Kay Warren cofounded Saddleback Church with her husband,
Rick Warren, in Lake Forest, California, in 1980. After the death
of her son, Matthew, who lived with serious mental illness for most
of his life, she founded Saddleback's Hope for Mental Health
Initiative as a way to support individuals and family members of
loved ones with mental illness and suicidal ideation. The
Initiative also trains others in the faith community how to launch
or expand existing mental health ministries.
Kay is a board member of the National Action Alliance for Suicide
Prevention and is active in mental health/suicide prevention
efforts in Orange County, California. She is the author
of Sacred Privilege, Choose Joy,
and Say Yes to God, and coauthor of Foundations, a
popular systematic theology course used by churches worldwide. Her
children are Amy and Josh, and Matthew (who is in heaven), and she
has five grandchildren.