Singer/songwriter Marie Barlow Martin has partnered with FOCUS Ministries to call attention to domestic violence issues. Martin will be doing several television and radio interviews in October to coincide with National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Martin, a former musical theater star who has just released a new praise and worship CD titled Shelter: Worship Through the Ages, was herself a victim of domestic violence during her first marriage. In sharing her powerful testimony, she has been seeking an organization that would help women in dangerous situations.

“There were many times when I didn’t know if I would live or die,” says Martin. “I would perform in shows with broken ribs or perforated ear drums and no one had any inkling what was going on. That’s part of the savageness of domestic abuse because your abuser keeps you in isolation and shame. As I share my story, I want women to find help and hope, and FOCUS Ministries is dedicated to doing that. They literally save women’s lives.”

According to Paula Silva, President of FOCUS Ministries, one in every four women in the Christian community experiences family violence. “We are partnering with Marie to share God’s redeeming love, helping women heal from the destructiveness of domestic violence in their lives,” says Silva.

Based in Illinois, FOCUS Ministries Inc. exists to offer hope in Jesus Christ to women and families who experience domestic violence by providing free counseling, support groups, and literature while ministering to physical and spiritual needs and providing domestic violence education to the Christian community. Silva is the co-author of Violence Among Us: Ministry to Families in Crisis.

Martin’s radio single, “Kneel,” currently is being played nationwide, and she is finishing up a book of devotionals based on the songs from Shelter: Worship Through the Ages, as well as her personal story. Now happily remarried to producer and songwriter Gordy Martin, Marie has an important piece of advice for women who are living in physically abusive relationships.

“Talk! Tell someone,” says Marie. “There is power in sharing what is happening to you. It doesn’t matter who you share it with–a pastor, a counselor, a friend, a family member or even a stranger! When you share your struggles, you become stronger, and you are able to see things in a different way. The power of the abuser is to isolate you so you will remain weak and under his or her control. The way to counter that is to come out of isolation. God in His mercy allowed me out of that pit of loneliness and despair and gave me the shelter I so desperately longed for. It’s my prayer that women will find the help and hope they need sooner rather than later.”

For further information on Marie Barlow Martin, click here.
FOCUS Ministries can be found here.