After Church Hurt

After Church Hurt, Timothy St. John (New Growth Press, 2026)

This is a compassionate, understanding and gospel-centred book that seeks to address the real pain people experience when they have been hurt by the church. St. John has landed on a specific definition of church hurt, wanting to be clear that he is not talking about the usual misunderstandings and conflicts that happen in Christian communities, but rather: 

"Any unrepentant sin that is minimised, normalised, or promoted by a church’s culture and its leadership.”

This could include things such as sexual abuse and broken trust, mocking and public shaming, deception by leadership, financial mismanagement, neglect of people in need, staff intimidation, overwork of staff or volunteers, or mandatory giving requirements. He acknowledges that hurt can be inflicted upon congregation members by leaders, and also upon church leaders and staff by elders or congregations.

Chapters explore:

1. The reality of church hurt: “(its) never just ordinary hardship. It's a trap that draws people in with the promise of making them disciples of Christ, only to twist scripture and the name of Christ to enslave them into seeking someone else's self-centred kingdom.” Yet in the midst of it, we are called to remember that Christ remains faithful 
2. Understanding the pain of church hurt. This helps people find a voice for what has happened with the help of scripture. Part of this is an exploration of what the church’s culture was and how it led to this. There are insightful questions that may help people process. 
3. Embracing God's grace. Explores the challenges of embracing God’s grace after church hurt. How the fear of man, anger, anxiety and shame can impact us, and how to move towards Christ again. 
4. Moving towards community again. This explores when one should leave a church, how to do so well, and how to carefully re-engage with another community of care. 

Each contains practical help soaked with gospel truth. Throughout are questions to ask about oneself and the situation, aiming for better understanding and ways to move forward. As such, it could be helpful to work through with a trusted friend or mentor.

Two appendices add extra resources. An emotions journal guides the reader through a process of identifying, listening and responding to their emotions faithfully. A Church Culture Assessment provides a 12-part checklist about various areas of a church and its culture. No church could meet all of these, but it may help someone consider what is important to them. Church leaders might also use it to see how their church measures up.

It’s a short book and easy to read. As such, it’s not designed to be an extensive exploration, but rather a help to those who are struggling now, and those who are trying to walk alongside them.


I was given a ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.