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.
3 Ways To Engage Mental Health in Your Church
- Talk About It More
- Partner With Professionals
- 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.
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.
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