A Reflection by Kïrsten Christianson
When Care Needs Clarity
Domestic abuse is one of the most painful and hidden crises a family can experience. Even in churches filled with faithful people, it’s easy for suffering to stay quiet. Not because survivors want silence, but because the experience itself is confusing, isolating, and often misunderstood.
Over the years, I’ve learned that walking with families caught in abuse requires more than urgency or good intentions. It requires clarity. It requires biblical wisdom shaped by compassion. And it requires the humility to learn from others who have labored long in this work.
That’s why I was grateful when Chris Moles invited me to contribute writing to Caring for Families Caught in Domestic Abuse, a multi-author resource released by New Growth Press. Each chapter brings together clinicians, pastors, advocates, and counselors whose shared goal is simple: to help the Church understand abuse with honesty, and to care with steadiness and integrity.
What This Book Offers the Church
This is not a book that treats domestic abuse as a problem to “fix.” It treats it as the deep soul-shaping reality it is — a place where people are harmed, hope is strained, and God’s people are called to respond with wisdom.
Inside its pages, readers will find:
- A clear framework for understanding abuse dynamics
- Guidance for first responders, pastors, and lay leaders
- Support for helpers who want to respond without causing further harm
- Practical steps for caring well over time
- Biblical grounding for standing with the oppressed
Every chapter reflects the truth that God’s care is not distant. His presence is active, intentional, sustaining — especially in the lives of those who feel forgotten or dismissed.
Why I Said Yes
When I was asked to contribute, I said yes because I’ve met too many women who were told to endure what God never asked them to endure. I’ve sat with families who felt invisible in their suffering. And I’ve watched churches, sometimes unknowingly, reinforce harm instead of relieving it.
My small part in this project was written with those faces in mind — women who deserved to be believed, children who needed safety, and helpers who wanted to do the right thing but weren’t sure where to begin.
It is my hope that this book will give churches a place to start, and helpers a way to move forward with both courage and tenderness.
For Those Walking This Road
If you are a pastor, counselor, friend, or volunteer walking with someone caught in abuse, you don’t need to have all the answers. You simply need to be willing to learn, to listen, and to embody the care God extends to the oppressed throughout Scripture.
If you are a survivor, my prayer is that this book will help you find language for what you’ve lived, support for what you’re facing, and companions who see you with dignity.
Learn More
You can explore Caring for Families Caught in Domestic Abuse here: link to purchase
May this resource serve as one more way the Church can reflect the heart of our Shepherd — the One who sees, defends, and restores.
