The Path to Forgiveness

Persecution strikes without warning, leaving a host of trauma in its wake. Sometimes the trauma cuts so deep that it’s nearly impossible to forgive at first.

We believe that the global church can and should help by coming along-side, praying and helping persecuted believers walk through a three-step process where we:

1) Help our brothers and sisters heal themselves

We assess the needs of the persecuted community together with the insight of the local church. Together, we determine what resources can be provided by the local church, and what resources can only be provided by the global church. For example, a persecuted community may have the resources to make bricks to rebuild homes or supply labor for farming, but lack materials like roofing tin or irrigation pumps. With your help, Light Attracts provides the latter, walking gently through the process of helping persecuted communities heal, with material help and with a focus on growing in the goodness of God’s love in Christ. We give them time to get “back to normal.” Then we move to:

2) Help our brothers and sisters heal their neighbors

As our brothers and sisters heal, we begin to ask together: is there anyone else nearby who is hurting too? Maybe people who are not a part of the local church community, but who have been struggling through some of the same trauma? Since our brothers and sisters have just walked through the process of hurting and healing, they now have the unique opportunity to grow in compassion for others who are hurting. The local church asks these other communities about their needs, offering to provide healing to their neighbors. Together we assess what resources can be supplied by the local church, and Light Attracts brings resources from the global church. The local church grows in love for others, and a neighboring community receives the love of Christ in word and deed. New relationships form, and opportunities arise to share the gospel clearly. The local church now has had the experience of being used by God to heal others, so we can move to:

3) Help our brothers and sisters love their enemies

As the hearts of our brothers and sisters expand, they are finally ready to take the crucial step of turning the other cheek. Now they can go to their persecutors to ask, “How can we serve you?” We follow the same model of joining with the local church, letting them contribute what they can, while Light Attracts provides the rest. This lets local believers love their enemies in tangible and practical ways, and inter-community relationships that were once marked by suspicion and hatred become reconciled and at peace.