Understanding Trauma: How the Church Can Better Support Hurting People

In a world where trauma affects millions of people, the church has a unique opportunity to be a place of healing and refuge. Yet too often, well-meaning believers inadvertently make things worse for those carrying the deep wounds of traumatic experiences. Understanding trauma from a biblical and scientific perspective can transform how we minister to hurting people.

What Does It Mean to Be Fearfully and Wonderfully Made?

Psalm 139:14 reminds us that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made." This truth brings comfort when life is good, but for someone trapped in the painful aftermath of unresolved trauma, this same mystery can feel terrifying. The complexity of how God designed us - mind, body, and spirit - means that trauma affects every part of our being.

The church should be the first place hurting people turn for shelter and support. Followers of Jesus should be their greatest allies, helping them find the healing they desperately need. Unfortunately, generations of mistrust toward psychology and science have often led churches to respond in ways that leave traumatized people feeling more isolated and hurt.

How Does Trauma Actually Affect the Body and Mind?

Trauma Is More Than Mental

One of the most important insights from trauma research is that trauma is not "all in the mind." Trauma symptoms emerge from a brain and body that remain stuck in another time and place. When someone experiences trauma, it leaves an actual imprint that fundamentally reorganizes how the mind and brain manage perceptions.

Physical Changes in the Brain

Many behaviors often labeled as mental illness or moral failings are actually the result of real changes in the brain. These responses are not signs of weak character, lack of willpower, or spiritual deficiency. They are the body's attempt to protect itself from perceived ongoing danger.

The Scope of Trauma

While trauma research began with combat veterans, we now understand that nearly any harrowing experience can cause trauma injury. This is particularly true when the victim was unable to take meaningful action during the traumatic event. The National Center for PTSD estimated that between 5-6 million US adults had PTSD in 2000, with numbers predicted to increase dramatically due to global events - and this was before COVID-19.

Where Has the Church Gone Wrong in Responding to Trauma?

Moralizing Instead of Understanding

Too often, churches have responded to trauma symptoms by moralizing or telling people to "try harder" or "just have faith." This approach ignores the reality that most trauma responses are not deliberate choices but automatic reactions rooted in brain changes.

Spiritual Bypassing

Well-meaning spiritual solutions like accountability groups, devotional practices, and surface-level prayers for healing can actually encourage "spiritual bypassing" - using religious practices to avoid facing painful emotions and doing the hard inner work of healing.

Creating Unrealistic Expectations

Churches that continually focus on "winning the victory" or experiencing immediate healing can leave people with complex PTSD feeling alienated from both the church and God when their healing doesn't match the congregation's expectations.

Treating People as Disembodied Souls

The church has often treated hurting people as a set of beliefs attached to a body, focusing primarily on correcting wrong thinking while teaching that the body should be managed and subdued. This approach ignores the reality that trauma affects the whole person.

What Would a Trauma-Informed Church Look Like?

Focusing on Agency Rather Than Submission

Since trauma injuries often emerge through a loss of control, churches could focus on growing people's sense of agency and empowerment rather than emphasizing comfort with submission.

Helping People Connect with Their Bodies

If trauma disconnects people from their bodies, churches could help people learn to be present in their bodies in healthy ways rather than demonizing physical existence and promoting spiritual dissociation.

Creating Safe Relational Spaces

Since trauma often disrupts the ability to form healthy attachments, churches as chosen communities could create safe places to practice new and healthy relational connections rather than enforcing obligatory relationship structures with poor boundaries.

How Can Love Help Heal Trauma?

First Corinthians 13 tells us that love keeps no record of wrongs. Yet in cases of trauma, our bodies do keep a record of the wrongs done to us. This creates a powerful opportunity for gospel work - helping people move from the stuck, fearful place of trauma toward a place where they know they are loved, can love themselves, and can allow their bodies to release the painful record of wrongs that generates so much suffering.

Life Application

This week, challenge yourself to become more trauma-informed in your interactions with others. Whether you're a church leader, small group member, or simply someone who cares about hurting people, commit to learning more about how trauma affects the whole person.

Consider these questions as you reflect on this message:

• How might my responses to hurting people need to change based on this understanding of trauma?

• What assumptions have I made about people's behaviors that might actually be trauma responses?

• How can I create safer spaces for people to share their struggles without fear of judgment or quick fixes?

• What steps can I take to better understand the connection between faith and mental health?

The goal isn't to become a therapist, but to become a more compassionate and informed member of the body of Christ. When we understand that trauma affects the whole person - mind, body, and spirit - we can offer the kind of holistic support that truly reflects God's love for His fearfully and wonderfully made children.