Jesus’ last words to His disciples, and by extension to the Church, was to make disciples of every nation. It’s a pretty big deal! But sadly, the process of discipleship – whether the making of new disciples or the maturing of existing ones – is so often hampered by unmitigated (unprocessed) grief, heart wounds, and trauma.
Helping people get through grief and heart wounds is not easy, as the writer of Proverbs said, “A person’s thoughts are like water in a deep well, but someone with insight can draw them out” (Prov. 20:5, GNT)
For this reason, Encompass Crisis Response is joining local Charis churches to raise up a corps of grief workers equipped to help people process through their grief – whether in disaster situations or in local church contexts. These grief workers are trained to use a 5-session, Bible-based, and highly-participatory study called Healing the Wounds of the Heart. The goal, however, is to train teams in local churches equipped to use this 5-session course in their church and community.
Encompass Director of Crisis Response Barb Wooler (back row, far right) with others who were certified on April 10 as Training Facilitators for trauma mitigation.
In 2018, 29 people received level-one training in basic trauma mitigation. We are now working towards getting at least five of those through the next level of training by the end of 2019. On April 10, that goal of a corps of 5 trainers came one step closer as the first person from that class of 29 completed level two.
PRAY that at least four more of the original 29 2018-trainees will be able to complete the pre-requisites to continue on to advanced training. The ultimate goal is to have a corps of trainers able to help local churches in grief counseling using the American Bible Society’s bible-based and proven approach practiced in 160+ countries.
Want to learn more about equipping a grief counseling team at your church? Contact us at crisisresponse@encompassworld.org.
