Hide - Joy Williams

To anyone who hides behind a smile
To anyone who holds their pain inside
To anyone who thinks they're not good enough
To anyone who feels unworthy of love
To anyone who ever closed the door
Closed their eyes and locked themselves away

You don't have to hide
You don't have to hide anymore
You don't have to face this on your own
You don't have to hide anymore

So come out, come out, come out wherever you are
To anyone who's tryin' to cover up their scars
To anyone who's ever made a big mistake
We've all been there, so don't be ashamed
Come out, come out and join the rest of us
You've been alone for way too long

And if you feel like no one understands
Come to the One with scars on His hands
'Cause He knows where you are, where you've been
His scars will heal you if you let Him

We offer an online support group for former and current United Pentecostal Church and other Apostolic church members.

In addition, we consider those who were involved in similar church organizations as well as family members and friends of current or ex-UPC/apostolic members who are seeking help. Current UPC or apostolic members must be contemplating leaving their organization or be questioning the validity of UPC/apostolic teachings in order to be considered for membership.

We are a Christian group and promote Christian teachings, principles and values. We offer a safe place to discuss issues and concerns. This is a private board and cannot be read by the general public.

Starting in May of 2000, the support group was first hosted on E-groups, which was later converted to Yahoo Groups. In August of 2003, we moved our location and changed formats to a phpBB2 board. In January 2008, we moved to a better vBulletin board system.

You may register at http://www.spiritualabuse.org/supportgroup/index.php. In addition to access of the support group board, members also get the free use of a blog. Blogs may be viewed by the general public.

We also have been able to hold some in person support group get togethers in Texas, Wisconsin and Missouri. The last weekend of October 2010, we had one in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Please be sure to fully read the statement on the registration page. Upon registration, a questionnaire will be sent which must be fully answered before your membership can be considered. We normally allow three days for a response before removing pending applications. Please watch your bulk mail folder as some email programs place mail sent from the board there. If you do not receive an email within an hour of your registration, please email me.

Understand that we do not tolerate anyone who joins for wrongful reasons or who attempts to disrupt the group or cause distress or harm to any member. We will take whatever action is deemed necessary in order to keep the group a safe place for our members.

Started by Lois Gibson and affiliated with the spiritual abuse web site, the Christian-Koinonia support group is lightly moderated.

In the past we have had special guests on the board, who only had access to their special forum. Prior guests have been: Tony Ducklow (author of Where Angels Tread), Wes Comer (illustrator of Ruth Rieder's children's books), Don Marler (author of Imprisoned in the Brotherhood), Becca Anderson (author of The Gathering Place), Samantha Nelson (author of Reaching the Hurting), David Henke (author of Spiritual Abuse Recovery), David Wasmundt (author of Neo-Phariseeism and Pendulum Extremes), Mary Alice Chrnalogar (author of Twisted Scriptures), and Tish Meeks & Steve Hoover from the "Wife Swap" episode with the Meeks & Hoover (UPC) families.

We also give away books and sometimes other items to members, sometimes on a weekly basis. Below are some examples of what we have provided to members in the past. We have given away hundreds of books, Bibles, DVDs and videos.

Koinonia: "the share which one has in anything...fellowship recognized and enjoyed." (Vines).

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