 | |
| Abbreviation | GRACE |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2004, recognized as nonprofit in 2006 |
| Founder | Basyle "Boz" Tchividjian |
| Type | Non-profit Organization |
| Purpose | Abuse prevention |
| Location |
|
Key people | Pete Singer (Executive Director) |
| Website | netgrace |
GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment ) is a Virginia501(c)(3)non-profit organization to help Christian groups confrontsexual abuses,psychological abuses andphysical abuses. Its headquarters are atLynchburg, Virginia, United States.
GRACE was founded in 2003 after a reporter called Boz Tchividjian about a case of sexual abuse mishandled by a pastor.[1][verification needed] He became convinced thatEvangelical institutions were not properly addressing incidents of sexual abuse, incidents that he believed would eventually lead to scandals similar tothose that had damaged the Catholic Church. In Tchividjian's view, the authoritarian culture of some Protestant organizations was particularly susceptible to what he called "spiritual abuse"—the attempt of religious leaders to silence victims or convince them that they deserved their abuse.[1][verification needed] Tchividjian has stated that "When it comes to child sexual abuse, too many churches and Christian organizations prefer to sacrifice individuals in order to protect themselves. We end up living out the very antithesis of the Gospel that we preach. The consequences are devastating."[2]
Tchividjian first contacted Victor Vieth, who previously headed the Gundersen National Child Protection Training Center, and Diane Langberg, a psychologist from Pennsylvania who specialized in trauma; these three invited a number of legal, therapeutic and clerical professionals to form a board that created GRACE,[1][verification needed] an organization dedicated to educating churches andparachurch organizations about preventing, detecting, and dealing with sexual abuse.[1][verification needed]
The organization was officially founded in 2004 by Tchividjian in order to help churches to fight againstsexual abuse in Christian organizations.[3][verification needed]
GRACE offerssexual,psychological, andphysical abuse prevention programs; independent investigation of allegations of abuse; and organizational culture assessments of abuse prevention.[4][5][6][7]
[Teaser:] As sex-abuse allegations multiply, Billy Graham's grandson [Boz Tchividjian] is on a mission to persuade Protestant churches to come clean.