Key Ministry has several big initiatives underway in 2024, including our Disability and the Church conference, May 1 – 3, 2024. In addition to DATC2024, we have some new mental health ministry plans that we will be unveiling over the coming months.
One of Key Ministry’s most successful resources has been the SNAD Leaders Facebook group. SNAD stands for Special Needs and Disability ministry leaders. Every day, nearly 3000 ministry leaders from the US and around the world have the opportunity to learn from one another, ask questions, find solutions and share resources for ministry leaders and for family support. I’m frequently amazed at how often a group member will post about a ministry challenge, and within an hour, ten other group members have offered options, approaches and solutions.
Key Ministry would love to see the very same thing take hold for mental health support. In just the past few years, the collective mental health of our nation has declined significantly. And sadly, it appears that the trends continue to head in a downward trajectory.
But rather than merely focus on what’s negative, let’s look at this as a time for the Church to shine brightly. In the past 10 years, many churches have begun taking an active role in supporting the mental health needs within their churches and local communities. Resources and tools now exist to help ministry leaders and families, and many ministry leaders now have invaluable experience to share that can equip others.
You may be wondering if you should join this group versus just being part of the SNAD Leaders group. We strongly encourage ministry leaders to join this group, because there are significant differences between mental health support versus a typical church’s disability ministry support.
We’ve created a document that we’re posting in the Mental Health Ministry Leaders group, so everyone can understand the goals and parameters of the group, as well as the distinct differences from the SNAD group. Clear here to read that document.
We’ve offered this group for several years, but are redoubling our efforts as part of our strategy in 2024, to accelerate resourcing and equipping churches and ministry leaders ministering to and with individuals and families with mental health needs. We would love for this group to be as effective as SNAD has been in helping ministry leaders develop policies and procedures, establish best practices for specific situations, and more. We recently heard of a ministry leader recommending the SNAD group to another ministry leader as “an invaluable resource.” That’s our big goal for the Mental Health Ministry Leaders group, too!
Here’s the link to join. Feel free to ask us any questions. There’s no cost, no commitment, but plenty of upside potential to support your ministry and the people you serve.
