The pandemic exposed the mental health challenges that churches face. A free online summit on October 10, which is World Mental Health Day, will offer resources to church leaders.
The Church Mental Health Summit, sponsored by Spiritual First Aid will join forces with Hope Made Strong and Biola University’s Rosemead School of Psychology/Mental Health, will feature such prominent faith and mental health speakers as Dr. Anita Phillips, John Townsend, Kay Warren, Danielle Strickland and Dr. Jamie Aten.
“Over 5,000 church leaders from over 80 countries participated in last year’s summit, and the summit is on track to significantly exceed those numbers, highlighting the growing awareness and need for effective mental health care in churches in the United States and around the globe,” said Aten, cofounder of Spiritual First Aid.
The summit’s presentations are organized into four tracks — Church Health, Community Health, Leadership Health and Missions/Culture. Participants can join the 50-plus presenters for uplifting messages of hope and practical resources that will educate and encourage them to better serve their churches and care for their communities. Sample speakers include:
- Dr. Jamie Aten, cofounder of Spiritual First Aid and Co-Director of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College
- Kent Annan, cofounder of Spiritual First Aid and Co-Director of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College
- Dr. Karl Benzio, medical director of the American Association of Christian Counselors
- David Kim, pastor, author and speaker
- Laura Howe, founder of Hope Made Strong
- Chris Adams, executive director of the Mental Health & the Church Initiative, Biola’s Rosemead School of Psychology
- Dr. Gregg Jantz, founder of the Center — A Place of HOPE
- Dr. Edward Ng, founder of the Eastgate Project
- Thad Austin, senior director of strategic initiatives and congregational engagement at Duke University
- Marty Sawyers, president and CEO of Full Strength Network
- Brad Hoefs, founder and executive director of Fresh Hope
- Dr. Andrew Blackwood, CEO and founder of The Healing Communications Centre
- Dr. Josephine Kim, founding board member of Mustard Seed Generation
- Toni Collier, founder of Broken Crayons Still Color
- John Swinton, professor of practical theology at the University of Aberdeen
- Joe Padilla, cofounder and CEO of Mental Health Grace Alliance
- Mike Foster, president, of The Primal Question Company
- Kadi Cole, author, consultant and speaker
- Dr Kristi Gaultiere, author, therapist, spiritual director and cofounder of Soul Shepherding
- Dr. Dave Anderson, president and CEO of Gracism Global
To register for the summit or learn more, visit ChurchMentalHealthSummit.com.