In Mortification of Spin, a podcast with Carl Trueman, Todd Pruit and Aimee Bird, Ellen Dykas is interviewed (about 30 minutes) about the important and yet difficult issue of Counseling Wives of Addicts.

The focus of this interview is on porn addiction, the effects of which go beyond the addict. Consider the wives of the addict, or less likely but growing in numbers, the husband of the addict. Consider the children. Consider the pervasive influence of pornography among the young with the ubiquitous accessibility of such material. Added to this is how the church attempts to deal with the spouse of an unfaithful husband (or wife).

It will be helpful to say a word about Harvest USA, the ministry, and Dykas’ role within this ministry. Dykas serves as the Women’s Ministry Coordinator at Harvest USA. Prior to this role, Dykas served for several years in the 1990s with ReachGlobal, our EFCA international mission, in Romania. Harvest USA began in 1983 in a local church in Philadelphia associated with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), an Evangelical denomination that shares many of the same doctrinal truths as the EFCA. The ministry has greatly expanded beyond this local church, however they still have a unique relationship to the PCA.

Grounded in Evangelical Beliefs, the focus of this ministry is to serve and care for “those who struggle with sexual sin issues of all types, such as pornography, sexual addictions, etc. The ministry today works with men, women, youth and even entire families who have been impacted by these devastating issues.”

Ministering with this focus does not mean they are an isolated ministry but rather a ministry that serves the church, since “the larger mission of the ministry is to partner with and equip the church in bringing the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ to transform the lives of those affected by sexual sin. The church is called by God to be the primary community in which life-changing transformation happens. The church needs, perhaps more so than ever before in this culture of rampant sensuality and broken sexuality, to be a place where sin-struggling men and women – believers and unbelievers – can find transforming hope in the grace of Jesus Christ. Our goal is to partner with local churches to help them address these issues, and equip men and women to step into the lives of those impacted by sexual sin and brokenness.”

Because of the pervasive influence and effects of pornography, I encourage you to take the 30 minutes to listen to this insightful interview.

After listening, as yourself these questions:

• What does this mean for you in your own personal life?
• What does this mean for others in the church?
• What does this mean for what and how you speak to address this issue, and what you do to minister to those struggling with this sin?