AIM Program at Sunset International Bible Institute Addresses Sexual Trauma in Mission Training

Lubbock, Texas — As autumn approaches, aspiring missionaries in their late teens and early 20s arrive at Sunset International Bible Institute’s West Texas campus. The 45 students — 27 women and 18 men — from 19 U.S. states and Mexico will train for eight months before scattering to mission points around the world.

As the two-year Adventures in Missions program — known as AIM — begins, participants get instruction on stewardship, security procedures, personal hygiene and respectful treatment of the Sunset Church of Christ members who house them. For nearly a decade, another topic — one often avoided by Christians — has gained prominent attention at AIM’s annual orientation: sexual trauma.

“They’re going to be real,” Pat Sheaffer, AIM’s advancement coordinator, tells students as he introduces the guest speakers, Steve and Holly Holladay. “They’re not going to put on any masks.” The Holladays, founders of a ministry called Ultimate Escape, recount their own journey — Steve’s escape from sexual addiction, Holly’s healing from teenage sexual assault — before delving into healthy relationships, sexual identity and how God wired the brain for marital sex and bonding.

“Our students really come to trust and believe Steve and Holly … because they share their personal back stories,” said Sheaffer, who first came to AIM as a student in 1988 and then served three years in Lisbon, Portugal. “Just this element of vulnerability really lays the groundwork for wanting to trust and learn from them.”

Steve and Holly met and fell in love at Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tenn., in 1990 and later worked in youth ministry. The couple started Ultimate Escape 20 years ago with a focus on helping adolescents address addictive sexual behaviors. The ministry’s launch coincided with the rise of easily accessible pornography — via the internet and later smartphones.

Steve speaks from experience. He first endured sexual abuse as a preschooler. He faced it again at age 16 — with a youth minister as the perpetrator. As an adult, he developed a pornography addiction. He credits God and a faith-based treatment program with helping him overcome it. He later earned a master’s degree in counseling and completed additional clinical training in sex therapy. Sadly, many of the clients he sees cite abuse by ministers and other church leaders.

Holly speaks from experience, too. In her high school years, she survived a three-year sexually abusive relationship with an older boyfriend. For a long time, she blamed herself. She eventually found healing through faith and support from others. Her story, like Steve’s, underscores the need for open conversations about sexual trauma within Christian communities.

The Holladays’ approach reflects a growing emphasis on addressing sexual trauma in the Churches of Christ and related Restoration movements. Their ministry, which includes counseling and education, seeks to provide a safe space for those affected by abuse and addiction. Their work aligns with a broader movement within some Christian circles to confront difficult issues with honesty and compassion.

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