered, exposed to the sun, and loved on. You, the seed, need to be cared for to become what you are destined to be!
This also applies to your Spiritual Walk. You cannot expect to grow into the fullness you were created for when you are not properly cared for. How can you grow without fellowship? How can you grow without mentorship? How can you become you if you are walking your life alone when it is meant to walk with not only God, the Holy Spirit, but His children who are here to be used to build each other up with the Word of God, encouragement, and prayer. To grow, you need someone pouring into you. You need God’s love shown through others who were in God’s will set up to love on you in this time right now!
Who you are in Christ matters and is needed for the Kingdom of Heaven. He created you to know Him, to be loved, and to be used to glorify Him and His good works.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
7. Guidance & Mentorship
Sometimes, we go through life thinking we do not need mentorship because we are rather
- Prideful and stuck in our own ways of thinking.
- We question mentors, wondering how they can be qualified to teach things we already know (the basics).
- Or we question how they can confidently speak on things with zero experience of hardship in comparison to each other’s lives.
Although that can be good reasons for your perspective on not pursuing mentorship, I want to express that maybe not now but in your lowest time of life when you are crying out to God for help because you feel lost and alone, hurt and probably defeated, then I pray that God will give you a desire to reach out to the church and their mentors. Some people like to use mentoring as an everyday guide to navigate life, which is up to them, but in needed times, it is valuable to get a different outlook on life from the perspective guided by the Holy Spirit. I think of it like this. When you have tried in your strength and perspective and have come to this place where you seek help, it might benefit to try a different approach, which is given through God-given serving children. Mentorship provides a grounding approach to your belief system with God, clarity over your values in Christ as a person, helps you gain a more profound connection in your faith through God’s Word and other church service resources, and support and guidance in this journey to a new life worth living in Christ.
*Note: If peers in the church currently hurt you, you may want to seek leaders to help you navigate a healthy approach to settling the matter and having peace and forgiveness. We are accountable to each other in the body in Christ, so seeking guidance on the issue and wanting to settle it with the people who hurt you is beneficial to you growing up in areas where you were uncomfortable and being mature. It is also an advantage to the other party to know their mistakes and have a chance to pray and be transformed after learning the full weight of their actions.
*Even when you find such guidance from mentors, pastors, or priests (of your choosing), please remember to pray for these people daily because, in the end, they are people who face daily trials and temptations. They are not God, so seek God first in EVERYTHING, and then continue to let them be used by God to help you.
As iron sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens another.Proverbs 27:17
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:9
How To Find Your Church Home
1. Be lead (pray)
Prayer is key when you need answers to anything. Allow yourself to create a healthy lifestyle change by establishing a quiet time to talk to God and hear His voice on what He reveals to you in this process. God will direct you, send people to you, and confirm His answer so that you cannot miss the mark He is giving you.
This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you what is best for you,
who directs you in the way you should go.Isaiah 48:17
Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.Proverbs 19:21
In their hearts humans plan their course,
but the Lord establishes their steps.A person’s steps are directed by the Lord.
How then can anyone understand their own way?Proverbs 20:24
Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path.Psalm 119:105
But I trust in you, Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
My times are in your hands;
deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
from those who pursue me.Psalm 31:14-15
The Lord makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the Lord upholds him with his hand.Psalm 37:23-24
2. Be open to engage.
It is typical to attend church for the first time and experience new people from every direction of the church gravitating to you as if their magnetic sensors sensed that there is a new guest in the pew, but even with everyone in your face, which can be intimidating and an overloaded sensory, try to be open and engage with the people. It is one thing for the congregation to come and introduce themselves to you and try to plug you in somewhere in the church, trying to make you feel welcomed, but they can only go so far in their attempts to reach out to you. Try to have a flexible schedule and engage in their events or volunteer services. Pray and ask God to show you where He wants you to serve in the church and reach out to people. If you seek guidance from bible study groups, try out the groups that draw an interest and let the Peace of God reveal where you ought to be.
3. Try out different churches.
There is nothing wrong with trying out different churches. Although I would advise you to pray for discernment and clarity over the churches that you attend.
Some people decide about their home church based on the performance of the service. They need the best live music that sounds good, they need the pastor to sound and look a certain way, and the church has to serve a checklist box of needs that they require from the people, BUT what is wrong with going this route of choosing your church is that you forget to seek the basic needs of, is the Holy Spirit really moving in here? Is the Pastor legitimate and speaking God’s Word rather than his own? Is there a demonic presence in the leaders who everyone is looking up to?
Yes, the performance is nice, especially when they play all your favorite hits, but you are finding a church home that does not only serve you, but you can serve, too. If the music is not getting you but everything else is good, then maybe you were led there to be a part of the choir or band and help in that area. If you did not like Sunday school, you could be called to lead a Sunday school classroom (*eventually, of course). So do not try to base your research on the gratification, “They serve all of my needs in the box.” Find a church where you know God is speaking to you directly, and you can envision a growth and life change there—a church where you are a part of a growing body serving and having pure fellowship.
4. Be patient
I know that you may already wish that you were part of a church family without going through the process of finding it, and I hope that you were already living the “ideal picture” of what your life is supposed to look like in this journey, but everything takes time. So much growth happens in the processing stage, so trust in God’s timing.
Unfortunately, it is not the people who hurt you who suffer when you decide to turn away from the church. It is you. You are impacted and lose out when you let go of the church. Find forgiveness in your heart and return to a home church where it feels like home. Grow and mend relationships with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Serve and let your Spiritual gifts be used how God intended them to be used. Cleanse and be free to where you are, finally living the life that was created for you to live in the first place.
Run to meet her and ask her, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?’”
“Everything is all right,” she said.
2 Kings 4:26
Shalom
Testimony
Growing up in a house where we prayed and shared the faith of believing in God was established in my home, but it was not a lifestyle easily shared amongst others. It was not talked about amongst my age group friends about what religion they followed, let alone the actions of practicing and preaching were not expressed either. Kids saw me read my bible, and now and then, I would ask teachers questions regarding God’s involvement with the lesson plan, but as far as just intentionally praying with friends and telling them about God or church, no.
Entering college, I was taken back at the many organizations that were all about sharing the Gospel and growing faith as well as missions, and I knew I wanted to be a part of that community. Although I was involved, I found it challenging to make real friends I could connect with all around. I questioned God about why it was easier to have good friends who did not believe in God than those in the Christian groups. All I wanted was to experience genuine fellowship and grow a real community with people who loved God just as much as me, whom I could call family and best friends.
During my senior year of college, I finally found my church home. A home that allowed me to leave the organizations that had caused such a church heart that it brought trauma, resentment, and years of bitterness that I had to pray constantly to have a heart of forgiveness. But I found my church home and was moved by the Spirit, so much so that I felt like I was in another dimension of radical faith, allowing me to grow deeper into who God created me to be and who I knew I was from the fire burning inside out. It was a moving experience that I will always cherish, but an experience that suddenly ended without any signs or warnings.
That same senior year, I met a man who God told me would be my husband and we would have kids. Although I heard God tell me that, I was still taken aback because I said to myself that I was not ever going to get married based on the emotions I was feeling about my mother’s grieving process from my Father’s recent death six months prior. I didn’t entertain the man, but suddenly, he kept appearing EVERYWHERE I was, including at conferences in another city. We eventually found out we lived on the same street with the church in between our homes and were just appalled by what God was doing in our lives. We kept God at the center and lived like that until about a year later when we developed actual feelings beyond a friendship level towards each other. It took only one summer for our lives to change. We both were so caught up in ourselves that we did not see the spiritual warfare at hand until we faced the trials and hardships we were not ready to face in our relationship.
We were both a part of the family church and were loved deeply by them, but because we were so caught up in ourselves, we became distant and appeared when it was convenient for us. I remember at one point, my now husband and boyfriend at the time told me about how the church did not like us together, and he started to feel hated by them. Honestly, it became an issue after much resistance at first, and I also started seeing them differently. From my understanding, they knew much of the drama he had faced with the campus organizations and his ex. I guess I got caught up in the drama of being with him that I became annoyed, hurt, betrayed, and angry with the organizations and church only because I didn’t understand why they would not try to reach out to us individually or together when we were wrapped in our sinful nature towards each other.
Because I was hurt by everyone around me and felt like I was one person suddenly betrayed and hated by everyone, I put up a wall against my church family, my boyfriend, and everyone else who I assumed knew the details of such drama and treated me horribly. I completely understood where everyone stood in my life and wanted no part of anyone against me.
Although my defensive skills were great with letting go of betrayal and “evil” people, I soon realized after years of loneliness and emotions of missing my church family that I was the one really missing out. I was missing fellowship and someone to mentor me into the woman I knew I was becoming. I felt empty, and the Holy Spirit grieved because I had zero community, and ways to express the talents that he revealed were to be shared amongst my brothers and sisters. I felt like I lost myself completely. It was interesting to me at first because I had a relationship with God and never knew about the term “fellowship,” let alone had it, yet I was going and living life, which I thought was good. But after experiencing a body of Christ who I can call family and was being used to teach and where I was growing, I was feeling empty from the loss.
My boyfriend at the time became my husband. We have talked about what happened with our church family for years because we still love them and keep up with everyone’s life. Still, it was not until we really talked and during the revelation in year five that I realized that I was utterly wrong and deceived about what happened between the church and me. So my family was invited to the 70-year Jubilee celebration (and let me add, we have visited the church many times before this celebration weekend), but after really hanging out with our church family and being invited to stay longer at our church, parents’ house where others have shown up from our days, I was struck on the way home and told my husband, “I think I felt uncomfortable by certain members because deep down I knew they saw more in me and I failed them when I got caught up in you. Then I felt like everyone knew a lot about you and us, and no one was trying to help guide us or tell me the truth, that I was just hurt.” I realized that I was the one who did not come to my family with the weight of what I was carrying and ask for help; I wanted them to reach out to me on what I assumed they knew about my husband and my sin, which was me putting a lot on them. In the end, because of my guilt and the weight of sin, I lost out on all those years of staying connected with them in a healthy way.
Thankfully, our relationship with our church family was restored in a healthy way, and though we don’t live near our church home, we still call our church our family and attend a few times a year when we can. After my husband and I were healed from, I guess, our own destruction, we opened our hearts to find a new church home where we are located now and started to be a part of the community, serving in any way we can from where our feet are planted.
If you have a testimony after experiencing church hurt, let it end with forgiveness and returning to your church family or having forgiveness and finding a new home with brothers and sisters who love you.
