We are pleased to announce an exciting transition today for Divorce Ministry 4 Kids and Hope 4 Hurting Kids. Effectively immediately, all ministry previously done through Divorce Ministry 4 Kids will be done through Hope 4 Hurting Kids. Articles and information previously hosted at DivorceMinistry4Kids.com will gradually be moved over to Hope4HurtingKids.com, and all future postings will be made on Hope4HurtingKids.com. We are excited about this evolution of the ministry which started over six years ago with the creation of Divorce Ministry 4 Kids, and we look forward to moving ahead and continuing to help hurting kids through Hope 4 Hurting Kids. We recognize that this transition likely raises some questions, and the purpose of this article is to answer those questions to the best of our ability.
Why Is Divorce Ministry 4 Kids becoming Hope 4 Hurting Kids?
There are many reasons we decided to make this switch now. Here are a few of the main reasons:
- When we started Divorce Ministry or Kids in 2011, our main purpose was to minister to children who had experienced the divorce of their parents. We quickly realized that there were many kids who experience the trauma of family disruption even though their parents havn’t technically divorced. These include kids born to single mothers, living with their grandparents, living with cohabiting parents, gay parent led families and many more. Unfortunately, many of these kids, and the people working with them, would not take advantage of the resources we were offering simply because the name Divorce is in the title of the ministry. The principal reason for the name change is so that these kids can get the help they need.
- When I launched Divorce Ministry 4 Kids, it was in response to a call I felt to minister to these kids. I liked the name and didn’t do a lot of research on it before we locked up the domain, developed a logo and invested some time and money into it. THEN, I found out there was a great curriculum out there for children of divorce called Divorce Care 4 Kids (DC4K). I have nothing but respect for DC4K. I teach a local DC4K group in my home town and have for years. The writer of DC4K, Linda Ranson Jacobs, is a mentor and has become a great friend. In fact, she has written extensively for Divorce Ministry 4 Kids (and you’ll see many of her articles as we transition those to Hope 4 Hurting Kids). Despite all that, people have always confused the two ministries, and understandably so. This move is designed, in part, to delineate the work and ministry we now do from the curriculum of DC4K.
- Our ministry has also expanded since we started Divorce Ministry 4 Kids. As we created resources for, and worked with, kids dealing with the trauma of family disruption, we discovered that those same resources and that same information is helpful to kids who are experiencing all different types of circumstances and difficulties. For example, over the last few years a major portion of our work has focused on resources and training related to helping kids to deal with difficult emotions. These emotions like anger, depression, anxiety and stress are prevalent in the case of family disruption, but they are obviously not limited to just family disruption. Our ministry has expanded to include kids in all types of situations, and the people working with them, and the move to Hope 4 Hurting Kids more accurately the work we are currently doing.
Has There Been Any Turnover in People?
No. Hope 4 Hurting Kids and Divorce Ministry 4 Kids have always been related. They were both started by Wayne Stocks, and for a long time, Divorce Ministry 4 Kids was a “proud member of Hope 4 Hurting Kids.” The individuals behind the two ministries are the same and this is simply a rebranding/simplification of the ministry we have always been doing.
What Changes Can We Expect from this Transition?
You will see the following changes if you currently follow Divorce Ministry 4 Kids or are searching for one of our resources:
- Effective immediately, any new articles and resources that would previously have been posted on DivorceMinistry4Kids.com will be posted at Hope4HurtingKids.com.
- You will also begin to see articles and resources not specifically designed for children from disrupted homes but which may still be beneficial to children dealing with the fall out from a family disruption.
- If you follow Divorce Ministry 4 Kids in a blog reader, Facebook, Twitter, etc. you will want to follow Hope 4 Hurting Kids from hereon out (more on how to do that below).
- Articles and resources previously published on Divorce Ministry 4 Kids will slowly be reissued on Hope 4 Hurting Kids. These articles will be republished in their entirety (and at times updated) and taken down from Divorce Ministry 4 Kids. We are working hard to make sure that any links to Divorce Ministry 4 Kids will be redirected to Hope 4 Hurting Kids so that any old links will still lead people to the right place, but we would ask that any new links to these articles be linked to Hope 4 Hurting Kids.
- Future workshops and presentations will be done under the moniker of Hope 4 Hurting Kids rather than Divorce Ministry 4 Kids.
What Won’t Change?
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- We will still be helping kids who need it and teaching other people how to do the same. We have believed from the beginning, and continue to believe, that the mission of helping these kids dictates that we produce and provide the highest quality information and resources that we can. That goal will continue at Hope 4 Hurting Kids.
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