Live At Peace Ministries

I didn’t have a good experience with Live at Peace (LAP). The church I was working at hired them to handle a case of violence against me involving another staff member. This staff member had been manipulative, controlling, and dishonest about me, which led to an intervention meeting with the pastor, an elder, and the staff member. Unfortunately, the meeting escalated when the staff member reacted violently to the accusations, physically trying to attack me while threatening to "air me out."

LAP was brought in to help resolve the situation, but they handled it poorly—especially when it came to communication. We had four sessions: the first three were individual meetings with a counselor, and the fourth was with their senior advisor, Daniel Teater, the staff member, and me. In that session, Daniel effectively identified and addressed the staff member's toxic behavior and even asked me to step out to speak with him privately because the staff member refused to admit any wrongdoing. Daniel confirmed that the staff member showed signs of toxic leadership and had a history of violent behavior, including legal issues—something even the church was unaware of.

Daniel assured me that he would communicate these findings to the church and advise them on how to proceed. However, it took him over six weeks to send his report, and when the church finally received it, it was shockingly inaccurate. None of the serious issues Daniel had identified were mentioned. Instead, the report downplayed the staff member's behavior and even suggested that I had been "stonewalling" him, which shifted some of the blame onto me.

This poor handling from LAP not only misrepresented the situation but also strained my relationship with the church. I had expressed that I wasn’t comfortable continuing to work there, knowing the staff member’s history and the church's decision to keep him on staff despite the violence. LAP’s failure to deliver an accurate and timely report ultimately worsened tensions between the church, the staff member, and me. I would not recommend LAP due to their ineffective communication and mishandling of a serious situation.

Five years ago, I came to Live at Peace Ministries for a persistent sin issue that I was very disturbed by and felt powerless to change. I was concerned about the cost of counseling initially but I soon realized this was some of the best money I could have ever spent. Joani took several sessions to compassionately listen to my life story. She asked thoughtful questions and did not push any quick fixes. When she diagnosed me with emotional neglect from my parents, it was so validating to realize "Wow, this is the root of my problem!" She recommended several book resources that I devoured, and through the course of my own research and continued counseling with her, she continually put my struggle through the lens of the gospel and God's unconditional love for me. I grew to recognize and understand the warning signs of temptations that had the potential to develop into sin, and how to fight them in the Lord's power. I realized I didn't need counseling anymore after less than a year, and I can say that several years later, God truly used Live at Peace Ministries to equip me to live in freedom. Highly recommend this wonderful ministry!

My separated spouse and I attended a 3-day intensive in 2014 to attempt to work through marital issues we were having. I remember it was extremely expensive, and our church at the time helped sponsor part of the cost, which was generous and appreciated.

My marriage was high-conflict, and we had been trying to reconcile for nearly 3 years at that point, with no success. The facilitator/counselors explained the process to us, said we needed to work through our "logs and specks" (logs being our personal mistakes, sins, and selfishness, and specks being ways our spouse had hurt or failed us).

The "ground rules" for the reconciliation changed in the lead up to the 3-day intensive. We were supposed to take turns sharing our log and speck list, with each sharing our logs. But it ended up me sharing locks and my wife sharing specks (my issues), and they went along with it. If you've ever seen false confession documentaries, the dynamic was very similar. You feel trapped in a room and coerced into confessions in order to make the psychological dread get relieved. The conciliators biased my ex-wife's version of events, treating her experience as the objective one and mine as dismissive.

They also did not steward our post-conciliation plan like they said they would. Almost immediately my ex reneged on the plan, and they didn't try to intervene or help. A year later I talked to the owner and shared my experience and concerns. He listened well enough, but took no responsibility and admitted no error. A major problem with organizations like this is that they need independent perspectives on the work they do. But since they're unlicensed, there's no official, independent oversight committee. Just the three employees and a board of directors.

TL;DR: it was a coercive power dynamic with a vulnerable couple, and the conciliators were one-sided and dismissive. Would never recommend this to anyone.

Please take heed to the reviews found here. We wish we had done so. We went through the "conciliation" process in the fall of 2021 and also found the conciliator incompetent, biased, favoring the complainant.

Please check out the article in Christianity Today on the founder of this ministry published November 16, 2021, titled, "The Christian Peacemaker Who Left a Trail of Trauma."

The harm we were caused included similar patterns to those listed by others. An objective account of the facts was not a priority. All the blame for the conflict was placed on one person and that person was identified as the problem. The "conciliator" raised his voice in anger and shut down the person identified as the problem and gave priority and the majority of time for the intense conciliation meetings to the complainant's concerns. We came away emotionally bruised and in deep pain and the complainant came away stronger and more confident than before we began the process.

As far as we know, there's no evaluation or accountability for this "conciliator" or "ministry."

Save your money and avoid this "ministry."

My wife was suffering from delusions and borderline personality disorder. We sought help at live at peace ministries and suffered even more horribly at the hands of their counselors. They jumped to conclusions and their advice was riddled with contradictions and logical inconsistencies. They were profoundly incompetent and told my wife “your fine , there is nothing wrong with you” , encouraging her to abuse me and our 3 young children even worse. I would never use their service.

Summer 2015 - My wife & I went thru the 3-day intensive & after care counseling sessions. Looking back on our experiences, we both agree that LAP is not a very helpful service & would not recommend it to others. We felt forced by them to sign release forms so our church leaders were in on the details of our sessions. The lack of confidentiality made us feel unsafe. The lead male counselor who runs the organization is not a trauma informed counselor & lacks the skills & temperament to counsel people with past trauma effectively. He has very heavy-handed methods, is extremely quick to jump to conclusions & also has a bit of a temper. So pls watch out. They misdiagnosed my wife without any experience in that area & told my church. This is spiritual abuse & we are quite upset about this still. The cost is extremely high & we feel a bit scammed by them as we reflect back at our time there.

I was a client of the agency from 8/09 to 8/10; I found the counselor to be both unethical and incompetent. I tried to make changes within the organization, but was treated shabbily. I filed a complaint against the counselor's license. Through further investigation, I learned that the agency was deficit in eight key structural areas. The agency doesn't meet the miniumum standards established by national charity watchdog groups. It is unaccredited; there are unlicensed counselors; regular supervision doesn't appear to be taking place; low-and middle-income clients cannot afford the high hourly fees.