The morning after a World Impact Trauma Healing session on forgiveness, a Kenyan ministry leader, Stella, woke up with tears streaming down her face, but this time, they were tears of joy instead of pain.
“I woke up healed and fresh and happy,” she said. “There were things I ignored in the past, and now I’ve realized they were traumatizing me. Yesterday’s session helped me so much.”
Though the sun rose like any other day in May, for Stella, and for scores of others who had attended the training, life had already begun to change. Earlier that week, the World Impact Trauma Healing team had arrived in Kenya and Tanzania carrying more than curriculum: They carried a mission to restore wounded hearts and equip local leaders to bring that same healing to their communities.
Within two weeks, 130 pastors and ministry leaders were trained and certified to apply biblical principles alongside practical mental health tools, ready to help people leave their trauma at the foot of the cross and walk into renewal. Because healed hearts heal others, the impact multiplies.
Senior Ministry Developer David Estrada described the experience: “It was a sacred exchange where wounds met the Word, and healing began. World Impact makes this possible by not just sending resources, but by walking with leaders, listening deeply, and equipping them to lead healing in their own communities.”
Rev. Samson Muana, a pastor from Kenya, put it plainly: “In all my years of ministry, this was the missing link. We’ve been preaching, praying, casting out demons, yet we didn’t see the trauma people carry in their hearts. Now we have the tools to help them heal.”
For Jane, another ministry leader, the training also was deeply personal. She had been behind bars for six years, unable to pay the fine that would set her free.
“I prayed from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. for God to send me an angel,” she remembers. “And God sent a priest from China, Father John, who paid my fine. He rescued my life.”
Today, Jane ministers in prisons, guiding women through trauma with the biblical tools she gained from World Impact.
Others echoed that transformation. One pastor admitted, “I can no longer pretend I’m not hurting. Healing is a process, one step at a time. Through my healing, I can heal other people.” Douglas, another participant, said, “Each of us might have been wounded, but we can take our hearts, our wounds, to the cross of Jesus. I’m now trained to lead a healing group. It’s going to be a good journey for the people around me.”
Across Africa, the need is urgent. Though Africa is home to more Christians than any other continent, access to training is scarce. Many leaders lack biblical training to address deep wounds from grief, abuse, and violence, leaving churches vulnerable to false teaching.
Your partnership makes this work possible. Together, we are multiplying the hope and healing of the gospel—one leader, one church, one community at a time.
Read next: Trauma Healing Training is the Missing Link in East African Ministries
