Following a global pandemic, Love INC of Lake County leadership sought to learn how the organization might better serve area churches and, as a result, its wider community. In 2022, they launched a “listening tour” with various church leaders, leaning in to hear what needs were surfacing most urgently in their communities.

Across the board, one answer was clear: mental health.

The Rising Need for Mental Health Support

This echoed what’s become a national concern. The mental health crisis in the U.S. knows no boundaries. Whether young or old, affluent or struggling, urban or rural, individuals across the country are grappling with anxiety, depression, trauma, and more. But in Lake County, something unique began to take shape. Instead of simply acknowledging the need, churches and mental health professionals have begun to act.

In spring 2023, Love INC partnered with White Stone Counseling Resources to host a gathering for ministry leaders titled “Forging a Pastoral Response to Mental Health.” More than 30 pastors and leaders attended to gain clarity on the mental health needs in their congregations and community–and how to respond with care and wisdom.

White Stone, in collaboration with local churches, has also taken the unique step of placing counselors onsite in churches across the region. This move not only normalizes mental health support in faith settings but also makes it accessible in a space often already seen as safe and trusted.

Ben Sanders, mission facilitator at Bethel Lutheran Church and a certified Christian mental health coach, describes the biggest challenge he’s seen as his church endeavors to serve its community well. “The gaps I see are all about connectivity. What do we have? What do others have? How can we work together to serve our communities better?” he said.

From Ministry to Mental Health: One Counselor’s Story

One striking story emerged from the groundswell of need. Josiah Goering spent 13 years in various ministry roles at Gurnee Community Church, serving children, middle schoolers, and high school students. Over time, he began to notice a growing wave of mental health struggles among his students and their families—challenges that couldn’t be addressed with spiritual guidance alone. Simultaneously, he was walking through his own season of depression. While the advice he received centered around deepening his spiritual life, he found that his symptoms persisted despite doing all the “right things” spiritually. It was through his experience with a professional counselor that he realized the importance of addressing mental health with clinical tools in addition to faith.

This turning point led him to pursue a master’s degree in counseling at Trinity, where he completed a counseling program while continuing to work full time. After graduating and completing an internship, he was hired by White Stone Counseling. “I felt God asking me to learn a new skill,” Josiah says. “Pastoral work had equipped me in many ways, but counseling gave me a new lens to help people heal more holistically.”

Today, Josiah serves clients across age groups and stages of life, with a particular focus on adolescents, emerging adults, and men. He sees mental and spiritual health as deeply interconnected, with each influencing the other. One of the most powerful tools he draws on is attachment theory, which underscores the human need for secure relationships. “Having just one strong attachment allows people to take more risks and move forward in life. And our relationship with God can be that secure attachment. When we believe God has our back, it opens us up to healing and growth.”

White Stone is also committed to serving as a resource to pastors, helping them navigate difficult situations and offering guidance on mental health concerns they may encounter in their congregations. “Pastors don’t need to be on an island,” Josiah emphasizes. “Just having a counselor they can reach out to makes a world of difference.”

The 2023 gathering underscored that many church leaders were navigating these challenges alone, prompting Love INC and its partners to go even further.

A Collective Response: Forming a Steering Committee

These early efforts led to the formation of a steering committee, spearheaded by Gary Garland, executive director of Love INC of Lake County. The team, pictured here, includes Brandon Smith, outreach and administration pastor of Village Church of Gurnee, Gary Garland, Love INC Board member Lisamarie Kesker, Ben Sanders, and Jon Noto, director at White Stone Counseling (not pictured). This team meets monthly with a shared mission: to develop a distinctly Christian, church-led, community-focused response to mental health.

“If we offer help that is considered complete once we help our neighbors secure a bed and kitchen items, but don’t offer help for their mental health and faith journey, we’ve only gone halfway,” Gary shared. That conviction underpins the committee’s approach: deeply rooted in both faith and practical care.

While this important endeavor began in 2022, it is still nascent, growing, and forming as the team creates trusted resources and connections for the community. Leaning into serving the community well while also laying the foundation for even greater impact in the future, the team has ambitious goals for 2025.

A Plan for 2025: Four Key Goals

1. Survey the Landscape

The committee is launching a survey to identify what mental health services exist in our area—and what’s missing. This will include churches that already have mental health ministries and those who would like to, along with other organizations that are not faith-based but still serve the community with mental health services. The goal is to get a clear picture of who is doing what, and where there are opportunities for collaboration or support.

2. Pilot Support Groups with Grace Alliance

The committee will help local churches pilot 1-2 mental health support groups in partnership with Mental Health Grace Alliance. One will serve individuals facing mental health challenges, and another will support their loved ones. Local church leaders will help identify members desiring to co-lead such a group and then will help promote the groups once established. These groups will offer lay-led, structured, faith-integrated pathways to healing.

3. Integrate Mental Health into the Season of Listening 2

Building on the original listening tour, Season of Listening 2 will dive deeper into local church leaders’ experiences and concerns. Mental health questions will be added to ensure these voices continue to shape the ongoing corporate response.

4. Enhance Communications Across the Network

Love INC, in partnership with churches, White Stone Counseling, and other organizations, will begin publishing articles, updates, and stories related to mental health. These communications will serve to educate, encourage, and connect the wider community to helpful resources.

Building a Path Forward

The message is clear: the Church has a vital role in Lake County’s mental health response. Whether through training, hosting counselors, leading support groups, or simply listening well, churches are leaning in. And they’re not doing it alone.

Jon emphasized the opportunity saying, “Mental health is deeply personal but also deeply communal. Churches are uniquely positioned to offer both care and community. There’s more openness now than ever before.”

Lisamarie, who has long served in care ministries, added that she hopes to see churches become safe places for healing: for survivors of abuse, those navigating relationship trauma, and loved ones trying to support someone in crisis.

Join This Important Work

If you’re in Lake County and need support, visit White Stone Counseling to find a counselor or connect with a church-based resource.

If you’re inspired by the work being done for mental health in Lake County and want to join in this work, reach out to Love INC to learn how to start a Grace Alliance support group or sign up as your church’s contact to receive mental health updates and resources.

This isn’t just a Love INC story. It’s a Lake County story. It’s a church story. It’s a community story. And it’s just beginning.