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With increasing frequency,
the issues of divorce are coming to our churches. Few churches
remain unaffected:
Marriages
within the church are breaking up, leaving a trail of hurting
families and congregations that struggle to find the right response.
People
hurting from divorce or separation are showing up at churches,
looking for help and healing from the pain they feel. It may
be the first time they've set foot in a church, or they may
be returning after a long time away.
Response from churches
varies widely, from rejection of those involved in divorce to
effective programs that help in healing and recovery. Often, churches
with a desire to develop a ministry in this area have difficulty
doing so because of the complexity in starting and maintaining
such an endeavor. It is for such churches that the DivorceCare
program was developed.
The
DivorceCare Solution
DivorceCare is a program
designed to equip churches to conduct ongoing ministry to separated
and divorced people. The DivorceCare program features emphasis
on a biblical approach to divorce, separation and related issues
such as reconciliation, remarriage, forgiveness and the effect
of divorce on children and families. DivorceCare emphasizes that
real healing from the intense pain of divorce must begin with
a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
The DivorceCare
program features three key elements:
1. Training of church divorce recovery leaders and
facilitators
2. Videotape and printed teaching materials to address
divorce issues in a biblical context
3. Support group strategies to facilitate an ongoing
ministry to divorced and separated people
The program is designed
to be easy to implement, easy to use. DivorceCare is structured
as a weekly two-hour session which combines teaching and small
group discussion. Materials can be used by as few as five people
meeting in a home or a larger group meeting in the church building.
The DivorceCare program
solves a number of problems inherent in conducting a successful
divorce recovery ministry:
Teaching
It's often difficult
to find a teacher knowledgeable in the areas of separation, divorce
and recovery. Pastors and staff are likely to be too busy to be
able to invest the necessary time to prepare teaching on a weekly
basis, and lay teachers with this expertise are rare.
Great care must be
taken in blending biblical instruction with practical guidance
to create a program that sensitively meets the needs of people
who come to the church for help.
DivorceCare solves
this problem by bringing together some of the foremost experts
on divorce issues in a series of videotapes that take program
participants through a carefully-designed curriculum addressing
their emotional, spiritual and practical needs.
These videotape programs,
averaging 35 minutes in length, combine solid teaching with interviews
and case studies to produce an interesting and compelling television
program.
Format
For a divorce recovery
ministry to be effective, it must be an ongoing program.There
must be a place where a divorced or separated person can get help
right away when he or she turns to the church.
Separated and divorced
people then need sustained support and guidance over a period
of months as they work through the issues, pain and pressures
surrounding them.
The weekly DivorceCare
groups are designed to become an oasis for these people, a place
where they can gain knowledge during the teaching time and where
they can share their feelings with others who are also experiencing
separation and divorce.
The weekly format is
preferable to occasional weekend seminars because it allows this
ongoing support structure for divorced and separated people.
Staffing
Recruiting and maintaining
a qualified leadership team is one of the major challenges of
an effective divorce recovery ministry. It is especially difficult
to find a person qualified to teach on the issues of divorce and
separation.
DivorceCare solves
this problem by providing the teaching segments on videotape.
These high quality tapes feature experts with credibility and
experience in ministry to divorced and separated people.
The videotapes are supported by an interactive workbook for each
program participant.
Each church supplies
facilitators, people with a burden for ministry in this area.
It is typically much easier to recruit qualified facilitators
if teaching is not part of the job requirement.
As the program matures
in a church, program participants who exhibit substantial growth
and healing will be able to assume facilitator roles, creating
a self-perpetuating ministry.
Training
DivorceCare provides
each church with a Leader's Guide notebook, containing detailed
information on how to establish a divorce ministry, recruit leadership,
promote the ministry and effectively coordinate the logistics
of an ongoing ministry. DivorceCare also provides each church
with a special leader-equipping videotape called "Making DivorceCare
Work," designed to be used to train group facilitators and other
local leadership.
Promotion
DivorceCare has produced
a complete package of promotional materials for churches to use
in publicizing the program in their communities.
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