My moment of impact with The Hope of Survivors ministry was one of those serendipitous flukes that make following God such a pleasant odyssey. This is what happened: A friend whose email address I requested pulled out the ministry’s brochure and used it as scratch paper. Later, as I decoded the email’s scribbled letters, the brochure’s words kept jumping off the page: “My pastor says he loves me, how should I respond?” “The pastor said it’s God’s will for us to be together. Should I believe Him?” “I’ve never felt loved like this before. . .” These quotes and others echoed some of my own experiences, and experiences countless others have shared with me. I decided that I just had to check out their ministry at www.TheHopeOfSurvivors.com.

There I found a dedicated couple, along with other pastors and leaders, who addressed--with refreshing directness--the problem of clergy abuse. Samantha and Steve Nelson encountered this strange monster early in their marriage. Thankfully, they have lived to tell about it, and help others heal from similar damage. “This form of abuse has devastated untold numbers of women,” they observe, “They have lost faith in God. Some have lost their family and friends. Most stop attending church. Many no longer even pray. The losses are devastating. Do we abandon them? No! We help them.”

Perhaps you are wondering what an organization whose sole purpose is to address an internal church problem has to do with ASI, an organization focused on outreach. The surprising reality is that The Hope of Survivors is an outreach, for two reasons. One, many victims of abuse have quit attending church, or have even lost faith entirely. THOS strives to first reconnect the individual to God, then to a healing church environment. Secondly, THOS reaches to all denominations, and provides an avenue through which wounded people can learn the unique message God has given the Seventh-day Adventist Church. A case in point: The web page is literally saturated with quotes from the pen of Ellen White, who wrote with eloquence and power on the issues surrounding clergy abuse. A searching heart cannot help but inquire as to the source of the words that so lovingly minister to its distress.

Let us imagine ourselves to be an abuse victim. We are socially, emotionally and spiritually shattered to the point where life is a dry routine that only mocks our internal pain and confusion. Perhaps one late night we begin to listlessly cruise the internet in hopes of some diversion. A muddle of deep distrust and even deeper need, we aren’t even conscious of the fact that our real motive for probing cyberspace is to find someone who understands. Recalling our painful past, we feel a surge of rage which finds us typing in, “I hate pastoral abuse!” and deftly smacking “enter.” Suddenly our screen is covered with links that say things like, “What’s Happening to Me?” “Where is God?” and “Licentiousness and Adultery,” all of which point to the THOS home page. Having arrived at the simply but elegantly designed website, we begin a late-night reading session that takes us through the stories of several clergy abuse victims. The words on our screen so clearly articulate our tragedy, and our deepest thoughts about what went wrong, that we wonder if One who knows us better than we know ourselves has inspired them. “Who are you people?” we type into the email that comes up when we click “email us now!” Who will be on the other end of our vulnerability this time? Hoping against hope that it will be someone we can trust, we hit “send.”

In this way an ever-widening circle of Jesus’ wounded lambs come to know Samantha and Steve Nelson. Like a spiritual coast guard surveying the scene of wreckage for survivors, Samantha responds to the various inquiries with vigilant concern and motherly tenderness. She has found the inspired key to overcoming the pain of abuse, having learned to “comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God” (2 Corinthians 1:4, NIV). Through correspondence via email, groundmail and phone, Samantha builds trust with her charges. But what makes THOS unique is the fact that they go beyond offering words of comfort and counsel to abuse victims. Steve and Samantha work cooperatively with an increasing number of Adventist and non-Adventist church organizations to implement biblical protocol in dealing with abusive clergy. By informing the church officers who preside over the abusive pastor (or pastoral-type figure), they make strong efforts to see that the perpetrator is removed, and thus loses the position that has become a curse to himself and others. This effort in and of itself facilitates healing, because it gives the victim a sense of being protected and cared for. Through the human agency they can glimpse the solicitous care of a God who says, “I will contend with the one who contends with you” (Isaiah 49:25, NASB).

Because THOS had a booth at ASI this past summer in Cincinnati, they arranged for an all-day conference there on Sunday. Both Steve and Samantha presented their excellent materials and invited feedback from the attendees. At times emotions overflowed, but overall the day was a study in Christian dignity and courage. At lunchtime, a beautifully set table beckoned the guests, who were not charged a penny for the gourmet fare. Chatting casually during a break, Samantha tells me that the glamour magazine Marie Claire has approached her about doing a piece on her ministry. As I listen to her intelligent chatter, she almost seems to sparkle with joy. I think; This ministry is really going to take off.

I confess that when I first laid eyes on The Hope of Survivors’ brochure, I assumed that it wasn’t an Adventist ministry. Adventists usually avoid these issues, I thought. I have had to think again. Acknowledgment of our flaws, if it is done responsibly, need not detract from our witness—in fact it can greatly enhance it. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, inreach and outreach can be blissfully married in such ministries as The Hope of Survivors. And through the union of these ministries with ASI, the circle can expand yet further, until that widening influence has reached earth’s remotest bounds, and touched humanity’s most wounded hearts.

1. From the Hope of Survivors Brochure

Hope of Survivors is at www.pastoralabuse.com