" While it may seem like a big ' lift ' to get an effective mental health ministry off the ground, most churches are more innovative, motivated, and organized than they realize."
The Small-Size, Large-Impact Church
Historically, the approach to mental health issues at Family Church was silence. But Pastor Ross was different, having gone through mental health struggles and psychiatric treatment himself. As a veteran, he was treated for PTSD and anxiety, and he saw firsthand how his church and others needed to grapple with the issue.
Like most small church pastors, Ross didn’ t have extra money or time. But there were three things he could change. First, to help with both prevention and necessary treatment, he wanted to change the Family Church culture and make it okay to talk about mental health instead of hiding behind a“ nothing to see here” mask. His second effort was to build organic internal support: We can’ t talk about everything, every Sunday, from the stage. So let’ s also bring it down to the small group level.
Third, Pastor Ross began to build up the church’ s external resources. He needed relationships with more professionals in private practice so he could refer people to them. He also needed ways to help people pay for it. He especially needed options other than professional counseling— other ways external resources could equip people in the church.
He asked trusted church members to help him look into local resources and develop relationships. They worked on this for a year. They met with social workers, county government liaisons, first responder agencies, a hospital, several schools, a regional inpatient program for those with eating disorders, and nonprofit foundations that were willing to contribute financially toward mental health services. The goal was to build relationships they could turn to for help, advice, or equipping when it was needed.
The Biblical Counseling Church
More than forty years ago, several ministry friends started a small biblical counseling center in a church basement. The group included the pastor of the church( Legacy Church), a seminary student, and a medical doctor who were all working together to create a counseling program. They saw people on Mondays, free of charge.
" While it may seem like a big ' lift ' to get an effective mental health ministry off the ground, most churches are more innovative, motivated, and organized than they realize."
Fast-forward to today: Legacy Church has grown to several thousand people and has counseling centers at their various campuses. On a typical Monday, there are about thirty people— most of our pastoral staff, a number of medical doctors, and some other godly women and men who have been trained and certified. They serve their church members
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