Faith leaders and other supporters are not counselors. Pastors, parents, and friends are not responsible for offering emotional counseling; really, they shouldn’t even try because they are not trained to do so. (Please see our website, https://silencebrokennow.org/spiritual-care, for thoughts on the difference between spiritual care and professional counseling.)

But supporters can offer something just as important, something that a counselor cannot offer: reliable fellowship and companionship. Supporters can listen, encourage, and pray with a survivor, and then greet them in church, have coffee and donuts after service, go to a church picnic, and work together on a community service project.

This sort of companionship helps us feel that we are accepted as part of a godly group. We’re all trying to grow in grace together. We are all sinners, saved by grace. We are part of the fellowship of believers and we’re on this spiritual pilgrimage together, “walking up the King’s highway” as the old gospel song says.

Photo by Ravi N Jha on Unsplash.

Thank you for being interested in doing this work. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please email me, any time: Mary.Brown@SilenceBrokenNow.org.