Dr. Jessica Peck discusses abuse on American Family Radio today

Hello and welcome to the Dr. Nurse Mama show, prescribing Hope for Healthy Families here on American Family Radio. Here's your host, professor, pediatric nurse practitioner, and mom of four, Dr. Jessica Peck.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, hey there, friends, and welcome to my favorite part of the afternoon, getting to spend time with you, prescribing Hope for Healthy Families. Listen, you are in for a treat today. Don't adjust your dial. We have one of my very favorite guests back with us today. But before I introduce him again and tell you who he is, I want to give you an advisory that the topic we're going to talk about today is really tough and it should be. You should adjust your listening audience for those more sensitive listeners. So I'm going to give you just a little moment to do that. Every once in a while, we talk about things that are very important to talk about. Parents need to know, but we want to adjust our listening audience. So if you have little ears around, it would be good to bookmark this to listen later or get them busy doing something else. We're talking about abuse today. Now, if you've been following along since earlier this year, we have been very, very overjoyed to have none other than Nick Vujicic, Nick V Ministries, and his Heart for Ministry Champions for the Brokenhearted. We've been featuring different populations and talking about different groups of brokenhearted people and how God is working through Nick to mobilize the chur that means you to respond to people who are brokenhearted. And today, we're talking about abuse. Now, abuse is something that hides in plain sight. For me, as a pediatric nurse practitioner, as a pediatric professor, as a mom, as someone who's worked my whole life in children's ministries and youth ministries, I know this happens. And it happens way more often than we'd like it to. It does happen in churches. Predators seek out churches. It happens in our homes. It happens in schools. It happens in communities. and estimates are that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men experience severe intimate partner physical violence during their lifetime. And when you look at the statistics on abuse, you can find all kinds of numbers, but they are really shocking. Anywhere from 1 in 3 to 1 in 9 girls experiencing abuse, 1 in 4 to 1 in 20 boys, depending on what different things that you're looking at. But the bottom line is those statistics are horrifying and happening way too much that that' of children who will experience sexual abuse or assault. And that truth is sobering. But silence is no longer an option. We have to speak up. We must be advocates for Children. And as believers, you can be called to be a champion for the brokenhearted, to see, to speak, to act. And this month, Nick V Ministries is sounding the alarm for our focus on the abused. And there are so many resources. We've been going through those talking about what is available for you to bring this to your church. So you can go to nickvministries.org because God sees, He knows, and more importantly, he heals. He can heal, and he's raising up people to stand for those who can't stand on their own. So, Nick, I am so absolutely delighted to have you back. Welcome back. Thanks so much for joining us today.

>> Nick Vujicic: Thank you, Jessica. It's good to see you. And yes, I'm glad that we can talk about a topic that not many people like to talk about but does need to be talked about, unfortunately, quite prevalent in our country.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, anytime you are here on the show, I just get people stopping through my feed and just seeing you brings a smile to their face. And I know that you bring joy in the midst of such heartache. And I always say, because I heard you say it first, that it's just amazing. If you can't get hope from someone who was born without arms or legs, who has a life mission of being the hands and feet of Jesus, then I don't know where you're going to find hope, because that is definitely hope for me. And we won't leave you in this program without hope.

Nick Vujicic: One in five boys by age 17 have been sexually abused

So, Nick, let's just start talking about it. Why did you choose the abused for this? Champions for the brokenhearted?

>> Nick Vujicic: You know, I think many people, feel like, that that's something that does not happen in my circles or that's something that doesn't happen in my city or my town or my church. And unfortunately, the statistics of, you know, our whole series of champions of the brokenhearted, I've written out 106 different ways in how the human being can suffer. and one of them is being abused and sexual abuse. Unfortunately, the stats are as the follows. the one in three girls, by age 17 have been sexually abused. one in five boys by age 17 have been sexually abused. and I know several people very close to me who have been sexually abused. some of them that they were unfortunately raped by a stranger. some that were raped by someone very close to them. And unfortunately, in regards to the, I'm going to call it lack of awareness and naivety, Jessica, my wife and I, we are not the average American parent that assumes that everyone's safe to drop our kids off at. Like we are dumbfounded by their ignorance or bottom line, just we. It's not a lack of trust. It's just guys, it's. It's really sad when we find out how many have been touched inappropriately. And I do want to mention, June Hunt. June Hunt was one of the, and is one of the legends. but back in the day in 1970s and 80s, she was having a radio show where pastors couldn't believe this woman would dare to talk about sexual abuse on radio to Christian audiences. she herself, as a victim of sexual abuse, felt the Lord wanting her to reach out to those who don't know how to bring up a conversation like this. What do you do? How do you even help a child know where it is not appropriate to be touched? And she came up with all this verbiage and devotion, devotionals and books that have helped millions of people to understand. How do you reach everyone on each level to let them know this is a real problem real time. And in America.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: You're so right. And even looking at her early work, it was so taboo to talk about. And that's one of the reasons it's so difficult for children to make an outcry. Number one, many times they don't have language to describe what has happened to them. They just know they go into a state of flight, fright, freeze, or fawn sometimes. That's the other thing that we're talking about now because that grooming happens and they don't have the language to describe that. There's so much secrecy in this. And if they make an outcry, many times they're not believed. Or even worse, especially early on in those days when June Hunt started her work, they may even be blamed for it. Well, what did you do to invite fight that? Or how did you tempt that? Or what did you do that was wrong? And it's so hard. And even now we see another reckoning in the church where we're saying this is happening in the church. And I'm seeing that second wave. There was an expose done by the Houston Chronicle about abuse in church that had not been addressed. And that really has set off a cataclysmic, you, know, shockwave, I think, throughout churches to think, how is this happening? And sometimes people just have trust that's misplaced. But what they don't realize is that predators seek out church environments because of that very nature. They know it's going to be easier to groom someone. It's going to be easier to have secrets. They're going to have access to children. And it's easy to talk that talk and talk that Christianese, so to speak, and to gain trust that is not there.

Nick: What is the church getting wrong about sexuality in the church

And Nick, I know as I've gotten to know you more, I know of your love for the church, but what is the church getting wrong about this? Why is it happening in our, our churches? And why is the response when it's being disclosed to churches still so, harmful?

>> Nick Vujicic: You know, it's such a good question. You know, when you talk first and foremost about any sexuality in the church, I think what, the first thing that, that we did do wrong about 20 years ago that was quite prevalent is we stopped talking about the purity message, the purity ring, waiting for the spouse understanding that that girl is not a, a sexual object, but that's the daughter of God. And we must understand that if that is not your wife, that is going to be someone else's wife. So don't treat her in a way that you wouldn't want someone else to treat your future wife. I think it's understanding the lines of culture, role models, and influence in regards to what is sacred, what is holy, what is right, what is noble, and how we become so dice. Desensitized, to what we allow our kids to watch the music that, that we allow our kids to listen to. So first and foremost from a, an approach within our home, we, we talk about making sure that, you know, you got your eye, we're at someone's house, no one's going to be alone with an, you know, an adult of a different gender, and, and, and, and, and trying to wait for the right sensitivity of maturity and approach and language to even talk about that, is something there. I, I just don't even know where to start though, within the church. I, I really don't. I don't know one, known Bible study for young people. I don't even know many young pastors who are the youth pastors who even talk about purity anymore, who even talk about respect to girls anymore. In fact, unfortunately, we've been discouraged by the churches that we do know where they know that they're all saying they're Christian, but no one's really keeping them accountable and sharing with them. hey, it's not okay to joke like that, to dress like that, to, to act like that and to do what everyone else has been doing. Unfortunately, you know, we know, we know Jenna Quinn who knows all the stats and we'll talk about Jenna, I'm sure, later. Unfortunately, the stats are that,

Jessica: How do we talk about child sexual abuse in the church

Can we just break this theory that there is less sexual abuse in the church? The stats are different. how do we talk about it? I think we need to first understand that it's happening. How do we make people aware of it first? I don't think we're aware of it yet, Jessica.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Honestly, I completely agree with you. And I think people need to know that abuse comes in many forms. It can be emotional, it can be verbal, it can be physical. Physical abuse almost has not as much stigma because if someone is beat. I was recently at a camp, my son was at a camp, and these kids got up and just started disclosing physical abuse, multiple kids, in the camp setting. And of course it was addressed appropriately. So I just want to put that out there and say that. But there was immediately a sense of sympathy from the audience. They immediately said, oh, I'm so sorry that happened to you. There was rushing to them. They could understand that. But trying to understand emotional or verbal or spiritual abuse is much more difficult. And even sexual abuse, it's so taboo. So going back to what you said about purity, culture, I want, Nick, I want to address that because I think that was a very well intentioned thing. It's what I call well intentioned but ill inform because you just kind of set this bar so high with no information underneath it. And I'll give you another example that just happened very recently. A, young woman that I know had been at college and she was assaulted completely innocent. Not her fault. It was an act of violence. And I responded and reached out and the first thing that she wanted to know is how God would view her purity. And that should not be the first thing on someone, on someone's mind when they have just experienced an unjustified physical assault. So I think you're right. We need to know that abuse comes in many forms. Most abuse, especially that abuse committed within the church, is someone that the child knows. Parents want to tell their kids about stranger danger. But what about that person that we think we can trust? And children often don't tell because they're afraid, they're ashamed, they're manipulated, they're groomed, and it can occur everywhere. So when we come back, we will talk about Jenna Quinn, our mutual friend, and her story and how God has just redeemed her story from ashes, made beauty, and made her such a powerful advocate. How that happened, we'll talk about that. And we're also going to give parents some really specific tips about how do you know abuse is happening and what should you do if it's happening? Don't go away. We'll be right back with more from Nick Vujicic.

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>> Jesus Is My Healer by Jessie Harris featuring Gateway Worship: Jesus is my healer. The cross is your defeat. Jesus is my healer. He has won the victory. Welcome back, friends. That is Jesus is my healer by Jesse Harris Featuring gateway worship. And listen, no matter what you are going through, no matter what way your heart has been broken, Jesus can heal it. And he wants to heal it. And he is here reaching out his arms, giving you an invitation today to have your heart healed or to become someone who helps someone else whose heart is healing. We are talking today to one of my favorite guests, Nick Vujicic, Nick V Ministries. Go to nickvministries.org and learn how you can be a champion for the brokenhearted. We have talked about the widow. we have talked about the veteran. We have talked about the disabled. We have talked about many groups of people who are collectively brokenhearted. And today, I want to give you a content advisory that we're talking about something that's really tough. We are talking about abuse. But listen, my friends, if we cannot talk about it on the radio here today, how are your children going to talk about it with you? Now, we can do that in a trauma informed way. We will do that in a sensitive way, in a way that is respectful. But we've got to have some Straight talk about abuse. Because behind every statistic that we shared with you in that last segment is a soul. And God knows each one of those souls by name. He bottles every tear that is cried. And the pain of verbal or emotional or spiritual or physical or sexual abuse is real. But even more real is the power of God to intervene and to heal that. And Nick V Ministries Champions for the Brokenhearted campaign isn't just stopping at awareness. It is giving you real pract steps to healing that is grounded in biblical truth. They have tools for forgiveness, overcoming shame, establishing boundaries. Survivors especially are reminded that their story is not defined by their trauma response. It can be rewritten by grace. And Nick has faced this problem. He has worked with people who have been abused and he has a lot of stories. But he says the greatest abuser is Satan. And the one thing that will take that down is love. And we've got the love of God and Nick. One of the things that is in on your website in talking about Champions for the abuse specifically is the story of Jenna Quinn. And you and I both share such an admiration for her. She is a powerful, powerful warrior and she shared her story with you. I've had the privilege of speaking at different events with Jenna and I would love for you just to share a little bit of her story that is shared on your website and what it's important for parents to learn from that.

>> Nick Vujicic: You know, Jenna is one of, few or for, for millions of, of young people, a hero. you know, it takes courage to tell someone when you don't know if you're going to be the one that's blamed for it. There's a lot of shame, in, in. In how the devil uses such a, a horrific experience. you become debilitated with shame and isolation and you internalize that. and Jenna talks about her struggles, and in her website, her resources are all on our website, nickvministries.org her whole story. And you know, it. It was such a difficult first step to just admit that she needs to talk to someone, someone else needs to know, and, and with such verve and passion. Now she's gone all around the nation to help education systems bring in programs of awareness, for young people who feel debilitated by shame, by silence, isolation, to, to let people know that this does happen and this is not okay. It is not your fault and you can't do this alone. I think when you look at all the ways that a heart can be broken, there is something very interestingly deep, deep and Deeper, that happens spiritually, emotionally, and psychologically when you are abused. the spiritual bullying, that abuse. but there is something in the spirit when you've been molested, taken advantage of, betrayed, confused, lied to, so much about trust issues, because generally it's always someone that you know. Generally, it's always someone that you know. And so there are just layers of trauma that she shares about how she's had to go through the healing process, forgiving that person, letting go of that shame. Such a long healing process. And so many people, I think, not only do they wonder, how does God look at me, but who's going to now want to. Want to marry me? We want to be loved. That's our. Our greatest need, Jessica, is to be loved. And there's so many lies that the devil uses in a case of abuse where not only does he say, you're ugly, you're trash, you're no good for nobody. Look at you. It's almost to say, well, you deserve this, and you'll never, ever get anything better than this. I think it's that condemnation, which is the drop of the mic, where people either then believe those lies or they don't stop trying to crawl out of that hole. And unfortunately, if we know that we need to talk to someone, but we don't know even how to describe it, I think. I think there is a gap of, what we really should have been doing as a church, as an education system, is teaching people about abuse, respect, respecting one another. We come to a point of talking about bullying and talking about tolerance, but manipulative abuse and the psychological torment that happens and the PTSD ripple effects of that affects people's lives forever. And unfortunately, Jessica, there are still people who are going to church every single week and hasn't told a single soul that their first cousin raped them, that their uncle raped them, that their brother, raped them, that their husband spiritually, oppressively abused them emotionally, verbally. I mean, it's such a heavy topic. And Jessica, unfortunately, you can't just tell people, go to, group, you know, the. This week's small group, and just be with a bunch of other believers. And that's why we really felt and feel passion in regards to our, counseling, our, programming, the ability to get an online certification for those of us who want to help people who have gone through difficulties like this. I think what we've seen over the decades is less and less and less focus on one on one counseling.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: That'S okay. Go ahead, go ahead.

>> Nick Vujicic: Nick, sorry, but I just. Because a pastor can't counsel one on one everyone, that doesn't mean we should leave that on the side. And I. And I think it's giving that once you bring in awareness on stage, then what do you do with that? And how do you set up an environment, an atmosphere of that trust? Because unfortunately, a lot of this now is on trust.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: It absolutely is. And that's one of the things that drew me. And I've told you this, to champions for the brokenhearted, because you had Eric Scalise, who, by the way, we'll have on the show later on this year, who was a professional counselor who helped write this curriculum because the need is so great and we need to equip lay leaders. And Nick, there's been so many times where I've been in small group circumstances where you have college leaders leading high school kids, and it's. That can be so great. But they need to recognize where there are things that they are not equipped to handle. And you need to have people in the church that can handle that and respond to that appropriately. And I want to go back and point out some really important things that you said. I think I've heard Jenna's talk about as well, the shame that's experienced when you're abused. You don't have the language, but you just know it's something bad. You don't know if it's you, if it's them. And then that shame turns to condemnation. You said that. And I really wanted to point that out and starts to be the accuser and to speak lies over your identity, because especially our sexual identity is so tied to how God created us. And when that's distorted, it's so very hard. And one of the things I think parents should know about Jenna's story is that she went to a Christian school and her abuser was her coach. Her mom was a teacher there. And you can read more about her story. She wrote a book about it called Pure in Heart. You can read more about that. But again, I think think that's instructive for us because we do things as parents, Nick, that we want to keep our kids safe. And you and I are both the same. I am very cynical. I'm very jaded. the bar is very high for who is going to be with my kids and what that looks like.

Dr. Jessica Peck: Sometimes parents are deceived about their children's bullying

But I do want to speak for just a moment to the parents who may feel like they were deceived, because that can happen, too. The Satan is the father of lies. And if you are one of those parents who feels like you put your trust in someone who deceived you. I want you to release yourself of the guilt of that. Because sometimes we are simply deceived. And there is, There is victimization in that as well. And so I just wanted to say something, about that and to talk a little bit about some of the indicators, because parents look back and maybe they see those signs that were there. They see those things. And one of the first things that I want to say to kick it off and then, Nick, I'll, I'll let you weigh in on this, is to honor your child's voice when they come to you and they tell you, I didn't feel comfortable, or they describe somebody did something to them, they put their arm in a certain way or sat close in a way that just made that spidey sense go off. So often we just brush them off. Oh, I'm sure you misinterpreted it. Oh, I'm sure you misunderstood that. I'm sure that's not what they meant. Stop. Learn to stop and listen to them and look them in the eyes and say, tell me more. And of course, we don't want to falsely accuse anyone, but that is by far happening way less often than people who are, who need to be accused and need to be brought into the light are doing that. So what do you see? What do you say to those parents who are saying, okay, I'm listening. How do we know, Nick.

>> Nick Vujicic: You know, I have young kids and parenting young children versus teenagers, it's a different ball game. And it's not just talking to the, the boy versus the girl. It's. It's every boy that I raise. As a parent, my two sons are different. how I connect with them are different. What, though they all need is time, focus, and attention to feel like they can talk to me about anything. If they, they don't feel they can talk to me about anything, they won't. And they'll pretend that everything's okay. They don't want you to be worried about them sometimes as well. Jessica, we haven't said that. Some people don't want to say anything because they don't want that other person to really get in trouble. And so then that's this self guilt trip. That, that. Can I just say, like, the problem is. Yeah, that, you know, that, that one case with Jenna Quinn, with that one coach, who knows if that coach did more than one victim. And so you got to also understand that when you talk to your kids for instance, if I want to know if my child is being bullied, I don't ask down. Have you been bullied? I asked him. Hey, and take him on one on one dates. He likes that restaurant. Let's go on that. She wants to be in the pool. Let's go talk in the pool. he wants to go on a car ride. Let's go on a car ride. And let's just have one on one for a second. And if I, if, if I'm not even hearing anything of what you're saying, and you are so spot on, Jessica. Sometimes we are so busy and we brush our kids off so quick, it.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Makes me want to cry.

>> Nick Vujicic: It don't do that. I, I, unfortunately, it's not just fear, it's compassion. And I think we become so callous in our ways. Algorithm. We're the provider, we're the protector. but at the same time, we feel like there's just a lot more responsibility when it comes to our kids. Wait a second. The greatest thing that you're responsible for is for their well being, their soul, their mind, their heart, and, and, and their well being. It's not just getting them to college and hopefully getting them matched married. It's helping them, blocking and tackling the things that they're gonna have to deal with. But they always need a safe place to, to talk. And so I would start my conversation with my child and say, hey, I want to talk about bullying. Have you ever seen anyone sometimes be bullied at school? Did you hear those words? The way that came, came out. It is so not, threatening. I'm not asking them for so much transparency. I'm not putting them under a magnifying glass. and starting with, it's like human trafficking.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Yeah.

>> Nick Vujicic: Do you know that one in schools are actually, there's, there's students at your kids schools that are coercing and prepping your kid to be human trafficked in a, in a, in a, in a way that they were even say that they ever will be human trafficked.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: You know what? You're right.

>> Nick Vujicic: Of abuse.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Like, we're already at our second break. Why can't I have all day to talk with you? And that is a really heavy cliffhanger. But listen again, this is so important. We have to talk about this. When we come back, I will echo what Nick is saying about trafficking happening in schools we've talked about before, and we'll give you more help and hope and hope for you to become a champion for the brokenhearted. We'll see you on the other side of this break.

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Nick V Ministries calls the church to be a responder to abuse

>> If I Got Jesus by Ben Fuller and Megan Danielle: I've had a dollar to my name I've had friends that walked away and I've even lost myself a time or two There were bridges crossed and burned but through all the wreckage I have learned There is one thing that I can never lose if I got Jesus I've got all that I could ever need Take the world away from me and I'll be okay. If I got Jesus There's a hope that's living deep inside A joy that I could never hide In a safe place to fall if I got Jesus.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: I got got it all welcome back, friends. That's if I Got Jesus by Ben Fuller and Megan Danielle. And that is the story. No matter what you have gone through, no matter what you are going through, Jesus is the answer for that problem. And we are here to give practical help and hope. And today we're talking about something tough. I'm giving you a content advisory here. We are talking about being a champion for the brokenhearted and helping those who have been abused. It is a tough topic and. But listen, God takes what the enemy meant for harm and he brings redemption. There is hope. There is healing. There is a future. I'm, talking to Nick Vujicic, a powerful voice as a champion for the brokenhearted. Go to nickvministries.org go back and check out our whole series that we are right in the middle of and listen to the other populations. You never know, God might have a calling for you in that. But today we're talking specifically and calling the church to be A responder to abuse, not just a bystander. be an advocate. Because God never intended his church to be a bystander in the face of abuse. And he calls us to protect the innocent, to comfort, the healing, to confront evil, not just spiritually, but practically. And with more than 4 billion people worldwide who don't know Jesus, Nick V Ministries is working to reach a billion more people by 2029. And every one of those billions is so important. And we're talking about that today. Through the resources provided to you, you can take training to be able to respond to people in your church who have been abused. And before the break, Nick, we. We were really going into some heavy territory talking about human trafficking. This is something where you and I share a heartbeat of hope for people who are being trafficked. We know that it's happening. You have been in all parts of the world, in all parts of the country. We know that abuse is happening there. And I want to, talk, just very briefly about how parents can see this is happening. And what I was going to say is that even just in the last year, I worked with a group of doctoral students who worked with a very large school district here in the United States, and they had a survivor come forward. We were looking for a survivor voice because that's really important in any of this advocacy work. Just like Nick has been working with Jenna. And this girl said that she had been adopted as a young baby. Her mom knew there would be some attachment issues. She tried to cultivate some safe friendships, got some recommendations from very trusted sources about another family, and the daughters start to make friends. But what she did not know was that this other girl's mother was trafficking her starting at the age of 11. And because of the grooming, because of the trauma bonding that happens, they didn't know that it was going on for several years. She was going to school every single day. And these, these kinds of stories are important and instructive for us because as parents, Nick, we want to just be hyper vigilant about the scary stranger in the creepy white van in the grocery store parking lot. We don't want to think about that spiritual leader who's sitting on the pew next to us at church. So really quickly, I just want to go through the seven stages of grooming that Jenna shares with you in the video. If you want to know more about that, then go and look at that. But whether it is trafficking or abuse outside of trafficking, that becomes trafficking, it happens by targeting the victim, finding someone who has a vulnerability, who has A need, gaining their trust is step two, building that relationship with the child. And the way that you kind of know that spidey sense is. That seems too good to be true. Maybe they're just always present over the top. And that's not always. That's. That could be someone genuine, but it's something to consider. Step three, fulfilling a need. Taking a role in that child's life. Meeting specific emotional, physical or material needs. Number four, isolating them. Work to working to make sure that that child is separate from safe adults. And that can be separate physically, separate emotionally, separate socially. And then number five is establishing secrecy. Number six, making the relationship physical. And seven, maintaining control. That's how it happens. Now the hope in that is that those seven steps do not happen overnight. It takes time and that means there is time to intervene.

Nick: Your child may be being abused by an abuser

So Nick, I'm going to give it back to you and let you finish your thought because we were just so rudely. Interrupt. Interrupted by the live radio break.

>> Nick Vujicic: No, it's okay. Look, the bottom line is just what we were trying to establish here is, is your child may be being abused by an abuser. and they would even not even know that that's a bad thing. and so that's the deceit of, of this whole evil, very, very dark evil. so, but. But you know, understanding just that relationship with your. Your individual child. How to approach and investing in time to connect with them, that they can feel safe. And you can ask them first questions like do you know anyone who's sleeping around or someone who took advantage of someone? and coming from a point of view of almost like, I'm curious about your school and then eventually narrowing it down. Have, has anyone ever made you feel uncomfortable? Comfortable, to different approaches of hey, what. What music are you listening to? Do. Do you realize what songs the words that are coming out of your mouth? unfortunately, we feel that we can take kids to church and, and the. The pastors of their spiritual leaders. The bottom line here is Jessica, where their spiritual leaders as their parents. and what's beautiful is there is hope, there is redemption. Like Jenna Quinn. There's a Geno Quinn law, being passed in the majority of the states in America now. And something so traumatic to now bring light awareness, and restitution, for many people, healing awareness, education. and this is something that we really should be also educating all of our young people in the church. And unfortunately not enough of us are doing it. And I really want to encourage that. If you're a faith Leader, to make sure that there is one on one counseling available there, that someone mentioned something there. Maybe there's a special focus group we used to call them for something and I mean it's just, it's such a heavy topic. It's so unique for each individual. But you know, I, I just encourage all your listeners, Jessica, to, to get Jenna Quinn's resources and books, become aware of it, start researching some stats. These are not just stats that Jessica and I made up. It's everywhere around us.

>> Nick Vujicic: And unfortunately the perpetrators are closer than you think.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: They absolutely are. And so we just need to be vigilant. I really appreciate what you said Nick, about as. For as parents it is our responsibility to protect our kids. And so often we don't want to think about the dark things that are going on in this world and we just want to live in our little bubble. But that's not the reality of where we are. And there's so many resources. You can again go to nickvministries.org there's an ebook called Hope for the Abused. You can watch a video where Nick interviews Jenna and you can see that you can take an additional step and be trained in this curriculum. There is information about those steps there. One of the things I think that's so powerful about Jenna's story and is, is her ability to forgive and the, her ability to reject the lies that she used to believe and to find forgiveness, to find peace, to find hope, to find healing. And I think there's so many times where you see someone who's experienced horrific abuse. I know and I have both seen that. And you think how, how do you even start that journey? What do you see as champions for the brokenhearted? Equipping the church to walk alongside that journey so that someone can have a journey of healing.

>> Nick Vujicic: You know, being to be coming to a point where you can forgive someone is to me the epiphany of the beginning of healing. And, and that that's a long journey. Sometimes times, sometimes it's decades to even think of thinking of thinking of forgiving somebody. I've lived it. We've all got our different experiences. Took me 10 years to forgive somebody. and I'm the preacher. and so you know, I counseling one on one and that trust bridge to be built. But yeah, look, Jenna would say it's all giving Jesus it all is. It's him. Because there's no way that humanly speaking we should forgive. We know they don't deserve that forgiveness yet. Because we know the forgiveness and the redemption and the power and, and his blood. And the word of our testimony, is. Is something that, you know, God doesn't waste. God doesn't waste even the most difficult times of, our lives. And I want to just encourage you with this last note, that. That even though we go through something difficult, it doesn't mean that God's forgotten them or they've done something wrong to deserve that. if God was punishing us for our sin, we would die. The punishment of sin is death. But this is the devil's dominion, and he is seeking who he can kill, devour, and destroy. Destroy. but God can redeem and he does cause even the worst parts of our life for good. In that if I can just be a miracle for one more other person. I think, Jessica, this is the light of hope that someone just needs to know.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: It absolutely is. Go ahead.

>> Nick Vujicic: Just one more person. One day, somehow, God's going to use your story to help someone else.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, just like he's used your story to help so many.

Jessica: Nick, what is your vision for championing the abused

How many people did you say that you think that you've hugged, Nick?

>> Nick Vujicic: Oh, we stopped counting after a half a million. My arms fell off.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Of course you would make that joke, but it's. It's astounding. But the power of a hug, the power of hope, the power to look at people. I mean, you have preached in some of the darkest parts of the planet, Nick, and you have heard stories that are just absolutely devastating and heartbreaking, but you've also seen the power of hope that is offered. And I think about from the first time that we talked in your story, your life story, where you were desperate to the point of not wanting to live anymore, and how God redeemed your life. He restored you. He has you on this ministry, and now you have shared this hope with so many other people. And I think what people don't grasp, Nick, they look and they think. Well, I don't have a testimony like Nick, but that's exactly the point. God has given you your own testimony. So I want to know, what is your vision? How would you inspire people out there who are listening, who think what? Well, I would like to be a champion for the brokenhearted, but I got a lot of baggage. I don't know what that looks like. What would you call them to do and. And to encourage them that it would make a difference.

>> Nick Vujicic: Thank you, Jessica. Look, the bottom line is, in eternity, there's only going to be one thing that will be remembered, is how many People did we help along the way to let them know that Jesus loves them. And you know, you can't count how many, you can count how many seeds are in an apple, but you can't count how many in a seed. And so when you step out, and you plant that seed, you don't know the real ripple effect of what that looks like. And when you look at the generational curses and the, the reason why people also kind of unfortunately get uncomfort, remain comfortable where they're at instead of being uncomfortable and looking for justice and saying something, something and getting that healing is because while my mom's being abused, my grandma's being abused, my uncles abused them. That doesn't make anything okay. So I just want you to know that, that you might be the one to actually break the curse in your generational lineage of thinking that's okay for the rest of the generations and all the other apple trees ahead, whether that's for your family and whether that's one or for a thousand thousand or having a national law like Jenna Queen law, just do what God's called you to do and you can be trained. Right now with our certification to do a one on one, ah, Champions for the abused course, where we believe the churches are not really, they don't have that, they've got a gap. Fill in that gap, and allow the pastor to know that, hey, you've now gone through the certification and you want to help to be a champion of the abuse in your local community?

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: Go to nickvministries.org you'll see populations of the trafficked, the unborn, the disabled, the prisoner, the orphan, the widow. We've already talked about these. Nick has been on the show to share the vision for each of those. Today we're talking about the abused. There's still the addicted, the suicidal, the bullied, the veteran and the poor. And I hope you've been really inspired, I know I have, by Nick's message. Because you can be a champion for the brokenhearted. I don't want to just give you hope to say here. I hope that you'll feel better and be stronger in this lifetime. I want to tell you there's a God who made you, who knows you, who has promised you eternity, who will redeem and restore and make all things new in a way that we don't even understand. So if you're hurting, you are not alone. If you've been silent, today is your day to speak. And whether you're a survivor or an advocate, Jesus sees you, he loves you, and he will walk with you every step of the way. If you need resources, reach out to us. We'll be glad to connect you. And I pray the Lord will bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. And I'll see you right back here tomorrow.

>> Dr. Jessica Peck: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.

Jessica talks with Nick Vujicic about the Champions for the Brokenhearted series and how we can become a champion for the abused. 

Rx for Hope: Become a Champion for the Abused

https://nickvministries.org/