Welcome to the Victory Blog

Over the last several weeks, we’ve been dealing with sexual issues that most people don’t talk about in church – facing the Elephants in the Pew. In a large part, it was all leading up to this past weekend in which we hosted a number of special events and services called The Porn Talk. We see pornography as being an increasingly pervasive but hidden struggle for many people in the church, making it the biggest Elephant in the Pew that we (and the church at large) need to address. So, we invited a special guest speaker – Craig Gross, Founder and Pastor of XXXchurch.com, whose online ministry specializes in helping people trapped in bondage to pornography.

His message was straightforward and simple, exposing the truth about pornography addiction among both men and women, and sharing the story of how XXXchurch.com got started and what they do. If you weren’t able to make it to one of our services, I highly recommend that you listen to or watch this message here. In the mean time, I’ll highlight a few things that stood out in what he shared:

Craig’s ministry in this area started when he was a youth pastor and began noticing that more and more kids were struggling with pornography. Eventually, he began to envision a safe place online, a community to help people and let them know they’re not the only ones dealing with this. As a result, he created their website, XXXchurch.com, billing it at the #1 Christian Porn Site. And what better place to launch such a site than at a porn convention?! So, he and his wife set up a booth and started telling people about a better way and promoting the site. Since then, they’ve been to 35 of these shows – in the US, Europe, Australia, Canada – giving away Bibles that say, “Jesus loves porn stars!” and seeing many people’s lives touched – both those within the industry and those who consume it.

For anyone one who struggles with pornography, know this:

Jesus Christ can and will free you from this bondage!

If you want to start this process, there are three things you need to do:

1. Confess your struggle to God. Obviously, it’s no surprise to Him and He loves you deeply. It’s amazing how the power of things hidden in darkness is broken simply by bringing them into the light through honest confession to God. Humbly recognize that you need God’s help to overcome this.
2. Confess to someone else. There’s no other sin like this one. You can’t do it on your own. Ask for help. Make yourself accountable to them – at least one or two people who can really hold you accountable. Give them permission to talk to you about issues.
3. Decide right now to clean this thing up. Don’t be like a dog returning to its vomit. Shut the doors. Cut off the access points – unfiltered, unaccountable internet use, cable, magazines, etc. You’ve got to take this matter seriously. That means taking some extreme measures. Your relationships with God, family and others are more important.

You do not have to go any further down the road of suffering created by bondage to porn. God can set you free and really wants to do so. He can put you on the right road. He can fill the hole in your heart. He can bring healing and reconciliation and meet every need – not just temporarily, but for real, solidly, eternally. Don’t let the devil keep you bound in this for another moment. Freedom is at your doorstep!