Church Gathers Around Member with Mental Illness

Rev. John Terpstra says his church has committed itself to reaching out to those facing mental health challenges and other difficulties.

He recalls, for instance,  how he and a few others from Immanuel Christian Reformed Church in Fort Collins, Colo., gathered around a church member a year or so ago who was having an especially  hard time.

In this case, the church member, who had cut back on his medications, had asked for help.

Typically, says Terpstra, people who battle mental health issues often keep them hidden, fearing exposure and what others will think about them.

“This person wanted to meet with a few close friends and myself so that he could share the full extent of what he was dealing with,” said Terpstra. “He wanted us to show love for him.”

Terpstra says church has worked hard to create the kind of open atmosphere and spirit that encourages people to seek assistance.

Playing a role in creating this spirit, he says, is having a disability policy on file that calls on the congregation to respond with the love of Christ in situations such as this.

“Our church is several years down the road in the process of reaching out to those who are in deep trouble, whether that be from mental health concerns, substance abuse issues, problems in their marriage or from a host of other challenges,” says Terpstra.

Rev. Mark Stephenson, director of the CRC’s Office of Disability Concerns, credits Immanuel CRC with having the  policy and especially for its willingness to reach out to its members who have mental health issues and other difficulties.

So often, says Stephenson, congregations either don’t realize or don’t want to think about their members having mental health challenges.

Stephenson said studies show that various forms of brain disease, including substance abuse, are common. At least 25 percent of people — and that includes people in churches — will deal with a diagnosable mental illness at some point in life.

“This is a hard issue and it has a stigma attached to it, but I’ll bet that every single congregation has at least someone taking medication for mental health issues,” says Stephenson.

With this in mind, Stephenson is recommending pastors and churches access a 20-page booklet, “Mental Health: a Guide for Faith Leaders,” and a companion two-page “Quick Resource on Mental Health for Faith Leaders.”

"These documents are important and helpful," says Stephenson. “Pastors could put the quick resource in their top desk drawer and pull it out for reference when someone calls for help.”

The resources were produced by the American Psychiatric Foundation in cooperation with such groups as the Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition, an organization of which the Christian Reformed Church and the Reformed Church in America Disability Concerns are a part, says Stephenson.

The aim of the resources is to help faith leaders better understand mental illness and treatment, and better help individuals and families in their congregations facing mental health challenges.

“Because religion and spirituality often play a vital role in healing, people experiencing mental health often turn first to a faith leader,” says the booklet.

“From a public-health perspective, faith community leaders are gatekeepers or ‘first responders’ when families face mental health or substance-abuse problems.”

Stephenson says the Disability Concerns office has available a range of mental health resources for churches seeking to enhance their ministry to persons with these kinds of challenges.

Resources include a small-group series; a mental health ministry toolkit for congregations, and articles on providing pastoral care to persons with a mental illness.

In addition, there is "Stories of Grace and Truth," a joint project of the CRC’s Disability Concerns, Faith and Hope Ministries, and RCA Disability Concerns, that offers stories, poems, paintings and other materials that focus on the subject.

John Terpstra says he is grateful that these resources are available to help churches become more aware of those with mental illness in their midst and to help churches to reach out to them with the love of Christ.

Still, it is not always easy. The man who asked for help and around whom they gathered a year or so ago, says the pastor, continues to struggle and, as he does, church members themselves struggle with how they can continue to help.

But there is always a constant, says Terpstra.

“We know that if someone is suffering or is broken, it is incumbent on us to walk toward the need and not away from the need,” he said. “We believe in a God who scripture tells us can cry and who hears and responds to pain.”