Our story

Divorced and needing help

It was the early ’90s, and a young man named Steve Grissom was looking for help. He was divorced, and he needed support and advice from people who truly understood just how hard it was to go through divorce.

He couldn’t find exactly what he needed.

Steve researches divorce recovery

So, Steve researched all he could about divorce-related topics, took notes, and started leading an informal support group program himself. He began each session by teaching on a topic related to separation and divorce and occasionally showed a video. He and his new wife, Cheryl (who had also been through a divorce), would then lead the group in a discussion of that topic.

The format worked well, and the group members found it helpful, but it was a lot of work and Steve didn’t really feel qualified for the role. He started thinking, “Someone needs to create a divorce ministry tool for people like me.”

It turns out—that somebody was Steve.

Video equipment to edit the first edition of DivorceCare

The right background

With a background in telecommunications, news management, and broadcasting, Steve knew about video creation, interviewing, and creating high-quality visual content. And he knew that the combination of expert input and group discussion was working well to help people find support and healing after separation and divorce.

Steve therefore decided to use this format to create DivorceCare. He resigned from his full-time job to build a divorce recovery curriculum for churches.

A new venture

Steve recalls, “My last day of work was in March of 1993. We took a week of vacation at the beach, and I started work on what would become DivorceCare the following Monday morning.”

The next step was to conduct video interviews with divorce recovery experts, to get multiple perspectives and guidance on how to manage the emotions and stresses of separation and divorce.

But would he be able to find experts who were willing to contribute?

In June of 1993, Steve and Cheryl started sending out invitation letters. They issued 16 invitations to experts. To their amazement, 14 accepted.

An interview with Dr. Bob Barnes
Steve and Cheryl Grissom stand in front of a shipment of DivorceCare materials

The vision realized

Those initial responses led to the development of the initial DivorceCare materials and the establishment of the ministry. It was a significant step in Steve and Cheryl’s DivorceCare journey—a journey that led to the creation of a program that has now helped over 1 million people around the world.