Ministering to Families in Crisis: The Essential Guide for Nurturing Mental and Emotional Health

by Jennifer S. Ripley; James N. Sells; Diane J. Chandler

Publisher:

IVP USA

, 2024

Overview

A Guide for Ministry Leaders to Provide Mental Health First Aid

When people encounter a crisis, they often turn to ministry leaders, who may feel unprepared to guide them. Families face a multitude of challenges, from depression and anxiety to relational conflict to trauma and abuse. Providing the right resources and tools to help church members navigate their journeys is a solid starting place for every pastor and ministry leader.

Ministering to Families in Crisis provides leaders with an essential shelf reference for supporting your community’s mental and emotional health. In each chapter, Christian leaders with unique expertise address common ministry challenges, providing evidence-based insights and practical suggestions. The book covers a full range of topics affecting families, marriages, children, and teens—including mental illness, LGBTQ+ issues, divorce, disability, poverty, racial trauma, and technology use. Contributors guide leaders on how to provide care and when to offer referrals.

Whatever members’ background or experience, the church is a spiritual family that God designed to contribute to their formation and sense of belonging. This book gives ministers the tools and encouragement they need to help family members find hope amid the storms of life.

Key Features

• Provides leaders with an essential shelf reference for supporting your community’s mental and emotional health.
• Includes evidence-based insights and practical suggestions.
• Guides leaders on how to provide care and when to offer referrals.

Contents

• Acknowledgments
• 1. Establishing Hope amid the Storm of Family Crises
• 2. Spiritual Formation in Families
• 3. Strategies to Discern Marriage and Family Health and Functioning
• 4. Care and Support of Families Impacted by Mental Illness
• 5. LGBTQ+ Issues in Marriage Ministry
• 6. Ministering to Families When Children Come Out
• 7. Domestic Violence and Church Ministry
• 8. Handling Divorce as a Ministry Leader: Tutorial from a Family Lawyer
• 9. Families Affected by Disability
• 10. Screens, Children, and Teens: The Challenges Are Real, and You Can Help
• 11. Adults and Screens: Preventing Crisis Through Digital Discipleship
• 12. Race, Discrimination, and Stress in the Family
• 13. Ministering to Families in Poverty and Financial Crisis
• 14. The Challenge of Helping Couples in Conflict
• 15. Trauma in Families: Ministering When the Unimaginable Happen
• 16. Ministry to Blended Families
• 17. Families and Addictions
• 18. Families, Aging, and Caregiving
• List of Contributors

Praise for Ministering to Families in Crisis

Ministering to Families in Crisis, edited by Ripley, Sells, and Chandler, is a comprehensive, biblically based, well-written, and excellent guide for nurturing the mental and emotional health of families in churches who are experiencing crises of all kinds. The editors have assembled a great group of authors who provide substantial and practical help for those ministering to such families. Highly recommended!

—Siang-Yang Tan, senior professor of clinical psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary and author of Counseling and Psychotherapy: A Christian Perspective

Ministering to Families in Crisis is an invaluable resource for anyone involved in pastoral care or family ministry. With sensitivity and practical wisdom, this comprehensive guide addresses a wide range of challenges families may face. Each chapter is packed with practical strategies, real-life examples, and thoughtful reflections, making it an essential resource for anyone seeking to support and strengthen families in times of crisis. From establishing hope amid the pain of divorce to navigating the complexities of mental illness, LGBTQ+ issues, and domestic violence, this book covers it all, equipping ministry leaders to meet families where they are in the storms of life.

—Matthew Stanford, CEO of the Hope and Healing Center and Institute in Houston, Texas

I wish we didn’t need Ministering to Families in Crisis, but I’m sure glad we have it. The difficult truth is that many of the families we serve are indeed hurting and in crisis. The problem is that many of us haven’t been trained how to respond. Instead, we often feel afraid or paralyzed, wanting to help but not knowing how. Ministering to Families in Crisis provides the theologically robust and practical guidance we need to love and care for our families. All children, student, and family ministry leaders should read Ministering to Families in Crisis and keep it within reach.

—Brian Dembowczyk, associate publisher for Thomas Nelson Bibles and author of Family Discipleship that Works

Product Details

• Title: Ministering to Families in Crisis: The Essential Guide for Nurturing Mental and Emotional Health
• Authors: Jennifer S. Ripley, James N. Sells, Diane J. Chandler
• Publisher: IVP USA
• Print Publication Date: 2024
• Logos Release Date: 2025
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Subjects: Family counseling; Family crises; Pastoral counseling; RELIGION / Christian Ministry / Counseling & Recovery; RELIGION / Christian Living / Family & Relationships
• Resource ID: LLS:MNSTRNGFMLSHLTH
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-03-24T14:41:55Z