Can the Church Handle My Young Mind?

When I first started going through depression I have to be honest, not once did I think about the church. It's not that I didn't go to a good church or that I didn't have anyone I could talk to. It was just that I was young and didn't think anyone would take the matter seriously and would listen to me. Young people often get shut down quickly because of “lack of experience and knowledge” so I wasn't going to be the one to make waves, instead I just kept silent. I guess growing up hearing things like "pray about it" or "don't worry, trust God and obey" I figured that if I talked about it to the church I would either get one of those responses and/or get judged or criticized for having the issue. I decided since no one else talked about their mental health issues, I wasn’t going to either. I did not want to be out of line as a Christian. After awhile when I became more aware about mental health, I took a good look at the church and realized that there were so many other people, young people included, going through similar issues that really needed the space and opportunity to share and connect. While I was at a church conference, I participated in teaching a youth workshop with the topic of mental health. One young person told their testimony and from there I watched many young people cry out about things that they were going through that was affecting them mentally. Honestly I empathized with them because I knew what that was like but I couldn't help but wonder what the church was doing about it. The question no longer "Is mental health a problem in the church?" because it is. The question is or at least should be "What is the church doing to solve the mental health problems?" Did you know that it is a part of the church's responsibility to do so? Mental health is a big part of spiritual health and if one is off usually that means the other is also. Gratefully I’m starting to see more churches including my own develop ministries, workshops, and more that specifically targets mental health. So I'm leaving these questions to all other clergy, teachers, leaders, officers, members and anyone else connected to the church:

• Is mental health one of the priorities in your church?

• What are you going to do to make it a priority?

• What are you doing in your church to make sure the minds of our young people are straight?

• If your answers were no to these questions or you could not answer them then I ask yourself what are you going to do about it?

I specify the youth not just because I'm young but because we are the next to carry the torch. If you expect us to do well, we have to have all the appropriate resources we need to be the most effective and healthiest Christian leaders we can be. The church can no longer afford to sit in silence. Hey fellow Christians…let's get to work!!!!