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Church attenders

Church Attendance Influences Mental Health

Research, Writing To Equip The Church

Table of Contents

Poll - Attending church helps with mental illnesses

Church attendance influences mental health according to a recent poll.  These results are surprising to some in light of the state of mental health generally among Americans.

With recent factors such as Covid-19, racial tensions, political elections, and financial and job losses, the mental health of Americans has taken a hit and that is shown in a recent poll. It’s not surprising that the mental health of Americans has worsened since 2019.

Gallup conducted a poll at the end of 2020 to get a better picture of what actually happened to the mental health of Americans after a very difficult year.

The poll is entitled, “American’s Rating of Their Mental Health as ‘Excellent’ by Demographic Groups from 2019 to 2020.” Every group had a drop in its ‘Excellent’ mental health rating…except one: Those who attended religious services weekly.

‘Excellent’ mental health improved for frequent church goers

Despite the overall drop in mental health across the country, it’s amazing that any demographic would actually improve its ‘Excellent’ rating.

However, that is what happened with those who attended religious services last year. Now, the Gallup poll did not specify what kind of religious services those included, but it would be safe to say that the major religions, including Christianity, were included.

According to the poll, the ‘Excellent’ rating of mental health for weekly churchgoers was improved by 4 percentage points. That is much better than those who attended services monthly (a drop of 12 percentage points) and those who rarely went at all (a drop of 13 percentage points).

Why does attending church improve positive mental health?

What can we take from this information?

First, it is important to remember this poll just surveyed those who consider their mental health ‘excellent,’ it doesn’t survey those who consider their mental health fair or poor. However, it is also important to realize that this poll stated that Americans who considered their mental health as excellent dropped nine percentage points in 2020, a record in 20 years.

Secondly, we need to ask, “Why did the number of people who rate their mental health positively increase, even during one of the hardest years ever for mental health? This is a great conversation-starter for any pastor, ministry leader who is trying to improve the way their church responds to those struggling with mental illnesses.

Start more mental health conversations in your church with our Mental Health Discussion Videos

It's not all good news!

Some churches are afraid to dive into mental health and quickly give a person a referral to a mental health professional. There is nothing wrong with referring someone to a professional, but there is a reason why people with mental illnesses still come to church.

No matter what people are dealing with, they seek hope, faith and love to help them. The church body should be that for anyone going through anything.

The Gallup poll is trying to get the point across that the ratings of Americans’ mental health is sinking to a new low. This should alarm churches about what is happening around them.

The church needs to show the love of Jesus to those battling depression, suicidal thoughts and loneliness and continue to walk alongside them, even if they refer them to a mental health professional.

To view the Gallup poll mentioned in this blog, visit https://news.gallup.com/poll/327311/americans-mental-health-ratings-sink-new-low.aspx

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Preparing Your Church

Preparing Your Church To Care For Mental Health

Ministry Strategy

Table of Contents

Preparing your church to care for mental health can be intimidating.  Three mental health professionals from the LifeSupport Family share key strategies that will help you create a culture of care for mental health.

Church or ministry leaders can feel overwhelmed when juggling their pastoral duties along with caring for their congregants. Many churches have care teams or people they refer to depending on a person’s needs.

With complex mental illnesses, people are usually referred to a Christian therapist. In all cases however, the church should strive to be an active part of the community of care for those with mental illness.

At a recent LifeSupport conference, a panel of therapists addressed issues related to mental health and the church with some helpful tips for any ministry that is wanting to improve the way it handles care, aftercare, referrals and more.

Dan Munson, Susan Broadwell and Julie Hull provided a wealth of knowledge on mental health and ways the church can be a role-model for care.

Here are some of the key points.

Be a Church of Listeners

As easy as it sounds, just listening to someone talk about their struggles can have a big impact.

Susan Broadwell, one of the three therapists on the panel at the LifeSupport Conference, said listening is a very important component to being a church prepared to help those with mental illnesses.

“…to be a place of deep listening. To be looking for those individuals who are sitting in the back, or body language can often tell us a lot and what’s going on with someone. It’s not always one thing so it’s really learning how to listen for that and being prayerful about that before coming to church or events,” Broadwell said.

The other two on the LifeSupport therapist panel, Dan Munson and Julie Hull, stressed the importance of being present with those suffering.

“I would love for churches to convey the message that we are a ministry of presence. We will sit with you in that pain. It’s coming alongside you. It seems so passive and it’s so not. It is very, very powerful,” Hull said.

Munson agreed.

“There is healing in listening. Listen, and Jesus will show up,” he said.

Expand the Care Team to the Congregation

At any moment, a person in the church can come into contact with a person suffering. The panel of therapists all agreed that training is important to equip more people so the church, as a whole, can be ready to help when the time comes.

“I think the training is essential,” Broadwell said. “People can see that anyone is capable of walking alongside someone who is grieving or going through any kind of emotional suffering, or any suffering for that matter.”

Churches have all kinds of programs, including care programs, but the therapists wanted to see churches be more open to welcoming those suffering, rather than just placing them in a program.

“I feel like we are a culture that wants to fix it,” Julie Hull said. “We want to have a program, we want to have a design, we want to have the next steps to get to that healing place and it’s not linear. It’s all over the place and it’s crazy, but if the church could provide the message saying, ‘We care, we are going to come alongside you.’”

Utilize Mental Health Professionals

There may be a number of mental health professionals in your church that you are not even aware of. They could be valuable in helping those suffering.

“There should be a plan in place where you are well informed about the therapists in the congregation,” Broadwell said. “What are their areas of expertise? What are they willing to do on a moment’s notice? Are they available for referrals outside of church? I think having conversations about that in advance would be helpful with a more immediate response when the need arises.”

Churches can also utilize those with similar experiences to help others who are suffering in a number of areas…suicide, homicide, an illness or death. By pairing these people together, one that has already walked that road with someone who is just beginning, can bring the proper support to someone hurting.

“Those are things where there is a deeper level of empathy that really cannot be described,” Hull said.

View a video of the LifeSupport Conference therapist panel here – https://youtu.be/6VZqPZXv99A

Our library of short mental health discussion videos help equip lay-persons to talk about mental health topics. 

Preparing Your Church To Care For Mental Health Read More »

Bread see the way grief is a tool to survive his loss

Grief As A Helper

Grief, Writing To Equip The Church

Where Does Grief Take Us

God gives us grief as a tool.  As time passes on after the death of a loved one, we will be faced with a choice when it comes to grief: We can try our best to avoid it…or we can take its hand and let it lead us.

Lead us where?

Grief is gut-wrenching. It can lead us through anger or guilt, but where it ultimately takes us is a place that we could never get to without it.

A Unique Perspective on the Grief Journey

Brad Knefelkamp experienced what we call the worst loss, the death of a child. His son committed suicide and it flipped Brad’s life upside-down.

That’s when Brad had to face grief head-on. He had a vision, or a dream, about grief where he had a decision to make…does he take grief’s hand?

In an interview for LifeSupport’s Worst Loss series, Brad recalls the dream:

“It’s a figure of a man who’s coming up to the window and the next thing I know he’s standing at the foot of my couch and his figure is all like 9 feet tall and his head is down, his shoulders are slouched, and I can’t make out any distinct features of him. Everything is kind of fuzzy. And he’s holding out his hand for me to take it and I thought to myself, ‘I’m not taking your hand. I know who you are.’ For some reason I knew this was grief. I’m not going. Because in my mind I was like, ‘I know the company you keep. And they’re not good. And I’m not going to go down that road of all that this depression and all this sort of thing. I’m not going there.’

Brad said that no matter how many times he said ‘No’ to grief’s hand, grief wouldn’t leave, and kept reaching out its hand to him.

“It was just taking forever and so finally I was like, ‘OK, I’ll take your hand,’ and the minute I touched him we were on a street, we were in a town and there are all these streets going around all in different directions and I notice that the streets had different names. One was called ‘Anger.’ One was ‘Depression’ and so on.”

Brad then said grief took him down a dark alley, where he noticed something approaching him from the corner of his eye.

“All the sudden, from behind me, I just felt like I had got hit by a sledgehammer on the back of the head and I got knocked to the ground by a list of questions.”

“Why didn’t you go visit him while he was alone?!” “You knew he had to be alone!” “Why didn’t you?!”

“Every time I tried to get up, I got hammered again and ended down on that pavement and I remember looking up and grief is just stand there waiting for me…”

A Light at the End

As Brad endured the hits and hammering from these questions, and while grief waited for him, he finally saw where grief was taking him.

“Way down the alley, there was light. And as I looked, I could see in that light it was a park and the sun was shining. There were kids laughing and playing. And I realized where grief is leading me and nothing else would have led me there.”

Through this difficult journey with grief, Brad had a revelation: Without taking grief’s hand, he would have never found the light at the end.

Does this mean that grief just leaves or disappears?

No, but it gives the person suffering from loss a needed perspective about grief.

Grief as a Tool

Brad’s dream about his journey with grief showed him something very important.

“Grief is not my enemy, grief is now, in a certain sense, my companion. My life is never going be the way it was before Logan died. It can’t be. Part of me is missing.”

Grief is God-given and He gives us grief as a tool so we can cope with the worst losses in our lives. So in that sense, taking grief’s hand is like taking God’s hand, and trusting him to lead us through the most difficult times in our lives.

Brad’s story is available in the Mental Health Discussion Video Library at lifesupportresources.org.  You can listen to an in-depth interview with Brad about grief  on the LifeSupport Podcast here.

Grief As A Helper Read More »

Jason found mental health stigma at his church

Mental Health Stigma Solutions

Mental Health Stigma

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Finding Stories of Mental Health Stigma is Easy

Jason found mental health stigma at his church.  The LifeSupport video Fear of Judgement introduces Jason who struggled with his mental health and addiction.  Jason told us, “I was the guy that was putting on this fake front of a man… there was just so much pain inside and there are so many things that happened behind closed doors…you’re embarrassed to share what’s really happening in your life.”  When he opened up to certain people in his church, he knew they were looking down on him.

The stigma of mental health is real, especially in churches.

“You are not praying hard enough,” “You don’t have enough faith, otherwise this wouldn’t be an issue,” “There is sin in your life that is causing this…”

These are just some of the stigma statements that mental health sufferers hear in churches that cause them to shy away from ever going back.

Even people with good intentions can cause massive harm to others. This is why stigma towards mental health is a serious problem. Two out of three Americans struggle with some kind of mental health issue.

So, why should we let stigma prevent churchgoers from coming forward with their struggles?

Shocking Statistics

  • The number of suicides in the United States is rising dramatically from 36,900 in 2009 to more than 48,000 a decade later.
  • Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States.
  • Every 40 seconds, someone in the world is dying of suicide. Every 40 seconds. Let that sink in.  Since you started reading this post, at least two people have died by suicide.
  • Every year, over a million people, worldwide, die of suicide.

Simple Solutions To Mental Health Stigma

Fortunately, there are simple solutions for stigma of mental health in the church.

You don’t have to be a trained counselor or therapist to stop stigma in its tracks.

“Here is what we have to realize: You don’t have to do a lot to help a lot,” said Jarrid Wilson on The Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast.

Wilson was a young church leader who struggled with mental health for many years.  His death by suicide in 2019 shocked the world and brought much-needed attention to the topic of mental health in the church.

“The reality is, if the local church wants to be the hope of the world, then it needs to step into situations that people find themselves hopeless, and one of those things is mental health,” Wilson said. “That doesn’t mean you have to suddenly create 40 books, or a curriculum…you can literally stand on a stage and say, ‘Hey, I know a lot of you are dealing with depression and suicidal thoughts right now, I just want you to know, as leaders of this church, we love you, we care about you, we know that is the battle you are dealing with and we will be here to support you. If you are struggling, don’t be ashamed. Come talk to us.’ That right there, just talking about it, is what will end the stigma and could literally save lives because then someone might be like, ‘Wow, I am not ashamed because I can talk to someone about this because my church has my back.’”

Simply talking about mental health and welcoming those to just come share about it is the first, and biggest, step to ending stigma in your church.

Small Steps That Have Big Impact

Does talking about mental health address what happens next?

No, that will take more work, but the next steps to addressing mental health cannot take place if there is still stigma lurking in the church.

Carey Nieuwhof has dealt with this in his church and found easy ways to always keep the door open for those with mental health.

“Now we have a list of five Christian counselors that are trained and accredited that we trust, that we believe will bring Jesus into the equation,” Nieuwhof said. “We also have some phone numbers of community services that we hand out, again and again, from marriage counseling, right to people who are really struggling.”

The bottom line is, you do not have to become a professional therapist to make a big difference when it comes to mental health. Just being present and listening to those struggling can make the biggest difference in the world.

Mental Health Stigma Solutions Read More »

Overview of mental health ministry

Overview of Mental Health Ministry

Ministry Strategy, Writing To Equip The Church

Elements of Mental Health Ministry

We hope you find this overview of mental health ministry useful as a tool to help you plan your ministry strategies.  This is not meant as a comprehensive framework as there are many possible ways to structure and implement mental health ministry.  Our focus at LifeSupport is to develop resources that use personal STORY as a way to equip people to support the mental health needs of others.  As we create or find new resources that will help you, we’ll add them here so make a note to check back.

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Understand and Communicate The Need

You’ve probably heard the statistics by now.  Roughly 20% of the U.S. population is struggling with their mental health right now.  Sadly the number of people who bring their mental health struggles to the church are far fewer.  According to the 2011 Baylor University Religion Survey, only 15% of depressed people reported attending religious services weekly and 39% of depressed did not attend services at all.  Similar numbers are expressed for people who describe  themselves as worriers.  There is a corresponding lack of reliance on scripture for these groups.  An obvious conclusion is that people who are struggling don’t see the church (or scripture) as an effective answer for their problems. It is critically important for the church to address this image so that people see that God has answers for life’s most difficult problems.  Life is hard for all of us sometimes.  But, there are many people in our communities (and sitting in our churches) who feel alone in their pain.  When the church fails to acknowledge mental health struggles, some people will get the message that the problem they have is not something the church wants to hear about.

When a church is educated, and talks about the real problems that people are facing, members are much more willing to share their struggles and to reach out for help.  One of the reasons LifeSupport exists is to help facilitate these difficult conversations.

Related Resources

Address Stigma

Sadly, many churches still have a limited response to mental health needs.  Often the response takes the form of counsel to seek answers in scripture, to pray more, or to simply refer out to a mental health professional.  These kind of responses perpetuate stigma and communicates that the church isn’t really the place to bring that part of yourself, and/or we don’t really think that’s a significant problem.

Transparency in leadership can go a long way to changing attitudes around mental health.  We know from personal experience that sharing stories of personal struggle, and Christ-centered transformation will have significant positive influence on church culture.

Related Resources

Relationship Matters

Nothing about the mission of the church can happen without relationship.  Human beings were designed for relationship.  But it can seem like some people are afraid of the very thing their nature demands.  Churches create experiences, schedules, facilities, and entire ministry strategies all with the aim of cultivating Christian relationships. Mental health ministry presents an ideal opportunity to cultivate a deeper level of relationship for your people.  It may help your church to look at mental health ministry as a way to mimic our triune God.  In the struggle we face to balance our mental health against the pressures of the world, it might help to think of the three relationships common to us all;  our relationship with God, with ourselves, and with others.  Each of those three relationships deserves our attention.  Most people are deficient in one or more of those relationships.  Consider how your church can help people balance and strengthen these three relationships in terms of the following areas of their church life:

  • Serving Opportunities
  • Spiritual Growth/Education
  • Small Group Experiences
  • One-on-one care/Staff Interaction
  • Christian Community

Related Resources

Shed Light on Suffering

When someone walks into a hospital they expect to encounter suffering, healing, and healers.  Hospitals are built to respond to the physical suffering that is part of life. When it comes to mental health suffering, churches are the primary physical location of God’s caregivers. The reality is that walking into a church in the United States evokes many expectations.  It would be helpful to ask if those expectations include the presence of suffering, healing, and healers.  

Asking a church family to take an active role in suffering is a big ask.  Prior to bringing your church members into the strategy, it’s important to engage in some serious self-awareness among your board, leadership, and staff.  Here are a few question to ask yourselves:

  • How often do you hear or see suffering at your church?
  • Does your church have a shared theology of suffering?  How is that theology communicated?
  • If you were an attendee at your church who is overwhelmed by something in life, would you know how to ask for support at your church?
  • How often, and in what ways does your church acknowledge suffering as part of God’s plan?
  • Do you have a strategy for your ministry leadership team to talk about and support each other’s suffering?

Related Resources

Understanding Roles And Partnerships

One of the most common objections we hear to churches becoming involved with mental health ministry is that people who are unqualified may overstep their knowledge, authority, or simply do harm because they lack experience or training.  This discomfort in understanding roles is understandable and can even be seen as a positive tension.  Nobody will be well served by individuals or organizations who over-reach their gifting, experience, or relationships.  However, non-professional care-givers can provide effective and necessary support (sometimes, in ways professionals can’t). The local church is ideally placed to help equip and encourage this type of care-giving through healthy Christian relationship. 

For all parties, care should be taken in establishing guardrails around responsibilities for supporting mental health needs of people in the church.  Each church should have a well communicated plan for areas of responsibility and limitations for support activities.  Consider creating limits of responsibility based on the following categories:

  • Christian mental health professionals outside of the congregation
  • Christian mental health professional who are part of the congregation
  • Staff/Ministry Leaders
  • Lay Leaders
  • Those in Relationship with the Person in Need
  • The Congregation/Christian Community

Related Resources

Ministry Strategy Areas

Even though you may not be ready to integrate mental health into all ministry areas, it’s a good exercise to explore the ways mental health can be influenced through all aspects of your church’s activities.  We’ll be adding future articles to cover mental health strategies for each of the following areas:

  • Teaching
  • Care Ministry
  • One-to-one Care
  • Care Groups
  • Group Ministry
  • Student Ministry
  • Organizational/Leadership Development

Why Mental Health Ministry Belongs in The Church

People need to hear, over and over that God has a solution to the problems of our world.  The local church is in the best position to help people see that God cares about their mental health suffering, and that he has an answer for those problems too.

If people are receiving exclusively secular help for their mental health needs, the church is failing to fully share the way God’s word speaks to all of the problems of the world.  Every time a person doesn’t receive help that is directly tied to scripture, or God’s plan for us, that person may hear that God doesn’t have an answer for their struggle, or that he doesn’t care.

Don't Take Our Word For It

Here’s a quote from Pastor Ryan Alexander, of Hosanna Church in Minnesota, where they openly and deliberately address mental health.

Addressing Mental Health as a church has become one of our signature themes and something we have become known for in the south metro. We regularly hear from mental health professionals that some of their clients first sought help because of how Hosanna has addressed the topic...many men have overcome the stigma and sought counseling because I shared my story. That is all I need to hear in terms of affirmation and motivation for addressing mental health as the Church."

Ryan Alexander

Overview of Mental Health Ministry Read More »

Biblical Counseling

Crisis Biblical Counseling by Karen McMahon

Counseling, Writing To Equip The Church

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Why I Do Crisis Biblical Counseling - A Personal Philosophy

Crisis biblical counseling sounds complicated and intimidating, but it’s just a way to respond with biblical help when trauma happens in life.

When a tragedy strikes, life as we know it abruptly changes. We immediately seek to make sense of what has happened yet likely can’t focus and feel overwhelmed. Our minds replay the event over and over searching to come to terms with it all. In crisis, we can become overwhelmed, confused, distorted, even grasping for air as we feel out-of-control. One minute we are flooded with emotions the next minute we are numb. Question after question filters through our minds… “This can’t be happening?” “Will this pain ever go away?” “How can I go on?” “What will I do now?” Heartbreaking pain rips open a new world to a sufferer; a world that seems to be spinning out of control.

The Word of God is Sufficient and Essential for Counseling

The church is where biblical counseling shines. It is in the context of a loving community that God provides the ideal environment for the care of souls. Biblical Counseling is built on the premise that God’s divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3) and has practical help for life’s problems (2 Tim 3:16-17).  The One who created our soul is sufficient to comfort and encourage our soul. God uses his people, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, to minister his Word, to walk compassionately, sensitively, patiently and prayerfully with others. To enter their pain and help bring practical wisdom to bear in a functional way (1 Thess 2:8). Because sin permeates the fallen world; our own sin, the sin of others, or the effects of sin on the world, biblical counseling in the church body is not optional. Our love for God is fleshed out by our love for others (1 John 3:10,18) and we should all desire to carefully minister to those in pain in their highest highs and lowest lows.

Counseling is a Community Endeavor

It is definitely not God’s plan for the church to be a place where an isolated counselor in confidence and secrecy is the only one helping struggling believers. Seeking help from other Christ followers is one reason God put us in the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:25-26). In his wisdom God has chosen to do his work—through the church. In community we find help from other godly men and women who live and speak truth to one another (Eph 4:15-16). Because we will naturally seek our own desire when left alone (Prov 18:1) and can be taken captive through philosophy and empty deceit according to the tradition of men and not Christ (Col 2:8), every believer to some degree, is expected to be biblically loving others and promoting the maturity and health of the body.

We Must Know Our Own Heart

My personal philosophy of crisis counseling begins with knowing my own heart. As a staff Director of Discipleship Counseling at my church, I count it a privilege to counsel individuals with God’s infallible Word. Not only am I able to watch God’s powerful Word change a heart but his truth always brings transformation to my own walk. I have suffered, I am suffering, I will suffer. I have asked many of the same questions my counselees ask; “Where is God?” “Is it my fault?” “Did God cause this to happen?” “Lord why didn’t you stop this?” I too have felt the isolation and the pain that no one really understands what I am going through.

It doesn’t matter if a sufferer needs help because of their own sin, the sin of others, Satan, God, or because we live in a fallen world; as a fellow sinner and sufferer, we are all called to compassionately minister to them and help them see that God’s Word has answers.

It Is NOT About Fixing Them

Minimizing suffering is not biblical, nor is it about fixing the sufferer, helping them get over it, or giving them coping skills (God’s goal is much more glorious). Scripture tells us why there is so much sorrow (Rom 5:12) and prepares us for suffering. Evil is real and destructive and the effects of sin is everywhere. Suffering is written into every one of our life stories as a means of sanctification, a catalyst that God uses (Rom 8:28-29), but when pain invades our own life truth can become distorted. Knowing that pain and heartache will come in the normal course of this fallen world (2 Tim 3:12), we need to be prepared personally as well as help others suffer with faith in Christ, by the power of the Spirit, for the glory of God.

I believe strongly that crisis counseling be sensitive to the weakness of another, seeking to understand, patient, long suffering, Christ focused not problem solving, directive and dependent on prayer. It must be motivated by love and concern (Acts 20:31) to present another complete in Christ (Col 1:28).

Ministering Truth

My own counseling care starts with an ongoing love for and working knowledge of the Scriptures. I will not be able to minister God’s Word if I don’t know Truth and actively apply it to my own life. If I am not walking in submission to the Holy Spirit I cannot seek to help others and if I’m neglecting the study of the Word I will give my own opinion instead of God’s opinion. It is Scripture that knows our heart, knows how we change, provides comfort, and gives us the power to suffer well.

My counseling care must be sensitive, compassionate and directive. Understanding a struggler’s life story, worldview, shaping influences, thinking, and the impact their pain is having on their daily life helps me better understand what they are going through.  We weep and mourn with them, we are patient with them and we are faithful to Scripture knowing God’s Word is sufficient, speaking to every human struggle, bringing conviction and hope.

Always Truth in Love

Truth must always be blended with love and grace.  The greatest change someone needs is to trust Christ enough and respond biblically in the midst of pain and loss… but this can be hard when in the depths of despair. It is with empathy and compassion we help another know that they are not left alone. Not physically, because the body of Christ surrounds and ministers to them in significant ways. Not spiritually, because God is in it, God will see them through it, and God will finish what He began.

Hope in Sorrow

Our hearts are revealed in crisis which is why biblical crisis care goes beyond behavior to the heart that has its own desires, wants, will and affections (Heb 4:12). A sufferer’s pain must never be minimized or ignored but the lens of Scripture has to be the functional foundation that their pain is seen through. Wise biblical counseling sensitivity guides and directs a particular person with a particular struggle so that their pain is understood in light of who God is, who they are, and who Christ is.

Without a doubt, helping someone in crisis to think and respond biblically (reframing and reorienting their worldview) will take time. It is not a “one size fits all.” There may be many aspects of God that are unbalanced; God’s goodness and the evil that is happening to them. God’s love and the pain they are in. God’s purposes and the suffering they are experiencing. God’s faithfulness and the dreams they have lost, are just few. Understanding and interpreting difficulties through the lens of Scripture has to be ministered at a pace that is appropriate for the situation for that person.

God Uses the Body of Christ

God’s community is a counseling community. We need each other. God intended for each person in the body to be helped by the body (Ro 12:15). This means that everyone cares (or counsels) on some level. Seeking input from others who are close to the sufferer and including a mentor or advocate is very important. I believe if someone is in a small group their first avenue of help should be their small group (or leader) but if they need more help than the group can provide, their group should be involved in caring at some level even if the sufferer seeks out a pastoral care through a biblical counselor in their church.

Love Endures for the Long Haul

Crisis counseling can be messy. It will take time…lots of time, compassion, love and patience. Getting into the darkest moments of someone’s life where suffering is deep and painful is not for the timid, but God is the agent of comfort and change and we are his vessels used for his glory. All of us are suffering under the effects of the fall but our risen Savior enables us to experience hope and great joy in the midst of sorrow. God is infinitely bigger than any pain anyone of us may face but there are times we need another to help bear that heavy burden and point us back to Christ. That is why I do crisis counseling.

About the Author

Karen McMahon  is the Director of Discipleship Counseling at First Evangelical Free Church in Maplewood, Minnesota, is a founding Regional Board member of the Biblical Counseling Alliance, and is a certified biblical counselor with the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC). She has a MA in Theological Studies and a MA in Biblical Counseling

More on the Value of Relationship For Mental Health

Refer to our article entitled, Perfect Love Casts Out Fear by Melinda A. Cathey.

Crisis Biblical Counseling by Karen McMahon Read More »

Standing On Shore

Caring For A Killer

Christian Community, Mental Health Stigma

I Think It’s Complicated

A lesson I learned from caring for a killer. 

I write almost every day about mental health and ministry.  It often seems intimidating and complicated to think of ways to support the huge variety of mental health needs that people have.  If you’re in care ministry you sometimes get questions that stop you in your tracks.  Your training tells you to look supportive, to nod your head, to just sit there and take it. But, inside you’re thinking, “I have absolutely no idea what to do for you”.  It’s easy to forget how simple it can be to support even the most complicated issues.

Here’s An Example

This feeling of inadequacy happened to me one day when a young man who was part of my care group opened up with, “I killed my brother two years ago. I hate myself and I don’t know what to do about it.”  I don’t remember my response exactly but I know there was an uncomfortable pause as I considered what I could possibly say to help this guy (and the rest of the group) process and respond to this announcement.  I didn’t even think to share any of the great bible stories that applied to his situation.  I talked about making sure he was safe and helping him find a support professional. I know I thanked him for sharing something so important and sensitive but I’m sure he was expecting more from me.   Fortunately, a couple of group members were very supportive and shared experiences where they had finally opened up about something from their own past.

The Simple Truth I Learned From Caring For a Killer

A few weeks after this incident, this young man approached me after group to tell me that he’d been able to connect with a counselor and that he was working though his family issues (as he called them).  I asked him if it was helping.  He said that the thing that had helped him the most was just being able to share with our group what was on his heart.  He said, “Having someone who would just listen to me made me feel better than I have in two years.”  I thought I needed to have answers for this guy’s problems, that I should be able to give him something that would help him overcome his struggle.  I forgot the simple truth that – people just want to be heard with a loving ear.  The single biggest thing we did to help him was to simply be in relationship with him so he had people he knew he could trust with his pain.

Ministering to mental health is sometimes complicated, but it’s always as easy as listening.

I Could Have Used LifeSupport Resources

Back when our group was meeting there were no resources around like our LifeSupport mental health discussion videos.  There are several in our collection that I could have used to equip our group to help support our young friend.  Hearing the story of shared experience from a impartial, non-threatening source is a great way to help people open up and talk about painful things.  You can explore the video library here.

Caring For A Killer Read More »

Church Staff Meeting

Maintaining A Healthy Church Staff

Ministry Strategy, Pastoral Care / ,

* Including the Free Video Resource with Scott Rideout.

Maintaining a healthy church staff is a challenge in the best of times.  The world we live in today makes that job even more difficult.  In a recent LifeSupport Podcast, we were joined by Scott Rideout, President of the Converge movement of churches.  Scott shared these 4 key strategies to help your team stay mentally and emotionally healthy to do the work of ministry.

Avoid Decision Fatigue

  • You don’t need to make every decision. Let your team help you.
  • Innovation has a price tag. Moving forward may feel expensive but if you have the resources it’s always okay to pay a fair price for something of value.

Focus On Advancing The Gospel

  • The gospel work of your church starts with your team. If your team isn’t healthy, your church can’t flourish.  Enlist the Body in new ways to fortify your team.
  • Empower you team to help the people of your church step into opportunities to scatter your ministry into the community.

Stay Connected

  • Make the most of your meeting times.
  • Connect to God, to each other, to training, and to mission.

Have The Right Mindset

3 foundational attitudes (to have and to model) for ministry survival

  • Humility – It’s okay to not have all the answers.
  • Gratefulness – Focus on what you have and model joy.
  • Generosity – As a team, you are living for something bigger than yourselves.

Content for this was originally presented as part of the weekly LifeSupport Podcast, available through the LifeSupport YouTube Channel, or on the Faith Radio Network.

A Free Video Resource

We Can Help You Equip Your Healthy Church Staff

The LifeSupport Library of resources has been built in consultation with church leaders like you, along with a team of Christian mental health professionals to bring you practicaltools to help you equip others for ministry.  Contact us if you are looking for resources you can’t find on our site.

Looking For Ways To Engage Your Church For Care?

Our Worst Loss Conference is designed specifically for church staff and ministry leaders to help you create a culture of support that engages your church to come alongside those who are going through pain and suffering.

Maintaining A Healthy Church Staff Read More »

Compelling Evidence For Mental Health Ministry

Ministry Strategy, Research

Contents

A Call To Action

Recent research into mental health and the church provides compelling evidence and direction for ministry strategies.  The findings regarding depression, anxiety and loneliness can’t be ignored by ministry leaders. If a church or ministry really wants to get at the heart of current issues among congregants and believers, they need to face mental health head-on. In today’s blog, we look at several reasons why ministry leaders might want to re-examine their approach and response to mental health.

Anxiety and Depression on the Rise

“Only one-in-three young adults in the United States say they are loved by those close to them,”

The Barna Group

Several in-depth studies have been conducted to track the rise of mental health in the church. One of those is Barna Group (barna.com), a research and resource company that has tracked the role of faith in America.

Mental health issues rose to the forefront, both in secular and spiritual realms, with Covid-19, but even before the pandemic hit, levels of depression and anxiety were already on the rise.

“Our studies over the years have really shown rise in anxiety, loneliness, depression, a sense of disconnect from others. It really defines Generation Z, as well as Millennials,” said David Kinnaman, President of Barna Group, regarding the group’s largest-ever study. “It’s essential that the church shows up to offer meaningful solutions in an era of anxiety.”

In the Barna study, data showed that almost half of U.S. 18-35-year-olds (49%), expressed anxiety over important decisions and were afraid to fail. Over three in 10 said they often felt said or depressed (39%) or lonely and isolated from others (34%).

“Only one-in-three young adults in the United States say they are loved by those close to them,” Kinnaman said. “So, this is a huge issue, and Covid has only increased all of that and intensified struggles for those with mental health.”

Young People Are At High Risk

Barna’s research uncovered harsh realities regarding young people and how they handled the pandemic and isolation.

“We discovered that young people were feeling very, very isolated and lonely,” said Mark Matlock, Director of Insights for the Barna Group. “What was interesting was when we out to talk to different pastors, we found out that a lot of them were cutting back their contacts and connections with teens and those 20-somethings, thinking that they would be okay and be the most resilient. But think about it, if you’re a teen or a young person, you’ve gone through a major disruption with things like your school, college and places of work.”

This passive approach to younger people in the church has only exasperated mental health issues.

Unprecedented Times Call for Unprecedented Response

"Christians are looking to the church for support for their mental health, and for support in the relationships affected by it."

Barna Group

A combination of a pandemic, race and justice, economic hardship and other factors have accelerated mental health struggles for many. Isolation, depression, worry, anxiety…it takes a toll.

“Christians are looking to the church for support for their mental health, and for support in the relationships affected by it,” Kinnaman said. “Loneliness defines our times – we are more connected but more disconnected than ever.”

This new-found insight regarding mental health provides motivation to create new strategies for care in the church. The library of LifeSupport Resources exists to help ministry and church leaders equip others to support people with mental health needs.

To read more about the Barna Group’s research into mental health and the church, visit: www.barna.com/research/mental-health-next-gen/

Compelling Evidence For Mental Health Ministry Read More »

Person Hiding Mess

Why Is It So Difficult by LifeSupport

Christian Community, Mental Health Stigma

There are some things that are really hard to talk about. When it comes to mental health struggles, many of us feel we have to hide our problems because others won’t understand, or that they’ll treat us differently.  All around us there are people hiding their pain.  This is just as true in our churches as it is in the rest of the world.

Here’s what happens when people don’t hide their messes:

We create mental health discussion videos and mental health group resources from content gathered during interviews of Christians who have found a path through their own struggles. On interview days we sit with one or two people at a time and just get to know them. We start with a prayer, and then we ask a few questions. Mostly, we just listen to their stories of pain. These are days filled with emotion and connection. We hear people (who we’re usually meeting for the first time) share openly about the most difficult and messy parts of their lives; about depression, suicide, grief, infidelity, abuse, and more. Sometimes they cry. Sometimes we cry.

And when it’s done, we all feel good. Without fail, these generous people tell us that they get great value from our interviews. They feel good that the story of their struggle might help someone else find a path through to healing. One of the reasons for our work, is that we want everyone to know that feeling of connection and support you get after someone has listened to you share some really hard things. 

The results:

We know from first-hand experience that strong, biblical relationships form, and healing happens when people take the time to simply be present and listen to someone else share what’s on their heart. We believe that this process of shared struggle and shared healing is part of God’s plan for the messiness of our world. We are grateful to be part of that plan.

We also explore mental health ministry and transformation stories on the weekly LifeSupport Podcast.  Join us on the LifeSupport channel or on the Faith Radio Network.

Why Is It So Difficult by LifeSupport Read More »

Empty church showing a lack of engagement

Mental Health Engagement in the Church by LifeSupport

Ministry Strategy

Ready to engage mental health in your church in a new way? LifeSupport is about equipping pastors for mental health ministry.  This blog post from Ed Stetzer is essential reading for pastors.  In the article, Ed shares 3 Ways To Engage Better.

If pastors and church leaders are often the first responders to a mental health crisis (and they are), then it is essential that they be equipped and prepared.

Ed Stetzer Tweet

3 Ways To Engage Mental Health in Your Church

  1. Talk About It More
  2. Partner With Professionals
  3. Continue To Learn

We can and must intentionally seek out ways we can be more effective hands and feet to those struggling with mental illness in our communities.

Ed Stezer Tweet

An Urgent Need To Respond

More than 20% of adults in the U.S. suffer from some form of mental illness. (National Institute of Mental Health).  In a Lifeway Research Study on mental health and the church, 49 percent of pastors say they rarely or never speak to their congregation about mental illness.   The same study illuminates the fact that churches are unprepared to respond. Just 27 percent of churches reported have a plan to assist families affected by mental illness.

The church is ideally positioned to act as first responders for members of the church and community who are struggling with mental illness.  There are simple strategies that can be implemented by any church to help equip people to come alongside others. 

One way to help people engage with mental health is through LifeSupport Mental Health Discussion Videos.  Our library of videos includes short videos and companion application guides to help facilitate simple conversations and support.  We’d love to help you multiply care for mental health in your church.  Get in touch if you have needs we can fill.

Quotes and linked content shared by permission of the author Ed Stetzer, executive director of the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center, serves as a dean at Wheaton College, and publishes church leadership resources through Mission Group.

Mental Health Engagement in the Church by LifeSupport Read More »

Group of men talking mental health strategy

Beyond Support Groups by LifeSupport Resources

Ministry Strategy

Contents

5 strategies for mental health ministry

Don’t get us wrong, support groups are an excellent and proven care strategy.  But, there are many other essential elements to an effective mental health ministry. These 5 strategies for mental health ministry can help you move beyond groups.

Be Ready For The Mess

Mental illness WILL come through the doors of your church.  The questions you should be discussing with your team are:

  • Are we prepared to recognize when someone needs our help?
  • Does everyone here know that it’s okay to not be okay at church?

Create Opportunities To Share

We are designed to do life in relationship with others.  Part of doing life is sharing the struggle, pain, and healing of mental illness as a normal part of life. Do you have strategies to help people connect authentically beyond Sunday morning, and small groups? Some individual or team on your staff should own responsibility for making sure these strategies are happening.

Model Transparency

If they never see the Pastor hurting and vulnerable, we can hardly blame them for hiding their own pain. When that happens, someone has failed.  Hope can start for someone when they hear a leader open up about a personal struggle, and share the path they took through thier own mess.  We have witnessed this kind of inspired hope in hundreds of healing people.  Do you have a process/stragtegy for your ministry leaders to share their stories with each other and the church?

Communicate a Theology of Suffering

People see suffering in the world and in their own lives and they want explanations.  You’d better be prepared with some answers(*see # 5).  It’s easy to forget that the folks in the pews might not have a deep understanding of God’s plan, or the depth of pain that was present in the life of Christ.  Whenever possible, equip them with honest (and encouraging) truth about the suffering that is part of God’s story, and of our redemption.

Learn To Partner Well

You can’t have all the answers.  In most areas (and certainly online) there are good and caring Christian mental health professionals. Build relationships with a few.  Invite them to your church to get to know the family a bit.  Bring them in for a staff lunch or ask them for a presentation on a topic you might need help with.  Whether they admit or not, your church family experiences the same wide variety of mental health issues as the rest of the world and some of them are going to have pretty specific support needs. You’re probably going to need more than one or two professionals on your contact list.  Once you’ve identified plenty of professional care-givers, create a plan for referral; what triggers a referral, who’s responsible for the referral and for follow-up, how do you coordinate care with the mental health professional.

Want To Go Beyond 5 Strategies For Mental Health Ministry?

Christian therapist Jenita Pace of Three Rivers Counseling provides some specific steps to remodel your church to embrace care for mental health.  Read her thoughts here.

If you need more information about strategies for mental health ministry,  please contact us through this site and we’ll provide whatever help we can.

Beyond Support Groups by LifeSupport Resources Read More »

Holding Hope by Julie Hull M.A.

Anxiety and Fear, Grief, Hope

Something to Hold Onto

We are all searching for something to hold onto. An anchor, a solid foundation to steady us when the storms of life threaten our ability to hold on. I have been holding hope.
Sure it’s easier to lessen our grip when we experience long stretches of days overflowing with abundance and nights filled with restorative sleep. Jesus reminds me daily to hold onto Him, the only true hope as I live out his purpose until I am called to my true home.
I am a licensed counselor, in my practice I have been called to stand daily on holy ground as I listen and minister to many broken people. I am humbled and privileged to bear the weight of their pain as each one shares his or her need for Hope. Oh how the storms of life can test our faith and crush our hope.

…

Holding Hope by Julie Hull M.A.Read More »

Holding Hope by Julie Hull M.A. Read More »

A Remodel That Helps Reach The Hurting by Jenita Pace

Christian Community, Mental Health Stigma, Writing To Equip The Church

Contents

A Church Plan to Reach The Hurting

There is no doubt that anyone who has experienced a remodel understands the depth of work, determination, and variety of skills it takes to accomplish.

As we see the growing levels of trauma and pain in the people around us in and in our church, it can be difficult to determine how best to meet the needs?  In order to meet the evolving needs of your people, here is a guide on how to begin to evaluate and process how to create a psychologically remodeled space that will draw the hurt and lost to Jesus, the ultimate counselor and healer.

…

A Remodel That Helps Reach The Hurting by Jenita PaceRead More »

A Remodel That Helps Reach The Hurting by Jenita Pace Read More »

A woman with anxiety and fear

Perfect Love Casts Out Fear by Melinda A. Cathey M.A.

Anxiety and Fear / , , , ,

Contents

Living In A World Of Fear

We are living in days of unprecedented fear and anxiety. In almost every way the future is uncertain. Though much of the world has from time to time experienced empty shelves in stores, or governments controlling where you can or cannot go, this is very new and disturbing to us. 

Add to that the eruption of long simmering racial tensions yet again.  Add to that the co-opting of meaningful protests by those with a clearly articulated agenda of the violent overthrow and dismantling of all our history, economy, culture, and institutions. All of this has left us reeling; disoriented, overwhelmed, confused and paralyzed. Our internal states and our external behaviors are a far cry from the victorious saints painted in the pictures of Scripture.

…

Perfect Love Casts Out Fear by Melinda A. Cathey M.A.Read More »

Perfect Love Casts Out Fear by Melinda A. Cathey M.A. Read More »