Why a Trauma-Informed Church Matters

By Dr. Ira Roach III

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

There’s a silent epidemic sitting in our pews, walking through our fellowship halls, and serving in our ministries—it's called unresolved trauma.

For too long, the Church has been well-equipped to deal with sin but unequipped to deal with the wounds that sin and suffering leave behind. We know how to pray over someone, but we’ve struggled to sit with them. We celebrate when people shout, but often we don’t know what to say when they cry. This is why the Church must shift from being just a gathering place to becoming a healing center.

To begin this transformation, we must understand ACEs—Adverse Childhood Experiences. These are early life experiences like abuse, neglect, household addiction, incarceration of a parent, domestic violence, or loss. They aren’t just memories—they are blueprints. They shape how people see themselves, interact with others, and even how they trust God.

1. Trauma Is in the Room, Even If We Don’t Talk About It

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

Trauma isn’t just what happens to us—it’s what happens inside us because of what happened to us. Adults raise children while still carrying unhealed trauma from their own childhood. Youth today are not simply rebellious—they are responding to instability, abandonment, and generational silence.

📖 Consider the man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5)—he sat paralyzed for 38 years. Trauma can delay movement, but Jesus still asks, “Do you want to be made whole?”

🟣 Key Line: Trauma doesn’t disqualify you—it reveals what still needs healing.

2. “What Happened to You?” Is a Kingdom Question

“A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out…” – Matthew 12:20

A trauma-informed church doesn’t shame—it seeks to understand. Asking “What’s wrong with you?” places blame, but “What happened to you?” opens the door to healing.

Many in our congregations are surviving unseen scars. When Jesus encountered pain, He never dismissed it—He addressed it, healed it, and restored purpose.

🟣 Key Line: Jesus never dismissed the pain—He healed it and gave it meaning.

3. Trauma Affects How We Hear the Gospel

“Faith comes by hearing…” – Romans 10:17

Trauma distorts how we interpret truth. Some can’t embrace God as Father because of a father wound. Others reject correction because they’ve only known criticism—not compassion.

A trauma-informed church must re-present the Gospel as safe, secure, and restorative. We must become shepherds who prepare the ground before sowing the Word.

🟣 Key Line: Before we preach the Word, we must prepare the ground—and trauma is the hardened soil God wants to break up with love.

4. Healing Must Become a Culture, Not Just an Altar Call

“Bear one another’s burdens…” – Galatians 6:2

Altar calls are moments, but healing is a movement. We must create safe spaces for both lament and liberation—spaces where people can grieve honestly and celebrate hope fully.

Our ministries—youth, men’s, women’s, marriage, recovery—must operate with trauma awareness. Leaders should be trained not just to “serve,” but to see people: to recognize trauma responses not as disrespect, but as cries for mercy.

🟣 Key Line: The church should be the safest place on earth for the most wounded people.

5. From Surviving to Thriving: Moving Forward Without Shame

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” – Isaiah 43:18–19

Trauma does not get to write your final chapter. A high ACE score doesn’t cancel your calling—it clarifies your assignment.

Healing begins when we name what was lost, grieve what hurt, and choose to move forward in faith. In Christ, what happened to you is no longer a period—it’s a comma.

🟣 Key Line: We are not just saved from sin—we are healed from sorrow and restored to purpose.

A Kingdom Question: What Happened to You?

The world asks, “What’s wrong with you?” But God asks, “What happened to you?”

He already knows the tears you cried, the betrayal you faced, the trauma you buried. He knows the score you circled on that ACEs test. But here’s the good news: what happened to you does not define you. It may explain your pain, but it cannot cancel your purpose.

God has a way of turning trauma into testimony. He takes what the enemy meant for evil and works it for your good.

So when someone asks you, “What happened to you?”—respond with boldness:

Yes, I went through it… but I came out of it.

Yes, it tried to break me… but it built me.

Yes, I was wounded… but I am also healed.

“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:6

Dr. Ira Roach III

Senior Pastor | Faith Leader | Trauma-Informed Advocate

“We must create safe spaces where both lament and liberation are welcomed—and where healing becomes not an exception, but a culture.”