Until recently the first Bible study used by Crisis Response at a response site has been a little study by the American Bible Society called “Beyond Disaster.” There is a lot of good material in this booklet, but it wasn’t exactly what Crisis Response needed. It didn’t encourage as much real Bible study as wanted, and it had a few elements that didn’t seem to quite fit with the experience of trauma as witnessed by Katrina Welch and others in the ministry.
Last summer Katrina invited Gail and I to work with her on a brand new trauma-informed Bible study suitable for natural disasters or more broadly to any kind of crisis. Despite the abundance of hurricanes, we were able to complete this study last fall and publish it early this year.
The study is called “Finding Hope” and its five sessions walk people through the nature of trauma, how people respond to trauma, and what healing from trauma looks like. We put a special emphasis on Biblical lament as key to healing, and we included study of representative Bible passages in each lesson.
We published the book on Amazon to make it easy for response sites and individuals to order, pay for and ship. People have responded well to it – we’ve had over 300 copies ordered so far. (Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DT9PKHR4.)
Currently “Finding Hope” is being used at the response site in Hazard, Kentucky and at the Hurricane Helene response in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Both sites are benefitting from the study. Katrina’s practical experience with trauma care combined with the insights drawn from Scripture are making a difference in people’s lives.
Recently we got a text from a co-worker who was involved in the Greenfield, Iowa tornado response last year. Though the book was published months after the tornado, the pastor and one of the staff members at the local Evangelical Free church became aware of the book. They told our co-worker that a number of copies of “Finding Hope” were being made available at the community center where a one-year anniversary event remembering the tornado was held.
We are excited about what God is doing through this study. Your support of our ministry made it possible for Gail and I to invest the many hours needed to turn this material from an idea to an effective tool. Thanks!
Click on the thumbnails below to see the front and back covers and a post about the Bible study that’s meeting in Hazard, Kentucky.
P.S. Gail and I are extremely grateful to all who give, one time or monthly, to support us. We are about to return to Florida for the month of June, and after some family vacation, we’ll be back for hurricane season. If you would like to join our support team (one-time or ongoing) , go to Bob and Gail DeGray’s Giving Page. Thanks