Eight Simple Reminders for Trauma-Informed Worship

I grew up in church, and my parents were always involved, whether it was my mother teaching Sunday school or my father serving as an elder and singing tenor in the church quartet. We seemed to spend every spare hour at Bethany Evangelical Congregational Church in Reading, Pennsylvania. My journey included the children’s choir, vacation Bible school, youth group, and a mission trip to Mexicali, Mexico, as a high school junior. As an adult, I have served at Knox Presbyterian Church in Pasadena, California, as a Sunday school teacher, worship team member, deacon, and elder. And because I am a psychologist, the reality of God’s redemptive work in human life and worship in community has never been separated from my exploration of responses to trauma, burnout, and emotional pain. God’s truth embedded in psychology belongs in therapy—but it also belongs in our churches.

Many of us have heard the term “trauma-informed” in different settings. We might think this simply means that someone knows what post-traumatic stress disorder is. But the term encompasses much more than that. The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has created principles for any organization or system to function in a way that helps to mitigate the potential impacts of traumatic experiences. The principles emphasize the need for organizations to increase safety, reinforce peer support, function with trustworthiness and transparency, create partnerships of collaboration and mutuality, and lead in ways that lead to empowerment, voice, and choice.¹

You can have these principles in mind when planning worship. A faith community is a unique environment for mutuality, support, trust, and empowerment, and the church can be mindful of those who have experienced trauma by functioning in ways that contribute to safety and choice. 

Here are eight guidelines for planning trauma-informed worship:

Remember that most people are hurting. 
People nervous about public speaking are sometimes told to imagine their audience in their underwear. I suggest instead that we imagine them with bandages. Between 64% and 85% of adults experienced some sort of trauma in childhood.² That means that if you are in a church of 400 members, up to 340 of them have a childhood story that includes an event such as divorce, sexual abuse, neglect, physical abuse, and family mental illness. Therefore, a good proportion of your congregation is carrying pain or wounds from earlier tragic experiences. 

Keep in mind the experience of being sinned against.
Scripture holds some confusing stories, and Bible characters act in ways that are simply human. King David for example—the man “after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22)—is also a murderer, adulterer, and rapist. Imagine what it might feel like for a rape survivor to hear the stories of King David. You do not need to avoid these stories. Just keep in mind that your congregation includes people who are holding the pain of others’ sin, and they need a way to be honest about that pain, anger, shame, or distrust. They may need to have the freedom to not forgive as they work out with God what forgiveness can look like.³

Make preaching an invitation, not a threat. 
Preaching to instill fear will chase people away. The urgency of God’s desire to bring goats into the fold is very real. Christ tells the story of the Good Shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine sheep to search for one lost sheep (Luke 15:4–6). The urgency of finding the lost should not be conveyed only by a message of hellfire and brimstone. Trauma survivors will likely shut down when they hear that fear and threat and may walk out of your community before you even have a chance to hear their story. The wounds they carry may be experiences that the church calls sin, but those experiences may not have been their choice. Freedom from shame is likely needed prior to a message about confession and repentance.⁴ 

Consider what it might be like to hear worship songs on your worst day.
Many contemporary worship songs highlight the incredible power and presence of our Savior, and these words can ring with hope and promise for many. However, when the musical expression only celebrates times of delight, it may be difficult for those who are in times of mourning or confusion. How would you feel if on your worst day you were asked to sing only songs of praise and thanksgiving? Remember that the lament psalms spend time speaking honestly about the ways the writers feel God let them down. Only after that heartfelt expression does the praise come in. Those who are grieving, confused, or navigating a terrible event have lots of questions they might like to ask God. Reflecting the range of emotions in our musical worship is a gift to our community.⁵

Normalize the mystery.
Our community members need to know that it is OK not to understand suffering. Why would God allow a child to be abused? How do I trust a God that took my mother with cancer when I was only eight years old? Why does it seem like God doesn’t hear my prayers? So much of a walk with God is about faith, about believing in what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1). Someone who has experienced trauma has seen some of the worst of the world—and of people. It may be difficult to come to a place of peace about this invisible God. Our worship reflects a decision to turn toward God even when we doubt or are angry, confused, or numb. We help create spiritual safety when we normalize the cry of the father of a sick child in the gospel of Mark: “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). 

Do not be afraid to preach or plan worship connected to the hard parts of Scripture. 
You have a unique position as someone creating a worship experience! You are navigating the opportunity to form, encourage, equip, heal, and challenge the people in your community. Bringing pain or discomfort into the conversation may not be popular, but we all are holding some type of suffering. Preaching about the times of loss, discouragement, or fear that God’s people experience reminds us of the whole arc of being a Christian. We are not saved by Christ’s death and resurrection in order to have an easy and comfortable life. Hearing stories from scripture helps all of us touched by trauma to remember the journey we are on and the great cloud of witnesses that has gone before us.

Create a safe space.
Some trauma survivors, such as combat veterans, find it difficult to sit facing away from a door. Some trauma survivors can feel overwhelmed or triggered in certain spaces and need a way to escape. Consider how your worship space is designed. Is there a way for people to leave without too much attention, to be apart for a moment to calm themselves? Is there a place in the sanctuary where someone could sit with a view of the exits? While there is not a way to ensure safety for everyone, there are ways we can reduce vulnerability and empower people to care for themselves.

Grieve with those who grieve and rejoice with those who rejoice.
A significant part of being trauma-informed is paying attention to the historical and cultural factors that influence a person and a community. Has there been a community disaster in your area? Is your community one that has been historically marginalized or oppressed? Have there been significant losses that affect your community (e.g., the death of a beloved member, a youth overdose, a local industry laying off employees, a morally compromised leader)? Your community needs you to have these guidelines in mind as you preach or plan a worship service. Not everyone may be personally affected by the event or situation, but everyone is part of the journey of making meaning of the experience and bringing healing or restitution. We also need to celebrate as we move forward, as we experience important milestones and see growth. Trauma is not the only part of life. There are also times of gratitude, birthdays and anniversaries to celebrate, and moments of beauty. We worship God in all of these times!

¹ https://www.samhsa.gov/mental-health/trauma-violence/trauma-informed-approaches-programs

² Michael Menard, Greater than Gravity (United Against Childhood Trauma Press, 2025), 14.

³ Leah Coulter, Rediscovering the Power of Repentance and Forgiveness (Atlanta: Ampelon Publishing, 2006), 153.

⁴ See Serene Jones, Trauma and Grace 2nd Edition: Theology in a Ruptured World (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2019).

⁵ See Jean L. Neely, Christ in the Abyss: Cultivating Deep Faith amid Depression and Despair (NavPress, 2026).