Hurt By The Church

Time and time again, we meet people that previously attended church, but got hurt there and left, only to never again re-connect.

We want Dinner Church to be a place of refuge and restoration, which is why this season we are focusing on formerly church-attending individuals. Our desire is to help these people restore their faith.

To guide them through this process, we do the following:

We show Empathy:

We want to empathize with those who are hurt and use compassion as a bridge.

We listen:

Dr. Diane Langberg, who has spent much of her life studying trauma, says that much of effective therapy can be boiled down to a combination of “talking, tears, and time.” As a leader, our desire is to facilitate healing conversations by asking good questions and listening with empathy.

We pray for discernment:

Usually, we only get to hear one side of the story, the one where an individual has been hurt by the church. This requires discernment because we cannot always side with the individual. Sometimes the church had valid reasons to discipline that person. We ask a lot of questions, praying for God to give us insight and the knowledge needed.

We love:

No matter what the situation is, we continue to love. We are about gaining a brother and not losing one. God’s Word tells us, “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13:6-7).

We believe that with love, broken-hearted individuals can be restored.