Let’s FOCUS on Support

Group of Women

FOCUS Ministries believes in the foundational importance of support groups for women who are struggling in dysfunctional or abusive relationships.  One of the most challenging factors in domestic abuse is the isolation that a woman may feel.  She’s told by her abuser that no one will believe her if she tells her story of abuse. Often he will actually prevent her from having outside contacts for fear that she will tell someone what is REALLY going on at home.

There are several purposes for our support groups:

 

  • To help women see how valuable they are to God
  • To help them become more productive and less stuck
  • To assure them that they are not alone
  • To educate them on relevant topics such as: What is Abuse?, How to Set Healthy Boundaries, Identifying Codependent Relationships, Foolproofing Our Lives, Character Traits of an Abuser, Managing Anger,  How to Give and Receive Forgiveness and Becoming God’s Woman
  • To provide a forum for sharing problems and solutions
  • Prayer support through anonymous prayer warriors
  • To point them to Jesus Christ as the stability and focal point of their lives

 

We currently have two support group venues:  in-person and online via ZOOM.  Our in-person groups meet twice a month at secure church locations and our online group meets on the third Thursday evening. Our in-person groups average 5-8 women per meeting and online ZOOM meetings have been anywhere from 15-20 participants. 

As a chaplain, I’ve been blessed to co-lead an in-person support group for the past eight years.  We have been able to help women who are currently still married or living with their abusers, women who have recently escaped from their abuser as well as women who have been separated (or divorced) from the abuser for a number of years, but still feeling the scars of emotional pain.

Our support circles are safe, confidential, positive and full of hope.  Every woman needs to be heard and validated for what she is experiencing.  Our conversations are filled with stories of healing as well as grief for what has been lost.

Do you need to talk with others?  Are you feeling isolated?  Would you like to hear some amazing and miraculous escape stories?

For more information about either online or in-person support groups, please contact our office at 630.617.0088 or email the chaplain at [email protected]

 

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