Our pastor, J.D. Greear, delivered an excellent message on how Jesus offers hope to those who struggle to believe because of disappointment and grief. This is a struggle that every person and faces. It is one of the most personal and challenging obstacles to faith.
A natural question becomes, “What do I do if grief or disappointment is challenging my faith?” The best advice I can give as your Pastor of Counseling is to be honest about it – be honest with God in prayer and be honest with trusted Christian friends. Nothing makes pain echo like isolation.
We have developed resources to make these prayers and conversations more effective. We also have various options for where and with whom you can have these conversations.
Small Group
At some point in your journey you need to confide in the people with whom you have covenanted to “do life with.” We have created a resource to equip our small groups to care for one another in times of grief and discouragement.
If you need to apply this seminar to the loss of a dream (i.e., infertility), innocence (i.e., the effects of abuse), the loss of stability (i.e., job loss), or the living death of divorce, we have developed an appendix to help you understand how this seminar applies to those griefs. Appendix B — Other Causes of Grief
If your small group is looking to care for someone after a major loss, we developed a ministry plan that will allow you to be meaningfully supportive for the full grieving process. Appendix C — 12 Month Care Plan
We also created a parenting tips and family devotion appendix to this seminar in order to equip parents to more effectively care for and disciple their children during a season of grief. Appendix H — Parenting Tips & Family Devotions
Grieving a Miscarriage
If you are a mother who has experience miscarriage, we want to develop a special ministry for this often neglected grief. Eli Hawkins (elihawkins.summit@gmail.com) is coordinating this ministry. We want to pair moms who have experienced this grief to walk with moms who are freshly experiencing this pain.
Here is the job description for the mentoring role in this kind of relationship. Job Description — Miscarriage Mentor
Here is a memorial service that can be conducted by a small group to provide the grief benefits a funeral provides which are often not available to families who experience a miscarriage. Appendix A — Memorial Ceremony for an Unborn Child
Graduate Intern Counseling
We offer free, personal counseling with a counselor completing his/her masters or doctoral degree. You can learn more about this ministry and download the intake forms at this link.
Bridgehaven Counseling Associates
We have launched a non-profit counseling center where you can receive more experienced counsel with a full-time pastoral counselor on a donation basis. You can learn more about this ministry at this link.