This Lightworkers article, “When Will the Church Answer the Call of Those Struggling with Mental Illness?” rightly noted the church’s role in ministering to the whole person, spiritually and mentally; here’s an excerpt:
God has called us to minister wholeness to those around us. The church has a major role to play in the crusade for mental health.
Mental health is both an urgent, and largely neglected, issue in our culture. 70% of teenagers say anxiety and depression, for example, are a “major problem” among people their age, according to Pew Research. But mental health is not just a concern for high-schoolers.
One in four Americans of all ages has some sort of mental illness. And that number doesn’t diminish even among clergy, as 23% of pastors admit to experiencing mental health issues, according to LifeWay Research. Yet the same study shows that 60% of pastors do not agree that “medications should be used any time they can ease symptoms of acute mental illness.”
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Jesus came, not only to save us from sin, but also to make us whole. He said, “I came to give life—life that is full and good,” (John 10:10). The church must join Jesus’ mission, destigmatize mental illness and strive to bring holistic healing to those who desperately need it.