The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
or visit them on the web
here.This service is free and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All calls are confidential.
It is important to note that suicide is not a normal response to stress. Suicidal thoughts or actions are a sign of extreme distress and should not be ignored. If these warning signs apply to you or someone you know, get help as soon as possible, particularly if the behavior is new or has increased recently.
Seeking Counseling?
For those in North Dallas & Collin County area seeking local mental health counseling services, learn more
here.More cities to be added soon
Every church is a trusted spiritual partner, not just to their members but to the community at large. When in a crisis, the first place many turn is to their church. But few churches are equipped to provide even the most basic mental health services, not to mention training. Given the current mental health crisis, churches are on the front lines – whether they’re prepared or not.
Beacon of Light was born out of St. Andrew’s challenge of reacting to mental health crisis among its members rather than having at its disposal comprehensive mental health programming. To address this need, Beacon of Light is developing a proprietary strategy and framework that will equip churches around the country to be proactive mental health inclusive church communities.
Beacon of Light was borne out of St. Andrew’s challenge of reacting to mental health crisis among its members rather than having at its disposal comprehensive mental health programming. To address this need, Beacon of Light is developing a proprietary strategy and framework that will equip churches around the country to be proactive mental health inclusive church communities.
When St. Andrew began developing its own mental health practice, we first looked externally to see what other churches were doing. What we found was a lack of comprehensive programming. Many churches have mental health resources on their websites and offer lay-led support groups. Still others have affiliations with counselors. And some partner with local mental providers to provide some level of education. What St. Andrew needed, and what will be offered, is a comprehensive and integrated framework that includes awareness, education, proprietary curriculum, treatment options and a complete ‘how-to’ playbook on implementation.
Mental health has certainly become more complex since the pandemic. With more than 380,000 churches throughout country, and each positioned as trusted community partners, churches are ideally suited to address mental health. For many people, their local church is the first place they turn in times of uncertainty. We believe this is the case with mental health as well. The opportunity is to better prepare churches to meet this need.
Designed exclusively for churches, Beacon of Light’s offering will provide a turn-key and easy to implement mental health framework featuring evidence-based programming and clinical resources. The goal is to make professional mental services as accessible as possible, delivered through a Christ-centered lens. Importantly, new content will be distributed regularly to participating churches. Content will include blogs, podcasts, webinars, videos, and hard-form training materials – all featuring a professional production value.
Part of making mental health programming accessible to churches is making it affordable. Beacon of Light programming will be priced to cover its costs, not to generate a profit. Subscription models are currently being evaluated to provide the highest quality yet most economically feasible product as possible. The goal is to engage churches in a long-term relationship to enable them to become informed and trusted providers of mental services for their communities.
Beacon of Light staff is currently working with clinicians, curriculum developers, production experts, and content designers on pilot programming. We expect the initial offering to be available in early 2023. Please continue to refer to the website for updated timeframes, content, and program information.
If you or your church are interested in learning more about Beacon of Light’s strategy and framework for creating a mental health inclusive church community, please fill out the form below and we’ll add you to our distribution list.
Beacon of Light provides awareness, resources, training, and treatment for individuals and for churches everywhere concerned about mental health.
