Seeking to reach people outside their walls, over 200 Seventh-day Adventist churches across North America, including 25 in the Pacific Union Conference, hosted the short mental health series MindFit this past spring. The Voice of Prophecy (VOP) produced the event to empower churches to be practical and spiritual resources for their communities in battling a continent-wide mental health crisis.
“On a global scale, one in eight people struggle daily with mental illness—one in five in North America. The implication is clear: it is nearly impossible to live on this earth and not be affected by mental illness,” said Alex Rodriguez, associate speaker for VOP.
Each session of MindFit, a four-part event, commences with audiences watching a 30-minute episode of a docuseries hosted by Rodriguez, who traveled across North America to speak with mental health professionals and patients. The series sheds light on the history and prevalence of mental health challenges. It emphasizes that effective treatments are available and amplified by biblical principles. After each episode, a local church leader guides the audience through a provided study and discussion.
Over half of the 60 individuals who came to MindFit at Templeton Hills church in Templeton, California, were non-members. Pastor Zac Page led the local study and was impressed by its impact on his community attendees.
Before the event had even begun, one man called Page to ask what MindFit was about. Intrigued by the series’ content, the man chose to attend. Later, Page helped him access an online depression test. The man discovered he was clinically depressed, but MindFit helped transform his mental health.
“He told me MindFit healed him, that it helped him come out of a hole,” Page said. “He’s been coming to church some and got engaged with our homeless ministry and Bible studies. As he came in to one study, he said, ‘I need a little more Adventism.’”
One audience member told Page that she had received flyers for church events but never before attended one. When she saw an invitation to MindFit, she thought, “It is amazing that Christians are talking about mental health.”
“Just last week, that woman was at church,” Page added. “At potluck, people were giving her hugs. It was obvious that she had found a community.”
Like Templeton Hills, Ceres church in Ceres, California, saw several individuals from the community attend its MindFit sessions. Audience participation was a highlight as well, with both members and newcomers repeatedly thanking study leader Sheri Darrough for presenting material they needed.
When the church held the VOP-created follow-up Bible study, “Peace Is an Inside Job,” Darrough again received several words of gratitude. However, in Darrough’s eyes, these affirmations were not the strongest evidence that God wanted her church to host MindFit.
“The devil battled us,” Darrough explained. “Two days before MindFit, our pastor’s car was carjacked, and his laptop, which had everything for the series prepared on it, was stolen. We used my laptop, but the video, although downloaded, froze in the middle of the first session.
“We had issues like that every night,” she continued. “I believe, 100 percent, that MindFit was needed, that it was good and important.”
For churches interested in hosting the event and receiving an advertising boost to draw in more community members, VOP will conduct a continent-wide MindFit campaign on September 19-21 and again on January 2-4. In the weeks leading up to these dates, host churches will benefit from a mass social media campaign promoting the series.
“With approximately 6,500 Adventist churches dotting the landscape of North America, our denomination is uniquely positioned to be a center of healing for those who are struggling,” Rodriguez said. “We filmed MindFit to place churches at the forefront of the mental health conversation. May the love of Jesus be reflected through us as we cooperate with the Holy Spirit in bringing physical and spiritual healing to a world perishing in hopelessness.”
Visit MindFitEvent.com/Host to join the myriad churches serving their communities through this unique evangelistic event.
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