“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion-
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations ….Instead of their shame
my people will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
they will rejoice in their inheritance;
and so they will inherit a double portion in their land,
and everlasting joy will be theirs.”
Isaiah 61 (NIV)
Abuse of any kind affects the victim in numerous ways – damaging body, soul, and also, spirit. It puts the victim into a place of bondage and pain; whereas Christ promises to bring freedom and healing.
Christian Survivors is run by a group of survivors of abuse who hope and trust in Jesus for their own healing and restoration; and who believe in the power of Christ to use their lives to see the hope of Isaiah 61 translated into the reality of the lives of those around them.
Christian Survivors is unique in it’s field – successfully ministering to both Christians and non-Christians alike; reaching thousands of people each day through either our forums or our website; and seeing healing & change in the lives of many of the thousands of forum members over the years. We believe that God wants complete healing, restoration, and wholeness for those who have been abused – & that this is fully acheivable. Furthermore, we believe that He can use each and every survivor of abuse to bring healing to others – not despite their brokenness, but rather, because of it!
We are an active community for survivors of all types of abuse. Our aim is to create a safe oasis to provide friendship, understanding, and support to survivors of child abuse, sexual violence, rape, domestic violence, ritual abuse, trafficking, Spiritual abuse & all other forms of abuse. We believe that recovery from abuse is possible, & we work hard to provide an environment of safe, mutual support, where we can help each another to come to a place of healing. If you have experienced any kind of abuse, then you belong here! We’re so glad that you found our site & hope it will be helpful for you whether you’re looking for information, or a safe place to gain support! If you’re a survivor, we’re so glad that you’re reaching out to give & receive support. We hope you’ll visit our forums so that we can get to know you. You are not alone!
Christian Survivors (CS) is centered around our well-moderated message board. Since we opened in March 2000, we have grown into a thriving community of survivors – all seeking to support each other through the tough realities of daily living as a survivor. At the heart of what we do here at CS are 5 concepts: Hope, Healing, Friendship, Speaking Out (Breaking the silence imposed on us by our abuse), & Safety. Our Almond Blossom logo symbolizes these things – each petal representing one of our core values. We see them as the foundational supports of our organization, our goals, and our community.
CS was originally set up by a group of Christians who are all survivors – hence the name Christian Survivors. Many of our original & early staff members are still with us today! Our current staff team are a group of amazing women who work together to uphold the true principles Jesus taught us: non-judgmental love, respect & acceptance of each other. We want to stress that our forums welcome & accept members of any faith or belief – we’re a survivor forum first & foremost! We’ve strived to make our forum safe for all members, including those who (because of their abuse experience) find talk about God or religion triggering & even dangerous. As such, we have a system set up to ensure that all threads containing spiritual discussion are appropriately trigger warned, to respect and protect those members. For members who are wishing to discuss Christian matters, we have several areas specifically set up to do so openly – thus providing for the needs of all our members. 🙂
We provide peer support & resources in a support group type setting, for those still living in an abusive situation & for the many issues which survivors have to deal with on a daily basis : Flashbacks, PTSD, sexuality, eating disorders, issues of religion & fears of God or the church, sexual issues, self harm, depression, problems in relationships & intimacy issues.
History
Christian Survivors came into being due to one survivors realisation that a need existed on the internet to have a place where survivors of abuse could deal with their issues safely, with the goal of healing firmly in mind. At that time, there were many survivors groups online, but many of them were, sadly, filled with conflict, gossip, & negativity – and held very little positive input from either staff or members. In addition, many of these forums treated peoples belief in God as a very negative ‘crutch’, and there were few safe places to talk about survivor issues within a Christian context. Conversely, the Christian based forums that there were, were often not safe or accepting places for survivors to be, particularly those who were not Christians.
Having identified this need, a group was created on Delphi Forums, one of the larger forum networks of the time, & early in the year 2000 Christian Survivors opened it’s virtual doors for the first time.Over the following couple of years, the group evolved into one of the larger survivor forms on Delphi, taking on a large staff team of dedicated members. Our goal, quite simply, became to create and maintain a community where survivors could deal with their issues safely, and positively – an environment which promoted healing, through support & friendship.
By the year 2002, it became obvious that we needed more growing space than Delphi could provide, and we decided to take the plunge and move to our own server space – a move which turned out to be the best one we could have made.With a few hiccups along the way, Christian Survivors has changed into the site we see today … a large group of survivors working together to find healing, and to provide the safest place we can online – and a growing resource site for members and visitors alike. We embrace members of all faiths, beliefs, & experience, believing that every survivor deserves respect and acceptance, and a place to find friendship.
Our forums provide a protected & well staffed environment in which to safely discuss difficult issues, & to build supportive friendships with people who understand the realities of everyday life as a survivor. The openness and vulnerability shown by our members when sharing their stories, and whilst pursuing healing together, fosters a unique environment – in which many members have found it possible to create strong, lasting friendships, with a depth of intimacy it is more difficult to find in ‘3d’.
If you are a survivor, we would like to extend an invitation to you to join our forums, and get to know us. You are not alone!
