We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Erinna M. Hinds. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Erinna M. below.

Alright, Erinna M. thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

I have been in ministry for over 20 years and most people who know me know that I am unapologetically a Christian minister. Throughout my ministry career I have counseled dozens of engaged and married couples, as well as helped some reconcile who were on the brink of divorce. I have always considered marriage honorable, sacred and a lifelong commitment, which is why I was devastated in 2015 when I found myself ending a 7-year-long emotionally and mentally abusive marriage. It was through my own traumatic divorce journey that I discovered just how misguided and dangerous some of the teachings around divorce are in the faith community. I listened to colleagues send spouses home to domestically violent situations because they believed that it was a sin for them to leave. I saw abusers enabled in startling ways. I watched people who I respected and admired turn a blind eye to the pain of victims because of shame that divorce bares in religious circles. Needless to say, I was outraged. So much so, that instead of keeping silent about my own private suffering, I wrote my first book, “Leaving Egypt: From Trauma to Triumph” to share my lived experience, provide Biblical truth to victims of domestic abuse and violence, and to help hold my colleagues in the religious community accountable for what we teach and how we support survivors and their families. I also released my debut short film “When Daughters Cry”, which provided a powerful visual of distorted religious teachings about God and divorce, and their subsequent impact. The positive responses I received after releasing my book were overwhelming. Women started flooding my social media inboxes sharing their stories and asking for help. I knew that in order to help change the stigma in the faith community, I had to face it head on. I undisputably believe that marriage is God’s design and that it’s meant to be a lifelong commitment. I also believe that divorce is sometimes a necessary evil to protect others, provide healing, and promote peace. The services that I provide for separated and divorced families help them find a pathway to peace through mediation, as opposed to contentious litigation. I am using my platform and training as a minister to help educate and empower families who have been impacted by separation and divorce. That’s how I got the name “The Divorce Preacher” and how The Divorce Preacher Family Mediation Services was created.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a proud graduate of Howard University and Cornerstone University; and I have been an entrepreneur for over two decades. I am the owner of The Divorce Preacher Family Mediation Services; a faith-based consulting service that specializes in domestic wellness by providing mediation, exclusive coaching programs, customized family plans and emotional support for separated and divorcing families. This includes mediation services for child support, custody, and parenting time; as well as helping educate parents on community resources and economic supports that may be available to them during their times of transition or crisis to provide stability for their families.

I offer one-on-one customized coaching for single parents. Using my signature “S.A.F.E. Co-Parenting Method”, I work with clients to ensure that they have the proper tools to navigate high-conflict situations, promote peace, and implement a long-term plan for stability in their homes. In addition, I offer a six (6) step program designed to help minimize trauma and promote wholeness and peace in families who are co-parenting. While the overall framework of the program remains the same for each family, I work with both parents to customize a plan specific to their family’s needs.

Using advanced negotiation and communication skills, I specialize in contentious divorce and custody cases; assisting parties in exploring the benefits of alternative dispute resolution in lieu of lengthy and costly court battles. My services save clients thousands of dollars each year, as well as reduces the adverse childhood experiences score for children impacted by divorce.

As a domestic abuse survivor and mother, I have dedicated my life to increasing awareness on the generational effects of domestic abuse and divorce in the faith community and helping other survivors restart their lives. I am a professionally trained domestic relations mediator with a passion for providing divorced and separated families with the soft skills needed to effectively navigate conflict, change, and trauma. I am also a certified change management specialist. I provide my clients with a real and raw point of reference for their pain because I have walked in their shoes before. However, I also strive to be a voice of hope, gently guiding them toward the truth of peace and a beautiful new beginning as they grieve, heal. and overcoming.

I often tell people that I didn’t choose this path; it chose me. In 2020, after emotionally exhausting court battles, intimidation and ongoing family conflict that continued for five years after my divorce, my 10-year-old daughter told her therapists that she was tired and that she planned to end her life. Without question, I knew that the court system had failed my family in a major way; and it seemed like the legal system that claimed to be able to protect my children and I were not. I was angry and I felt helpless. The pain of feeling like I had failed my kids was near unbearable. After being told by an attorney that my best chance for relief was if my daughter actually did attempt or complete suicide, I desperately started looking into other legal options for my family and that’s when I learned about domestic relations mediators. I quickly decided that even if I couldn’t change things for my family, I would do everything I could to make sure that no other family had to live through the same hell my children and I had suffered.

Given the lack of resources in the faith community for individuals experiencing divorce or separation and wanting Biblical guidance, my expertise as an ordained minister as well as many years of providing marriage and family counseling is what attracts many of my clients. When my clients reach out to me, they are often unaware of the legal options regarding mediation, the benefits, as well as the Biblical precedent. My motto is “No more broken families.” Just because a family separates, doesn’t mean that they have to be broken. I teach my clients that brokenness is a choice, and I coached them through the steps needed to choose peace and forgiveness instead. I also strive to be an example for my clients, sharing with them transparently my own successes and challenges.

My passion for my business and helping families extends to my commitment to give back to my community. I am a member of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Office of Child Support Advisory Council and a volunteer as community mediator for Citizens Mediation in St. Joseph, MI where I mediate divorce, child access, and child support cases. I am also a community consultant for The American Public Health Services Association.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Social media has been extremely beneficial to me as far as finding new clients. I think that people gravitate toward content that is relevant to them. If you continue to share your content and your services, your people will find you. Consistency is key! I can’t stress that enough. I also believe that it’s important to take the time to learn about your demographic. In my line of business, what attracts men is different than what attracts women. Also, considering the age of your target audience and how to best to market your service or product to them is really important. I don’t jump on the bandwagon with every new fad, because I understand my market. I try to make it easy for the people who need me to find me. Lastly, share the success stories. Testimonials go a long way and word of mouth is still a really effective.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I launched my business in the thick of COVID, which was scary, but also a great opportunity because mediation centers and the entire legal system in general was in the process of reinventing itself to meet the needs of clients. Mediations that used to be conducted only in-person, were now being held on platforms like Zoom. As a result, I quickly moved away from the idea of needing to lease office space or being limited to clients in my geographical location. I was able to mediate for clients across the state and even in other states, where their laws permitted it. This really opened new doors for me. If I had maintained a traditional perspective on what a successful mediation practice looked like, I would have missed an exciting opportunity to be innovative and to do something that has not been done before. I would probably be stuck in a lease with unnecessary overhead instead of enjoying the flexibility an online service provides.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thedivorcepreacher.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RevErinna
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinna-m-hinds-47986a201/