By Leona Grey

The mission of the Church is clear:

“Go and make disciples … teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
— Matthew 28:19–20

And for centuries, the Church has done this with deep devotion — through preaching, evangelism, small groups, and spiritual practices. The process of making disciples begins with awakening to the truth of the Gospel, leads to salvation, and continues with spiritual formation that reshapes our hearts, habits, and ways of being.

But despite all our strategies and good intentions, something isn’t working.

We have people who know their Bibles but still don’t know themselves.
We have full sanctuaries and shallow roots.
We have doctrine, but not always healing.

Why?

Because there is a roadblock to spiritual formation that many churches still won’t name.

Trauma Is the Roadblock We’re Not Addressing

We talk about distractions.
We talk about false beliefs.
We talk about unconfessed sin and apathy.

But what we don’t talk about — at least not often or openly — is trauma.

The unhealed wounds people carry into faith — wounds from families, from abuse, from betrayal and neglect — distort how they relate to God, themselves, and others.

You can’t grow roots in toxic soil.
You can’t form spiritually when your nervous system is still frozen in survival mode.

And yet, many churches aren’t equipped to deal with this. In fact, some unintentionally perpetuate the problem.

Why We’re Not Talking About Trauma

Here are just a few reasons why this gets overlooked in our discipleship models:

1. Leaders may come from relatively healthy families and simply don’t recognize the depth or impact of covert dysfunction.

2. There is a lack of education, tools, and trauma literacy. Church leaders aren’t taught how the body holds memory, how trauma shapes relationships, or how to create safety for the wounded.

3. Abuse is normalized. Emotional, spiritual, and psychological abuse are still often dismissed as “family issues” or “communication problems.”

4. Abuse is covert. Victims are often gaslit, shamed, or scapegoated. Image management is rewarded.

5. Addressing trauma feels intimidating. Without training, churches fear doing more harm, so they say nothing.

And the result?

The Church, designed to be a hospital for the broken, becomes a place where the wounded quietly bleed out in the pews.

A Trauma-Informed Framework for Discipleship

Discipleship is not just about right belief. It’s about becoming like Christ. But we cannot become like Christ when our view of God, self, and neighbor is distorted by unhealed pain.

A Healthy Pathway of Spiritual Growth:

Awareness → Awakening
The Gospel is heard and Jesus is encountered. (Evangelize.)

Salvation → Formation
The mind begins to renew. (Teach sound doctrine.)

Formation → Maturity
Practices like prayer, Scripture, service, and community take root. (Equip and mentor.)

Maturity → Glorification
We become fully like Christ when He returns. (Anchor hope.)

But between each stage, wounds can block progress. The shame of past abuse, the fear of intimacy, the inner vows made in survival — these choke spiritual fruit.

🛠️ What the Church Can Do Instead

It’s time to realign with our mission: not just to instruct, but to heal.

Here’s how:

1. Name it. Trauma isn’t a sign of weak faith — it’s a consequence of living in a fallen world. Psalm 34:18 says the Lord is close to the brokenhearted. So should we be.

2. Equip leaders. Basic trauma training for pastors, elders, and ministry leaders should be part of leadership development.

3. Create safe systems. Build survivor-centered policies for disclosure, support, and accountability. No more cover-ups. No more silence.

4. Integrate healing into formation. Discipleship should include lament, spiritual direction, body awareness, and the practice of presence — not just more information.

5. Point to Christ — not self-help. The world is telling people to self-heal. The Church has a better answer: Jesus is the healer. But we must bridge that truth to where the pain actually lives.

Healing Is Discipleship

We aren’t meant to fake it until we make it.
We’re called to walk with people into healing and wholeness.

When we begin to take trauma seriously in our churches, we don’t just create “safe spaces.”
We create holy spaces — where disciples are formed in truth, love, and transformation.

And a hurting world will finally see the Church as what it was meant to be:
A sanctuary.
A refuge.
A place of restoration.

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
— Psalm 147:3