White Lake Ministry Helps People Heal After Separation

For more than 15 years, Woodside Bible Church has ministered to White Lake community members suffering from the effects of divorce and separation.

“Divorce is an event that affects you the rest of your life,” said Pastor Brad Hulcy of Woodside Bible Church. “It affects people and their children very deeply and emotionally.”  

When Hulcy was called to Woodside in 1997, the divorce recovery program was up and running, and he knew he wanted to be a part of the ministry.

“I grew up in a single-parent home as a child of divorce,” he said. “I remember the pain caused by divorce. When my mother was divorced in the '60s, there was no support for it. This ministry helps people get healthy and strong again. It’s about preparing them for a single life or remarriage.”

Participants of divorce recovery meet from 7-9 p.m. every Tuesday at Woodside in White Lake. The program involves a cycle of 13 sessions that repeat throughout the year.

“Each cycle is 13 sessions, and people can come in at any time,” Hulcy said. The groups typically have six to 15 participants per session. “Many times, people will go through it for a second time,” he said.

The program is supported by DVDs and covers issues such as anger, depression, sexuality, forgiveness, loneliness and financial survival. Divorce recovery is led by four leaders, two men and two women, who have personally experienced divorce — a requirement to lead the ministry.

“I have not experienced divorce,” Hulcy said. “So, I oversee it (the program) and support the leaders.” The purpose of the ministry is to offer understanding and support to others who have been through or are going through a similar transition.

“Recovery doesn’t happen in isolation,” he said. “Through my experience with recovery, I see that it best takes place in a community — a community of people who are experiencing similar pain. Within a few weeks into the session, we see people smile again and laugh again.”

As a result of the kinship, friendships develop, but participants are discouraged from forming romantic relationships within the group.

“The last thing we want them to do is to jump from one relationship to another,” Hulcy said. “We suggest one year of singleness for every four years of marriage.”

Woodside is a nondenominational church, and the Christian-based ministry is open to people of all faiths.

“Every week, they’ll pray,” Hulcy said. “It’s loaded with Christian counselors who give their perspective on divorce.” Most importantly, he said, it offers them the realization that there is one person they can turn to who will never reject them: Jesus Christ.

Although Hulcy said divorce is an event that often affects families for the rest of their lives, it is possible to heal and grow from the experience. Through divorce recovery, Woodside offers community members with a place to go where they can discover the tools to heal and grow from divorce.

“I see it time and time again where these people will turn around,” Hulcy said. “Divorce recovery gives them hope.”

To register for this ministry, call Woodside Bible Church at 248-698-1300.