FollowWhen I was a young child, I lived in a 100-year-old house that had a large, dark basement with a huge furnace. In the far corner, there was a room where the early homeowners stored coal for the furnace. It was a dark, wet, drafty, and terrifying room with no windows and a large, heavy door. My brothers would dare me to descend the long flight of stairs without a flashlight, through the basement, around the old, noisy furnace, and into the coal room, and stay there as long as I could.
It was terrifying! There were other times when I’d venture into this coal room, but with a flashlight — and while it was still scary, it wasn’t nearly as terrifying. Shining a light made all the difference!
In a few weeks, we will begin shining a light into what most people consider to be a very dark, lonely, and terrifying room. We will begin dealing with the issue of sexual abuse. For many women and men, sexual abuse has been a horrifying part of their lives and they’ve never told anyone. It is a reality they keep hidden behind thick walls of guilt and shame. It has sabotaged their walk with Jesus, their marriages and many other relationships.
On April 21, from 9:30 a.m. to noon, Elim will host our first Hope & Healing seminar, called “Beginning Conversations.” We will take a careful look at the scope of sexual abuse in our culture.
Then on Friday evening, May 4 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. and Saturday, May 5 from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Elim will host an “Intensive Workshop” that will help people begin the journey toward hope and healing. Both seminars will be a very interactive time, as trauma and sexual abuse counselors Shonna Porter and Mary Jane Apple guide and facilitate our discovery and healing process.
Why is this so important? Why do we need to go there? Wouldn’t it be better to keep that room closed and locked? Absolutely not! When Jesus started His ministry, He began by walking through 40 days of hell on earth. He confronted the Devil on his turf! Shortly after He emerged victorious, He entered the synagogue in Nazareth on the Sabbath. He stood up and read from Isaiah,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19,21)
Then He said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” THANK YOU, JESUS! These are words filled with hope! Jesus longs to shine the light of the hope of the Gospel into those dark rooms where we keep the terrifying experiences hidden and locked away. When we do this, we shackle ourselves to the trauma of those experiences, and we become their captives. This is why we’re hosting these seminars and creating pathways following the seminars to help people walk toward freedom.
Is this a scary journey? Yes! But here is the hope: There is freedom for those willing to take this journey!
And there is yet more good news! Because this is so important to nurturing passionate followers of Jesus, last Tuesday evening, the elders committed to making the Intensive Workshop free to Elim attenders and their families! All you need to do is register at ElimEFC.org/Hope and follow the instructions.
In addition, we have generous individuals who are eager to provide scholarships to anyone outside of Elim who cannot afford to pay the advertised cost of the seminar. All they need to do is register at ElimEFC.org/Hope and check the box designated “Request scholarship.”
Please, please, pray for this event! We want the Spirit of our Lord to be powerfully present! We want to see the “release of the captives … and to set free those who are oppressed.”
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