Who We Are
Led by Renee Smith Ettline, Peace After Divorce, formerly (After Divorce Ministries,) was founded in 2011 to provide Christian love and prayerful healing to those hurting from a current or past divorce. Since then, the mission has expanded to equipping Christian churches with tools, materials, and resources to offer their community the highly-effective Peace After Divorce support group curriculum. The program is based on Renee’s award-winning book by the same name.
With groups in over 50 cities across the U.S., Peace After Divorce church-based groups have proven to be a valuable and effective resource for participants in their quest for healing and hope.
Peace After Divorce offers a grace-filled, uplifting experience that promotes real action toward personal growth and healing. This is so much more than a divorce support group alone. Strategies found in the materials empower participants to take practical steps, find hope, have faith, and renew their lives.
For Churches
We make offering a Peace After Divorce support group ministry affordable as we equip churches with a free leader guide and offer individuals the opportunity to order the book on their own thereby reducing church costs.
Details are on our Start a Group page.
For Individuals
Individuals who can’t attend a group may also order the Peace After Divorce book and work through it on their own getting step-by-step help and questions for self-reflection and prayer. You may also benefit from the posts on Renee’s award-winning blog.
Meet Renee, Author and Creator of Peace After Divorce
Renee Smith Ettline, M.Ed. has walked the walk and felt the pain. She knows firsthand how devastating and disruptive a failed marriage can be. She also knows the confusion that comes from wondering how to discover a new life, and the discouragement that ensues when you wonder if divorce affects your standing with God.
Most importantly, God has turned Renee’s journey into a ministry to help others. She shares faith-based support coupled with personalized step-by-step strategies that support discovery of a new-found peace and joy.
As an educator, Christ follower, former counselor, and award-winning author, Renee has led church-based divorce recovery workshops for many years. Her book Peace After Divorce has been recognized as an exemplary Christian self-help book by the Illumination Book Awards. She holds a M.Ed. in Student Personnel Services with a focus in Counseling. She has served as adjunct faculty teaching group guidance in the graduate degree program at The Citadel and has been recognized as Outstanding School Counselor of the Year.
That said, it is important to understand that Peace after Divorce is a Christian faith-based educational curriculum and peer support group, it is not group counseling nor is it intended to stand in place of services provided by a licensed mental health counselor.
Our Philosophy
We believe the church can make a positive difference in the lives of those who are coping with divorce and seeking life after divorce. Theologically, the subject of divorce can be a sensitive one in the Christian community. To better help churches and their members decide if Peace after Divorce is a good fit for them, we are proudly transparent about our personal stance on the topic.
- We believe that divorce is not part of God’s plan and should never be taken lightly. Both partners have a responsibility to work together to create a loving and mutually respectful relationship within the marriage covenant.
- We acknowledge that there are circumstances where divorce is necessary—thus creating a painful moral conflict for Christians. Many of these people desperately want their marriages to be healthy and find it hard to accept when divorce happens.
- We realize that faithful Christians can find themselves in situations where the unrepentant behavior or abuse on the part of their spouses makes their marriages intolerable, unhealthy, or unsafe.
- Divorce uproots families, causes pain and confusion, and wounds the soul. We believe that is why God hates divorce.
- While God hates divorce, we believe God does not hate divorced people. The love of God is always redemptive.
- We also believe that divorce can either turn people toward or away from God and the church. A nurturing, grace-filled ministry focused on healing from divorce can impact that choice in a positive way.
- We believe God offers all his children an invitation to walk in the light of his love. He is close to the brokenhearted. Nothing can separate us from the love of God.
- We believe that God is the great counselor and healer. Peace after Divorce group content provides a practical means for each person to process their emotions with God through prayer.
- We believe in redemption of the human soul. The Peace after Divorce workshop is not only a care ministry, it is also a faith-based healing program. We do not place judgement or condemnation on divorced people. Instead, we offer a grace-filled approach that is rooted in the love, compassion, and the redeeming power of Christ.
