The Care Ministry Podcast Laura Howe

In one of our most-viewed sessions from the 2023 Church Mental Health Summit, Debra Fileta, a Licensed Professional Counselor, relationship expert, national speaker, and founder of the Debra Fileta Counselor’s Network, talks about the progression from thoughts to feelings to behaviors. As we take inventory of our thoughts, understand our emotions, and then trust what is true about God, we can experience the ways in which God desires to heal us.

 

Quotes


Just because you’re a Christian doesn’t mean you have to be “okay.”
It’s ok not to be ok, but it’s not ok to stay there.
We’ve got to put in the work for emotional and mental health.
We need to remind our body that Jesus wins in the end.
Our feelings are a signal cluing us into what’s happening below.
Feelings are real, but they aren’t always true.

 

Resources


Are You Really Ok?, by Debra Fileta

 

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Today, you’re getting access to one of our most-viewed sessions from the 2023 Church Mental Health Summit. Dr. David Anderson is the Founder and President of Gracism Global, host of "Real Talk with Dr. David Anderson," and Founder/Lead Pastor of Bridgeway Community Church in Maryland. He is also an author and speaker. His session, called “I Will Heal With You,” gives us helpful ways to practice empathy with those who are hurting.

 

Quotes


“I will heal with you.”
If I can feel with you, then I can heal with you.
You are helping people with their mental “fender benders.”

 

Resources


Gracism: The Art of Inclusion, by Dr. David Anderson
Gracism Global
Instagram - @andersonspeaks

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As we do our best to navigate the ups and downs of those dealing with mental health struggles, it’s always good to be reminded that your church is already the best place to offer three core needs: belonging, purpose, and hope. Today, we’re specifically hearing how the local church can offer hope in three ways. We’re discovering why the ministry of your church cannot be replaced by any other organization to meet this need.

 

Quotes


[Hope] is central to one’s well-being, and yet, no system or community organization has the capacity to help people find it.  
As ministry caregivers, we can both be the holders of hope AND invite people to look to God as the giver of hope. 
God designed us to need what is offered organically in our local church.  Belonging, Purpose, and Hope. 

 

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Belonging, purpose, and hope. These are the three core needs every person brings with them when they enter the doors of your church. Are we meeting these needs? Today, Laura encourages us to ask the question, How does my church help people feel valuable? Listen in for three ways your church can practically support people and intentionally help them feel purpose.

 

Quotes


We are hardwired to have this sense of accomplishment–to crave being a part of something bigger than ourselves.
We are to offer dignity and strengthen the purpose of every person who engages in their church.
Every person is created with value and intention.
Our care ministries need to be as unique as the people we serve.

 

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Your church is equipped to be a place of belonging for those in your community. Before people believe in Jesus, they often experience belonging within a church family. And like the innkeeper in the story of the Good Samaritan, we have the opportunity in our churches to create a space where people can heal, regardless of their status. Today, we’re talking about three ways to create a culture of belonging in your church.

 

Quotes


Every person is looking for a safe community to belong to.
God designed the local church to meet this unique need [of belonging].
Your church…is perfectly suited and equipped to create a safe community that people can belong to.

 

Resources


Mental Health Sunday resources

 

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“I can’t change what has happened to me…but I can use it to help somebody else.” Today’s guest, Ike Miller, is an author and pastor who shares his experience of the impacts of growing up with a parent with an addiction to alcohol. As he unpacks his story, we discover the beauty of God’s redemption, using our hurts and struggles for His glory. Now, Ike encourages others through his book, Good Baggage, to discover the same redemption.

 

Quotes


Once we share our lives with people…it actually makes people aware of that pain so they can come to our care.
I can’t change what has happened to me…but I can use it to help somebody else. 
There’s a lot of fear behind the idea of acknowledging I don’t have control. 
There are things that happen to us because of others’ sin, but that is not beyond God’s ability to do something good with it.

 

Resources


Good Baggage, by Ike Miller
Ike Miller’s website
Supportive Relationships and Active Skill-Building Strengthen the Foundations of Resilience
ACEs and Toxic Stress: Frequently Asked Questions
Codependent No More, by Melody Beattie

 

Connect with Hope Made Strong

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