The Mental Health Ministry's mission is to equip local Celebrate Recovery's to empower individuals to achieve serenity with their mental health.
Our purpose is to raise awareness of mental health and create a safe place to continue conversations and to support mental health through the implementation of Mental Health Champions at each CR location. To encourage Christ-centered sponsorship, provide tools such as mental health forums, the Mental Health Agreement form and the CR Suicide Protocol. These tools help equip our leaders and sponsors to effectively walk alongside our participants struggling with mental health.
Celebrate Recovery is not a replacement for professional counseling, therapy, and/or medical treatment. We provide encouragement and support to supplement those efforts. Living with mental health issues can be difficult. However, learning to walk in mental health recovery gives us hope. Living one day at a time, one moment at a time, implementing the 7 Principles and 12 steps, it is possible to live in peace and joy. Jesus cares about our mental health. 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV) He tells us "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
What we are…
*A safe and loving place for those seeking to find support in the midst of mental health issues and dual diagnosis.
*Willing to support mental health through Christ centered accountability and sponsorship.
*A safe place to work through all of life’s Hurts, Hang-ups, & Habits believing that freedom in Christ is something that can be complete even without physical healing.
What we are not…
*A replacement for counseling and therapy
*A place for judgment
*A place that gives up on HOPE!
MENTAL HEALTH CHAMPION
- Reports directly to the Ministry Leader
- Responsible for gathering useful teaching material on mental health
- Shares gathered materials with Celebrate Recovery leadership
- Works with Ministry Leader to customize the Suicide Protocol to align with the care pastor and the local church
- Stays familiar with local mental health resources
- Gathers information for leaders, creating a referral list for distribution to the individual when the need arises
- Keeps the information current
- Works with “T” coach to develop sponsors familiar with the proper implementation of the Mental Health Agreement
CHARACTERISTICS OF A MENTAL HEALTH CHAMPION
- Gifts: Wisdom, insight, creative communication, mercy, teaching
- Personality: Compassionate, confident, self-assured, teachable, committed, outgoing, good communicator, good listener
- Knowledge and Skills: Spiritually mature, able to discern biblical truth, understands and fully involved in recovery, general working knowledge of the mental health field, able to learn quickly, able to be comfortable in unfamiliar situations
MENTAL HEALTH RECOVERY AGREEMENT
- I will reaffirm daily that my identity comes from Jesus Christ and who He says I am. I will deny the lie that my identity is in my diagnosis.
“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith,” Galatians 3:26 - I will submit to the will of God in my life, knowing that while I may not understand the reasons for why I have a mental health issue, God is in control and if I let Him work in my life, He will do what is best for me in my circumstance.
“...know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 ESV - I will share my victories and my struggles with someone I trust on a consistent basis. In doing so I refuse to live in isolation from others.
“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.” Ecclesiastes 4:9 NLT - I will faithfully follow any treatment plans designed for me by my mental health practitioner. I will continue to take medications as prescribed. I will meet with my mental health practitioner on a regular basis to make sure the correct plan is in place.
”The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel.” Proverbs 12:15 - I will continue to work the Celebrate Recovery 12 Steps & 8 Principles having as an ultimate goal to be more and more like Jesus in everything I do.
“So, all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord – who is the Spirit – makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” 2 Corinthians 3:18
