Author Archives: Dr. G

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About Dr. G

Dr. Stephen Grcevich serves as President and Founder of Key Ministry, a non-profit organization providing free training, consultation, resources and support to help churches serve families of children with disabilities. Dr. Grcevich is a graduate of Northeastern Ohio Medical University (NEOMED), trained in General Psychiatry at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at University Hospitals of Cleveland/Case Western Reserve University. He is a faculty member in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at two medical schools, leads a group practice in suburban Cleveland (Family Center by the Falls), and continues to be involved in research evaluating the safety and effectiveness of medications prescribed to children for ADHD, anxiety and depression. He is a past recipient of the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Dr. Grcevich was recently recognized by Sharecare as one of the top ten online influencers in children’s mental health. His blog for Key Ministry, www.church4everychild.org was ranked fourth among the top 100 children's ministry blogs in 2015 by Ministry to Children.

#CharlestonShooting… Evil or mental illness?

What mental illness does is that it makes it harder for some to continue to hide from the world the evil that exists within their hearts. Continue reading

Posted in Controversies, Key Ministry, Mental Health | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Leading a spiritually disciplined life as a person with ADHD…

If God wanted cookie-cutter Christians, that’s what He would have made. We have a palette of spiritual disciplines because we won’t all grow closer to God in exactly the same way. Continue reading

Posted in ADHD, Key Ministry, Spiritual Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Mitzi VanCleve…Help My Unbelief: “Religious OCD”

John Bunyan in describing how this form of OCD impacted him said: “Of all the temptations that ever I met with in my life, to question the being of God, and the truth of His gospel, is the worst, and the worst to be borne; when this temptation comes, it takes away my girdle from me, and removeth the foundation from under me.” Continue reading

Posted in Anxiety Disorders, Mental Health | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The front door of your church…

Websites increasingly serve as the front door to our churches…a tool for introducing the church to first-time visitors and a strategy for communicating information about ministry opportunities and events to a population more likely to attend to their smartphones and tablets than to a traditional church bulletin. Continue reading

Posted in Hidden Disabilities, Inclusion, Key Ministry, Mental Health, Strategies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

What parents are most afraid to hear…

There may be parents who are trying their best visiting your church with kids who have bad genes, kids who experienced trauma or abuse, or kids who haven’t yet developed the skills to effectively self-regulate their emotions and behavior. How do we welcome them and share with them the unconditional love Christ has for them? How do we as the church best communicate so we build the relationships necessary to cast influence in their family? Continue reading

Posted in Families, Hidden Disabilities, Inclusion, Key Ministry, Mental Health | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Update…Our Front Door online church initiatives…

The Front Door project is an ongoing experiment…exploring a variety of technology applications to help connect families to churches and help churches develop innovative ways of overcoming the barriers that impede families of kids with mental illness, trauma and developmental disabilities…barriers that prevent them from attending worship services and participating in all of the other activities offered by local churches to promote spiritual growth. Sometimes we’ll try stuff that works great…sometimes it doesn’t.
Continue reading

Posted in Inclusion, Key Ministry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Update…Our Front Door online church initiative for families impacted by disability

We’re grateful to the crew at CBC for their continued involvement and support with our Front Door initiative, and looking forward to offering families impacted by disability an enhanced experience of online community! Continue reading

Posted in Inclusion, Key Ministry, Strategies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Churches, mental health inclusion and respite care…

Through providing respite care, churches can step in the gap to meet an immediate need for parents of kids with mental illness while providing an opportunity for members and attendees to serve others in a practical way and connect with families who likely lack a meaningful connection with a local church. Continue reading

Posted in Families, Inclusion, Key Ministry, Mental Health, Resources, Strategies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

How would your church respond to Caitlyn Jenner?

My friend was very pleased that the stuff going on in his new church was compelling enough to draw this person into what was likely a very uncomfortable situation for someone of his appearance, but was more pleased by the way the people of his church welcomed him, accepted him into the congregation and treated him with respect. Continue reading

Posted in Controversies, Hidden Disabilities, Key Ministry, Mental Health | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Joe Padilla…5 Steps to the Rise of Mental Health Support in the Church

Mental health community support in the church is on the rise and this changes the whole game! As we see more and more influential church leaders share their personal or family experience, the conversation is beginning to take shape in the church. We’re beginning to see a turning of the tide. Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, Depression, Families, Key Ministry, Mental Health, Resources, Strategies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments