HOUSTON, TX, June 19, 2025 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Jerry Lewis, a respected ministry leader and youth advocate from Center, Texas, has never avoided difficult conversations. Whether mentoring students facing adversity or helping churches create spaces of hope, Lewis is known for standing with those in need. As crises unfold around the world, from wars and disasters to economic hardship and emotional turmoil, one question continues to echo through homes, schools, and sanctuaries: Where is God when people suffer?

For Lewis, this question is more than a theoretical concern. He hears it regularly from the young people he works with in Shelby County and beyond. "They ask me, 'If God is good, why do these terrible things happen?'" Lewis shares. "I do not try to rush in with a neat answer. I sit with that question, because I have wrestled with it myself."

Drawing from years of ministry experience and academic study, Lewis offers a theological response that values honesty and compassion. He avoids shallow reassurances and instead leads people gently back to Scripture, where suffering is acknowledged and not hidden.

"The Bible never promises a life without pain," Lewis explains. "What it does promise is that God remains with us during difficult seasons. From the story of Job to the tears of Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus, Scripture shows that our grief is not ignored."

Lewis warns against a harmful trend in some Christian communities that dismisses suffering or blames it on personal failure. "When someone is told that their struggles are a result of weak faith, that is not helpful or biblical," he says. "Even Jesus experienced sorrow. Even He cried out, 'My God, why have You forsaken Me?' Our faith allows room for that kind of honesty."

"Many of our students come from situations marked by addiction, grief, broken relationships, or deep anxiety," Lewis says. "We do not overwhelm them with answers. We show up. We walk beside them. That is where healing begins."

Lewis emphasizes what he calls the ministry of presence. He believes churches must move beyond sermons and step into the lives of hurting people. "Sometimes you do not need to speak," he says. "Just being there is powerful. That is what Jesus did. He entered into human pain."

Lewis says that when people feel abandoned or forgotten, they need to be reminded that divine silence does not mean divine absence. "God may seem quiet, but that does not mean He is far away," Lewis explains. "In the silence, He is often shaping us, teaching us, or preparing something we cannot yet understand."

With constant headlines filled with stories of loss and despair, Lewis believes faith communities must offer theology that applies to the real world. "People are looking for hope that makes sense in a hospital room, a courtroom, or a funeral home," he says. "We need to teach that pain is not the end of the story."

In Center, Texas, Lewis continues to model this approach. He prays with families after tragedy, walks alongside young people facing personal battles, and reminds his community that God is still near. His example shows that theology is not limited to the classroom or the pulpit; it belongs wherever people are hurting.

"There is strength in saying, 'I do not have all the answers, but I will stay with you,'" Lewis says. "That is what Jesus did for us. That is what we are called to do for one another."

Lewis hopes that more churches and leaders will embrace this view of suffering, not to glorify pain but to affirm that God is with us even in the darkest moments. "We may not always understand His ways," Lewis says. But if we open our eyes and hearts, we will see that He is still speaking through those who are grieving, struggling, or seeking peace." In Center, Texas, this message is not only taught; it is lived every day.

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