Mental health

A new study found that nearly 70 percent of Generation Z say their mental health was challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic and a total of 42 percent of Gen Zers say they have been diagnosed with a mental illness.

“The flesh can bear only a certain number of wounds and no more, but the soul can bleed in ten thousand ways, and die over and over again each hour.” Those are words from the iconic 19th century pastor/theologian, Charles H. Spurgeon, who personally understood the silent, unnamed pains of depression.

Just as we are not immune to physical health problems, people of faith are not immune to mental and emotional suffering. The psalmist cried out, “Darkness is my only friend” (Ps. 88:18). Many people in our churches relate to this ongoing sense of loneliness and despair.

Spurgeon’s self-awareness and candor were ahead of his time, but we now know it is estimated that half of us will experience some form of mental illness in our lifetime. “Combining the child and adult populations, more than fifty million Americans today experience at least one diagnosable mental health disorder on any given day. And it’s reported that there are 123 suicides in the U.S. every single day.

As pastors and churches invite people to follow Jesus, we also invite them to bring all of their brokenness into our community of faith. Jesus reconciles people to God, but he will not restore all that sin has stolen until he returns again. So until then, we serve people in their suffering. We voluntarily walk with them through the maze of their emotional, physical, relational, and spiritual challenges. Rather than viewing them as new recruits to serve our church goals, we eagerly join God’s redeeming work in their lives.

The complexities of mental health issues, however, strain pastors and churches in some very practical ways. While we want to help, we are not always sure of our role in diagnosis and treatment of those who suffer in this way. So let’s consider these four guidelines for serving people facing mental health issues:

Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/KatarzynaBialasiewicz

Captain Johnny Savage recently told CBN News' Prayerlink about how God saved his life after he became lost at sea during a fishing trip nearly 24 years ago.

A growing number of former Christians are struggling with what mental health professionals have called "rapture anxiety," a condition that stems from hearing teachings on the rapture while growing up in church.

Known as “deaths of despair,” both the Rust Belt and Appalachia have seen incredible spikes in rates of addiction, overdoses, violence, and suicide. In addition to the thousands who die each year by various forms of self-harm, thousands more live Gollum-like, trapped by their chemical chains and in loneliness.

A father-daughter research team detailed in a recent report that the decline of religion in America will affect not only religious organizations but a person’s health.

As New York Times journalists Michael Barbaro and Matt Richtel discussed last week on The Daily podcast, we’re facing an unprecedented crisis in teen mental health.

Actor Zachary Levi recently opened up about how God delivered him from several personal struggles in his life, including depression and suicide.

A Navy Chaplain is encouraging sailors to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with each other following a series of suicides on the USS George Washington.

Here’s the good news for mothers and their children (that’s all of us): we have a Father who loves us unconditionally and whose word shows us how to encourage our mothers in empowering and transforming ways.