G.R.A.C.E. Celebrates 20 Years
Panel looks at challenges and wins, and calls the Church to “convert to Christianity”

This month, the Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE) is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
Attorney and sexual abuse advocate Boz Tchividjian founded the organization in 2004 to equip faith communities to recognize, prevent, and respond to abuse more effectively. According to the GRACE website, the organization “exists to equip the Church with a vision for authentic community, where responsibility, accountability, and compassion are second nature and caring for children and adult survivors of abuse are non-negotiable.”
As part of its anniversary, GRACE held an online panel, bringing together the original GRACE visionaries to discuss its mission and impact over the last two decades.
The panel, “From Vision to Impact,” included Boz Tchividjian, psychologist Diane Langberg, Victor Vieth, James Luttrull, Phil Monroe, Emmanuel Tchividjian, and Matt Lacey.
Executive Director Pete Singer, who facilitated the meeting, opened the panel.
“It seems hard to believe that 20 years ago, Boz, Diane, Matt, Phil, Emmanuel, Victor, and Jim all came together and met to determine, to share this vision, to share what God had really laid on their hearts about equipping faith communities to do a better job of recognizing, preventing, and responding to abuse,” he said.
How it Began
Tchividjian recounted how he and others came together with a vision to address abuse within faith communities. Tchividjian, grandson of famed evangelist Billy Graham, described how he experienced a significant disconnect between the ideal of a faith community as a place of refuge and the reality he observed as a prosecutor, where faith institutions often failed to protect victims of abuse.
Using the example of the Boston Catholic Church abuse scandals (exposed by Boston Globe’s Spotlight team) in the early 2000s, Tchividjian explained how the idea came to a head.
“I had a lot of my Protestant friends who were pointing their fingers at the Catholics, going, man, what a terrible church. Look at all that stuff that’s going on,” said Tchividjian. “And I said, ‘Well, yeah, it is terrible. It’s horrific, but quit pointing your finger at them because I can tell you right now, it’s no less prevalent here.’”
Troubled by these revelations, Tchividjian began envisioning ways to bring his frontline experience to the church, equipping faith communities with the knowledge and tools to handle abuse effectively and compassionately.
Tchividjian shared his vision for GRACE with his friend Victor Vieth, who connected him with James Luttrell and Diane Langberg, each bringing unique expertise to the project. Vieth’s wife, Lisa, suggested the name and acronym “GRACE,” perfectly capturing their mission.
In 2004, the team, joined by Boz’s relative Emmanuel Tchividjian, met in Diane’s Philadelphia office to formalize their plans during a season when three hurricanes swept through Central Florida (where most of the members lived).
Tchividjian stepped down as executive director of the organization in 2019 to return to full-time law to directly assist survivors of sexual abuse, but has remained supportive in the ministry.
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Challenges and Improvements
Other speakers emphasized survivors’ challenges, especially when faith communities fail to support them. They also noted how the church’s response to abuse has improved, though slowly, with a call for continued change.
Clinical Psychologist Phil Monroe explained in a prerecorded video the unique challenges survivors of abuse within faith communities face. He explained how they experience both the initial harm and a “secondary wound” when their community denies or dismisses their trauma, sometimes even blaming the survivor.
Monroe referenced psychologist Ken Pargament’s research, which shows that people heal better in communities that acknowledge their pain and support their healing process.
“Unfortunately, what we’ve seen so often is that survivors have often had to bear this wound by themselves,” he added. “They’re not in a safe community that allows their wounds to be acknowledged or discussed. If anything, they are vilified for having them.”
Monroe emphasized that organizations like GRACE play a crucial role by openly addressing these wounds, validating survivors’ experiences, and showing that it’s possible to process trauma within faith without demonizing the survivor—helping some to hold onto their faith through difficult times.
Psychologist and trauma victim expert Diane Langberg shared that early in her career, her work exposing abuse in churches was often dismissed due to her gender, with many church leaders viewing her as “misled” by supposedly attention-seeking women. Over the last two decades, however, the persistence of advocates in addressing abuse and standing by victims has created a significant shift, leading to more openness within churches to acknowledge and deal with abuse concerns.
Rising Issues
Board Member Victor Vieth, who also spoke via prerecorded video, noted some emerging issues and trends he said GRACE must prepare to deal with.
For example, current policies are often limited to avoiding lawsuits, focusing only on preventing abuse within the church walls while neglecting issues like abuse in the home, neglect, and exposure to violence.
“Well, that’s because lawyers and insurance companies have reminded us that those are the kids who are most likely to one day sue us,” he said.
But Vieth said it is the kids that should be the focus of protection from abuse. “But the church isn’t all that concerned about sexual abuse in the home, which is greater in terms of its numbers,” he said. “That is not of a concern because those kids don’t ever hold a press conference. They don’t ever sue us.”
Vieth said such an attitude is sinful and wrong. He said that for the church to protect children truly, it must undergo theological reform that prioritizes child protection beyond just the risk of legal liability. These actions will not change until the church reforms to biblical Christianity, including harnessing a “child theology movement” that acknowledges the many teachings of Jesus about children and our duty to protect them, he said.
Boz Tchividjian also noted a shift in the church’s approach to abuse, with some progress in recognizing child abuse issues but a widespread lack of awareness around adult clergy abuse
“The epidemic of adult clergy abuse is unbelievable to me. I get more calls every week on adult clergy abuse: Adults who have been groomed—targeted—groomed and abused by clergy,” he said. “It’s out of control.”
Tchividjian said many are leaving traditional church institutions due to perceived corruption and lack of accountability, making it crucial for GRACE to adapt its mission to reach these communities outside formal church settings.
Langberg and Emmanuel Tchividjian also shared their hopes for more survivors to come forward and for churches to prioritize caring for individuals over maintaining systems.
The conversation closed with a call for the church to “convert to Christianity” by embracing Jesus’ radical message of caring for the vulnerable.
To commemorate the anniversary, GRACE launched 20 Flashes of Light—stories from survivors, staff, and board members to raise awareness of abuse within churches.
Followers are encouraged to dedicate 20 minutes to prayer for GRACE and abuse survivors and donate to the cause, if led.
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