CRE workshop to address growing challenge of explicit online material

Church leaders will have the opportunity to explore how churches can support people struggling with explicit online material and the impact it can have on individuals, marriages and families at an upcoming CRE workshop.

“Freedom and Healing from Porn Addiction and Adultery with Mike Genung” will take place on Wednesday 14 October, from 11am to 12 noon. The session is designed to equip church leaders with practical resources for those seeking help.

Mike Genung, founder of Blazing Grace, will share his own experience of addiction and his journey to recovery, alongside practical approaches to healing and support for men and women. He will also introduce resources available through Blazing Grace, an international ministry he founded in 2000.

The workshop comes as figures highlight the scale of exposure to explicit material across the UK. A statistics briefing supplied for this article, citing Daily Mail reporting from March 2025, states that an average of 16.6 million searches for adult material take place in the UK each month, while nine in ten adults reportedly acknowledge having viewed it.

The briefing also cites research suggesting that the issue affects people within Christian communities. A UK survey attributed to The Way reported that 75 per cent of Christian men viewed explicit material at least monthly, while 42 per cent described themselves as addicted. It also reported that 30 per cent of church leaders viewed such material regularly and that 90 per cent of Christians surveyed felt the Church did not adequately support those struggling with it.

There are also indications of increasing demand for support. Figures attributed to the UK Addiction Treatment Group show that the number of people seeking help for compulsive use of explicit material doubled from 30,000 in 2020 to 60,000 in 2021, with women accounting for 40 per cent of those seeking help.

For churches, the challenge is how to respond pastorally to people who may be experiencing shame, secrecy, compulsive behaviour or difficulties within their marriages and relationships.

The CRE workshop will provide an opportunity for church leaders to consider how practical support and resources can sit alongside Christian teaching, accountability and a message of hope and healing.

Freedom and Healing from Porn Addiction and Adultery with Mike Genung
Wednesday 14 October | 11am–12 noon

Sign up for the workshop here

The statistics cited above come from a number of different surveys and reports and cover different years and populations. They should therefore be understood in their original context rather than as a single current national measurement.