Anxiety and Depression Association of America reports that 264 million people struggle with depression and 40 million people struggle with anxiety. We, the church, can no longer afford to be surprised when the people sitting next to us in the pews have brought their issues from the week in with them on Sunday mornings.

Throw a stone more that 10 yards in any direction and the odds are that you will hit someone with a mental health issue.

Sadly, only about 40% of adults with a mental illness will seek treatment.

So, what can be done to improve the state of mental illness and the church?

Awareness

The first step in solving any problem is admitting that it exists.

One of England’s finest preachers was C.H. Spurgeon. Frequently during his ministry, he was plunged into severe depression, due in part to gout but also for other reasons. Arnold Dallimore wrote of Spurgeon, “What he suffered in those times of darkness we may not know. “There are dungeons,” Spurgeon wrote, “beneath the castles of despair.”

Acknowledging that the outside world has likely caused many of our mental illnesses should not be difficult.

What may be harder to ensure those who are struggling is that their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ will not cause them to feel isolated in their struggles and judged as having less faith because they struggle.

Within this first step, Christians can offer great harm or help in how they respond to those who confess their struggles.

Belief

Step two is to belief that Bible has something to offer to those with a mental illness.

Yes, we need to acknowledge that God’s truth can offer both examples and solutions for difficult topics. Consider some of the stories from the Bible who likely suffered from some form of a mental illness.

King David certainly battled loss during his lifetime. He wrote; “I am worn out from my groaning. All night I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes have grown weak and sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.”

Job also had plenty of reasons to mourn and grieve. Having lost all he owned and seeing all his children swept away he said, “I have no peace, no quietness, I have no rest, but only turmoil.”

Queen Jezebel declared a bounty on Elijah for having killed the prophets of Baal. Elijah fled and cried out to God, “I have had enough, Lord. Take my life; I am not better than my ancestors.”

Jeremiah, one who was given great visions of God’s future glory, also struggled. “Cursed be the day I was born…why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame.”

If the heroes of our faith and those who had seen great miracles from the hand of God could succumb to such struggles as mental illness, we need to accept that our faith in God alone will not keep us immune from the same.

Challenge

While we do have hope of an eternal home where we will have no more pain (even emotional), there are steps we can challenge ourselves.

King David, who experienced great lows in his life, also celebrated epic highs. While he often cried out to God, he also offered praise to God as a healer.

“Even though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil, for your rod and staff, they comfort me.”

You turned my wailing into dancing; You removed my sackcloth and clothed me in joy.”

Ways the Church can support people with mental health challenges.

For a Christian who is a mental health sufferer, the church is especially a refuge from what is a hostile world.

depressive episodes can leave us feeling hopeless and in despair for weeks, months, and in some cases years. For that reason, it is important that the church is a safe place. The church should be where we can receive spiritual support, prayer, and the hope of deliverance from our maladies.

Educate the Congregation – Empower Training.

Churches can educate its leaders, elders, pastors, through seminars and mental health experts. People struggling with mental health live lonely lives. In short, we all need friends. Let people know that instead of being forced to watch life pass them by from behind the bars of their mental and physical prisons, there is a place for them in the church.