Ways Pastors Can Help This Sunday

While breaking free from a pornography struggle is usually a long-term process, pastors can change the trajectory of someone’s life in one single Sunday. How?

Sexual sin thrives where there’s silence, secrecy, and shame. Reduce these, and you open doors for people to be set free.

A 2024 Barna study revealed that 1 in 3 practicing Christians views pornography at least monthly, and 1 in 5 Christians views porn weekly. The same research indicated that 74% of sexually struggling Christians say they have no one to help them.1
7 Ways Pastors Can Help This Sunday!

Break the Silence

1. Share the Barna research cited above and let your congregation know there is hope and help.

(For the full Barna report, click here.)

For example:
I was reading recently a 2024 Barna study that revealed 1 in 5 practicing Christians view pornography weekly, and 74% of Christians who struggle say they have no one to help them. This breaks my heart. I want you to know that if you or someone you love is struggling with pornography or other sexual sins, we’re here to help.]

2. Make sure to highlight that struggles with sin can persist even after coming to faith in Jesus, and mention what some of those struggles can be, including pornography.

1 John 1 can provide a great launching point for this.

For example:
Many of us are going through difficult struggles, including hardships like loneliness, loss of a loved one, struggles with pornography, job loss, etc.

3. When preaching about Jesus’ love of sinners, include sexual sinners.

For example:
Jesus came to save sinners like you and me, and this includes everyone—those who struggle with greed, alcohol, drugs, pornography and other sexual sins, outbursts of anger, stealing, envy, pride, and everything else you may struggle with; yes, even that!

4. Many congregants keep silent because they fear how others will react, so let your congregation know how you and your staff will respond!

For example:
I know many of you fear that if you tell someone else about your secret sin struggles, you’ll be rejected, judged, or publicly shamed. Let me set your mind at ease: If you come to me and confess the sins you struggle with, I am going to thank you that for your courage, I’m going to remind you that died for sinners like you and like me, and then I’m going to [tell them how you’re going to help (e.g. set up regular times to meet with you, connect you with one of our pastoral staff who can help you, point you to a confidential ministry I deeply trust, etc.)].

5. Often, those who struggle with unwanted sexual behaviors feel a lot of self-loathing that they keep doing what they have tried to stop a thousand times. You can help by expressing sympathy and compassion for this struggle.

For example:
One of the hardest things about some sins is how difficult they are to quit. Whether gossip, selfishness, fear, lust, pornography, or getting drunk, you’ve promised yourself a hundred times you’d stop, only to find yourself returning. This inner conflict is painful. 

6. Many Christians never bring their sexual sin to the light where Jesus can heal it because they feel like they are the only ones. Let them know they’re not.

For those of you who struggle secretly with some specific sin—whether alcohol, drugs, pornography, or other sexual sins—I want you to know you’re not alone.

7. Make an announcement about Regeneration.

Friends, studies show that many, many Christians are struggling with sexual sins, and most believe they have no one to help them. Although we don’t have a specific program here, Regeneration Ministries is a confidential, Christ-centered ministry we know and trust. 

Print an announcement about Regeneration or another helpful ministry in your church bulletin or other places where your congregants can see. One church we know printed gender-specific cards and placed them in the men’s and women’s bathrooms.
 [1]Barna Group. Beyond the Porn Phenomenon: Equipping the Church for a New Conversation about Pornography, Betrayal Trauma, and Healing. Barna Group, Ltd, 2024.

Longer-Term Steps You Can Take

  • Talk about these topics with your staff. The more comfortable your church staff culture is in talking about these, the more it will trickle down to those you serve.
  • Bring in a representative from Regeneration to provide a staff training about helping men and women grow in sexual integrity. Regeneration’s team provides trainings ranging from 60 minutes, half-day, full-day or longer.
  • Be careful when preaching or speaking, not to make sexual sin the worst or most shameful sin. Language is critically important. If you need assistance with this, our team at Regeneration can help.
  • Conversely, be careful not to speak about pornography as something that everyone, or all men, or all youth view. This can give the impression that it’s inevitable, “no big deal,” or excusable.
  • Avoid any hint that a husband’s sexual sin is his wife’s fault or that she can help him by having sex with him more often. This suggestion keeps many men from accepting responsibility for their sin and wrongly blames and shames wives.
     
  • At the same time, keep in mind that sexual infidelity can also be a wife’s struggle, and husbands in these marriages often feel deeply ashamed and isolated.
  • Avoid speaking of pornography as a struggle that only men have. An increasing number of women and girls struggle with pornography as well, and hearing church leaders talk about it as a “guys struggle” only adds more shame on the shame they already experience.
  • When talking about those who struggle with sexual sins, avoid referring to “them,” as though they’re not in the room.

    We all struggle. For some of us, it’s greed. For some of us, it’s lust and pornography. And for some of us, it’s self-righteousness.
  • Prepare a sermon on a passage where Jesus reveals God’s heart for sexually immoral people, and make a point to tell your listeners that this is how Jesus treats those of you who struggle with sexual sin and shame. Examples include:
    • Jesus interaction with the sinful woman who anoints Jesus’ feet in Luke 7:36-50,
    • Jesus conversation with the woman at the well in John 4:4-42, 
    • Jesus protection and mercy for the woman caught in adultery in John 8:1-11
    • The father’s joyful reception of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32.
  • Know that other pastors are in the same place as you. You’re not alone. You’re not inadequate for the task. You’re not disqualified. The fact that you’re reading this means you care and you want to help. We can help.
  • If you struggle with pornography or other sexual sin as a pastor, know that you are not alone either. Regeneration’s team understands the unique complexity pastors experience, and our confidential services are here for you, too.
  • Take a step in addressing your own struggles with sexual sin. Your willingness to do so will do more for your congregants than anything you can say.
  • Gradual Entry Points: Create a pathway where pastors can start with less threatening topics (biblical manhood/womanhood, marriage enrichment, screen time/tech boundaries) that naturally lead toward sexual integrity conversations.

Gallup polls over the past twelve years indicate that younger generations are far more likely to adopt LGBT+ identities, and those numbers are growing. In 2024, 23.1% of Gen Z adults identified as LGBT+, compared with 14.2% of Millennials, and only 5.1% of Gen X.

[2] Jones, Jeffrey M. “LGBTQ+ Identification in U.S. Rises to 9.3%: Bisexual identification most common; younger adults more likely to identify as LGBTQ+.” Gallup.com, 20 February, 2025, https://news.gallup.com/poll/656708/lgbtq-identification-rises.aspx.