Soul Care Ministry Guides Gen Z Anxiety Solutions
Rates of anxiety, depression and loneliness are increasing among members of Gen Z. Barna research found Christ Chapel Bible Church in Fort Worth, Texas, is providing an example of how churches can respond through a ministry called Soul Care.
Led by Pastor Greg Cook, Soul Care is a counseling ministry rooted in both professional wisdom and pastoral compassion. Cook, who has a background in both pastoral leadership and professional counseling, has developed a lexicon that gives language to pain while offering a pathway toward spiritual renewal.
“Counseling is about change,” he said. “That raises the question, what needs to change, and how will that change take place?”
Soul Care offers one-on-one counseling sessions staffed by trained lay leaders who are equipped to engage with emotional, relational and spiritual wounds.
“Unapologetically, we’re very heart-oriented,” Cook said. “Our hearts are sick, they need help, they need restoration. They’re also what leads us to making all kinds of decisions that sometimes are ruinous, paralyzing and destructive.”
At Christ Chapel, the goal isn’t to replace professional mental health care but to stand in the gap with the gospel and a listening ear. Throughout the year, the Soul Care pastoral staff leads monthly supervision meetings. These small group sessions provide space for honest feedback, role plays and case studies, all designed to build upon the biblical counseling foundations established in earlier courses.
“There are people who are looking for answers,” Cook said, “and they want to be given permission to reflect about their lives.”
Soul Care works in a listening posture
That kind of listening posture — not rushing to advice, but sitting with people — has proved to be one of Soul Care’s most healing tools. More than anything, Cook wants Soul Care to reflect the grace of Jesus, not another spiritual to-do list. “Sometimes I think we put burdens on burdened people,” he says. “I want people to feel like they’re part of a family, a place where we can be honest.”
The approach to Soul Care’s ministry is simple, but the theology is deep.
“Jesus needs to be the answer to all our despair and the source of all joy,” Cook said, “but we’re not sharing that enough in my mind. There’s no devastation that somebody’s been through that I don’t have good news for. Some people ask me, ‘how can you listen to the bad stories all the time?’ Because I have a better one. I’ve got a story to answer the bad story. I’ve got good news to all the bad news.”
–Alan Goforth
