Our team is pleased to announce we’ve completed a library of training videos designed to accompany and support Mental Health and the Church, Key Ministry’s book on including children, teens, adults and families impacted by mental illness at church.

The series of fourteen short videos (each is approximately ten minutes in length) is intended to serve as a resource to pastors and ministry leaders seeking to develop a mental health inclusion strategy within their churches.

The videos roughly correspond to the chapter outline in the book. The first two videos describe why intentional mental health inclusion ministry is necessary and address the ways in which mental illness is different from other types of disabilities supported at church. The third video introduces seven common barriers to church participation associated with mental illness. Videos four through six introduce the seven broad mental health inclusion strategies proposed in the book, and videos seven through thirteen discuss the ways in which the inclusion strategies may be used to overcome the barriers to church attendance, including:

• Stigma
• Anxiety
• Self-control (executive functioning)
• Sensory processing
• Social communication
• Social isolation
• Past experiences of church

The final video segment describes the tools and resources available through our ministry and other like-minded ministry organizations for churches wanting to become more intentional about welcoming and including individual and families affected by mental illness into worship services and other church activities.

To access the video series, simply click this link to the page on our website where the videos are housed. In addition to the training videos, we also have made available an informational page on the book, recommended books and resources for mental health inclusion, a guide to other mental health ministry organizations, research pertaining to mental illness and church involvement, sermons in which the topic of mental illness is addressed, helpful social media resources and stories from individuals and families about their experiences of attending church with a mental health condition.

Our team hopes these resources will be helpful to your church as you take the next step in developing your mental health ministry. If you need further assistance from our team, feel free to contact us and let us know how Key Ministry can help you launch or grow your ministry!

Special thanks to the video production teams of First Christian Church in Canton, OH and Bay Presbyterian Church in Bay Village, OH for helping to make this video training series possible!

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In Mental Health and the Church: A Ministry Handbook for Including Children and Adults with ADHD, Anxiety, Mood Disorders, and Other Common Mental Health Conditions, Dr. Stephen Grcevich presents a simple and flexible model for mental health inclusion ministry for implementation by churches of all sizes, denominations, and organizational styles. The book is also designed to be a useful resource for parents, grandparents and spouses seeking to promote the spiritual growth of loved ones with mental illness. Available now at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, ChristianBook and other fine retailers everywhere.