Welcome to my passion project
My heart has always been with kids, teens, and the Church—this is where I’ve served for the past thirty years.
As a child, attending church with my family and a close-knit K–8 religious school nurtured my faith in Christ.
As a teenager, other experiences led me to this work.
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Today, I serve as a church camp resource for youth leaders within my faith community in several areas of California. I’ve also served as a program leader, camp director, and religious educator for high schoolers.
Outside of church, I’ve worked in early childhood education and with a nonprofit dedicated
to implementing evidence-based programs for delinquent youth.
My name JEN
Nice to meet you, and thank you for visiting this site!
You may be wondering, Who is this lady?
What's this site about? And are people of all faiths truly welcome here? The answer is yes.
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My name is Jennifer Weaver. I’m a fifty-something wife, empty-nester, and mom of three. Today, I enjoy close relationships with my adult children and my husband of 30+ years—but it wasn’t always easy.
As a teen, I had impactful experiences that stayed with me into adulthood. These became especially clear while my husband was serving as a lay leader in our congregation, right as all three of our kids were becoming teens. Suddenly, my joy at church was replaced by unwanted feelings. As I worked through that, I realized that spiritual wounds are more common than I had thought. I also knew my Savior understood.
Recently, I've seen some of the things I experienced at church and school during a difficult faith transition as a teen described as “coercion" in my church’s youth protection training. Now, I’m gathering the resources I wish adults in my life had during those years—and the support I wished I’d had later while mentoring the faith of my teens.
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If you’ve ever felt anxious at church—or felt fear, hurt, or anger in relationships where faith has been misused—you may relate to some of the things shared here.
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Words can’t express my gratitude for my Savior.
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He heals spiritual wounds.
Your friend in faith and hope,
Jennifer Weaver
“You may have noticed weaponized definitions of spiritual abuse that blacklist entire faith communities. Remember how Jesus ate with ‘sinners’? He kept everyone at the table.
Just as Jesus Christ never gave up on people, I believe He doesn't give up on families—or entire faith communities—either. He cares deeply about us all. No one is beyond His reach."
—Jennifer Weaver
www.hehealsspiritualwounds.org
The Book
The Girl Who Dropped Jesus
is my upcoming memoir, sharing beautiful, humorous, and difficult experiences within two faith communities that have shaped my life over the past fifty years.
From childhood mishaps (like dropping Jesus in church and being shamed by a clergyman), to barely surviving a faith change at a religious high school, from mentoring my teens to confronting my own unresolved adolescence—when it comes to spiritual wounds, I’ve seen many. But my Savior, and an evidence-based therapy called EMDR, is helping me heal.
