Building Vibrant Communities: Helping Hearts Heal
As this Thursday series has unfolded, a core conviction has emerged again and again: true healing—and genuine transformation—rarely happen in isolation.
It is within safe, loving, and faith-filled communities that hearts are opened, wounds addressed, and lives restored.
This week’s Created in the Image of God episode with Dr. Lori Schoessler, licensed Clinical Christian Counselor and founder of New Leaf Christian Counseling, brought all these threads powerfully to life.
The Gift of a Safe, Empathetic Space
Dr. Schoessler’s gifts were apparent from the outset.
Raised in a small Iowa town, immersed in a home where church was as much about family as about ministry, Lori learned early the value of true community:
“They made us a priority along with pastoring and being, you know, leaders of the church. That blend really helped me see God in a very accepting way, very loving… there was a sweetness with it and definitely a family atmosphere where church was concerned.”
But as Lori vulnerably shared, even the safest, most faith-filled environments can’t shield us entirely from trauma. As a small child, she was sexually abused by a babysitter’s husband, then shamed and threatened into silence—a “lie-based belief” that she was dirty, unworthy, and unlovable took root.
That one wound silently shaped her self-image and life for years.
Yet healing began, as it so often does, not in self-isolation but in a setting of unconditional love and believing leadership. At 21, prompted by what she described as the Holy Spirit’s quiet but urgent nudge, her parents traveled to see her, gently opening the space for the truth to emerge. Her father’s wisdom—“You need to forgive yourself. Your four-year-old inside still believes she did wrong.”—cut through decades of shame.
That moment of family empathy was a turning point that, as Lori said, “I could feel the change almost immediately within myself.”
Still, she is quick to stress that full healing—true freedom from residue or triggers—took time and God’s steady hand. “He hasn’t stopped healing. He hasn’t reserved it for some people, not others. I am walking proof there is no residue—there are no triggers, there is no prison left.”
Creating Healing Environments—For Children and Adults
Today Dr. Lori Schoessler brings that philosophy to others as both a speaker and founder of (http://newleafchristiancounseling.net/). Her approach is biblically rooted, grounded in temperament therapy—a methodology she explains as helping people see themselves and others with honest detachment, empathy, and grace rather than judgment.
She’s clear: this isn’t about pigeonholing, but about seeing “the whole person,” and giving them the language to escape shame and blame. “As we’re going through our temperament, we can switch in between three so quickly… people will say, ‘I’m not like that at all’—but the work is in seeing how we react differently at home, at work, in close relationships. It’s about understanding, not labeling.”
Whether counseling adults with childhood wounds or young children for the first time, Lori helps create that “healing container” where honesty, safety, and the Holy Spirit’s wisdom together support new life.
Her stories—from the little boy who, after learning from a toy bumblebee that “stingers can hurt long after we’ve moved on,” told his parents, “No stinger! No stinger!”—to grown adults at last unlocking and releasing long-buried pain, always come back to the healing power of a safe, loving, and faith-based setting.
As she put it: “Sometimes with trauma, the verbalization is the first step in healing—because the person isn’t even able to verbalize it yet… there’s a lie that says, ‘If I say it, it’ll break me.’ Not so. That lie is actually holding the person in bondage—or prison.”
Accompaniment, Compassion, and Spiritual Community
If you’ve read this series or joined our live shows, you know this theme is close to my own journey.
In the past year, my family has answered a call to serve the residents of a local nursing home—a community where, in the final chapters of life, the need for safety, presence, and truth is more acute than ever. Accompanying them in song, prayer, or simply holding space for their memories and questions, I’ve come to see how real spiritual community is formed: in compassion, humility, and mutual reflection.
Witnessing secrets brought to light, regrets named, love and laughter shared, and hard-won wisdom passed on reminds me how healing happens in sacred company.
This “final delivery,” as Max Stossel and I discussed last week, is the moment we prepare for—not with fear, but with the gentle assurance born of love and faith.
Toward a More Vibrant Community
As Dr. Schoessler reminded us, the real work is ongoing: “With every person that I meet with, I walk away with more confidence, more knowledge, more wisdom. If I didn’t have the Holy Spirit, I wouldn’t do this job. But with Him comes the river of living water.” Each session—each moment of honesty or gentle confrontation—adds not just to her clients’ healing, but to her own compassion and capacity to serve.
The story, like the communities we build, keeps deepening: next week on Created in the Image of God, we’ll welcome a guest from Germany whose work with music, technology, and elder care shapes spiritual community for residents in new and creative ways. The unbroken thread? The loving courage it takes to show up for each other, again and again.
So whether you are walking through old wounds, serving the inner child in yourself or another, or simply hungering for fellowship and transformation—know that you are part of this journey. You are created in the image of God. And God loves His creation.
If you want to learn more about Dr. Lori Schoessler’s Christ-centered, temperament-based counseling, or to work with her directly, visit (http://newleafchristiancounseling.net/).
If this message resonates—or if you believe there is a need for safe, faith-infused healing and community—please become a paid subscriber today. Every subscription helps support these stories, ministries, and encouragement for all those seeking a more vibrant, loving world. Community is built one soul at a time—and every heart matters.
With gratitude,
Wade Fransson
