Most churches are doing some things well. But when someone is struggling with their mental health, things can become complicated quickly.
Do your leaders know how to respond? Are pastoral boundaries clear? Do you know when to signpost to professional support? Are your teams confident when situations become more complex?
Our Church Mental Health Audit and Review can help you understand where your church is now, recognise your strengths and identify where changes could make a real difference.
START WITH THE AUDIT
£10 | Audit + 30-minute conversation
A straightforward way to take a first look at how your church currently responds to mental health.
You'll can complete our Church Mental Health Audit, and then choose to book an optional free 30-minute conversation with us where we'll review your responses and help you think through where you go with them.
You'll receive:
A simple, low-cost way to understand where you are now and where you want to be.
Download and get started straight away
WANT A DEEPER LOOK?
The full Review goes beyond the initial audit to look more closely at how your church currently supports people experiencing mental health difficulties.
Working with your church, we'll look at your current practice, identify strengths and areas for development, and help you consider what you might want to change.
The pilot will include:
This is a pilot service, so we're looking for a small number of churches to take part and help us develop and refine the Review. We'll contact you to explain what's involved and answer any questions before you commit.
Choose the Audit if:
You want a simple starting point and would like to understand how your church is currently doing.
Choose the Review Pilot if:
You want to take a more detailed look at your church's approach and are ready to explore what could be improved.
Not sure? Start with the Audit.
It's a straightforward way to see where you are without committing to a full review.
The Church Mental Health Audit can be downloaded and completed by your church team, but if you choose the Church Mental Health Review Service we will work with you to look at how your church currently approaches mental health. This can include areas such as pastoral care, boundaries and confidentiality, safeguarding, and responding to more serious mental health difficulties. We will also look at how your church signposts to professional and community services, how you support your church leaders and pastoral teams, and communication and attitudes around mental health in your setting. The aim is to build a clear picture of your current approach to see what's working and what more you might need.
What do the people in your church actually experience? The anonymous congregational survey gives people an opportunity to share their views about mental health within your church. It can help you discover whether people feel able to talk about mental health, whether they know who they could approach, what helps people feel supported, where people experience difficulties, and what they would like their church to do differently. This gives you information that you simply can't get by asking the leadership team alone.
We'll bring the information together and discuss what we've found. You'll receive feedback on what you're doing well, where there are gaps, what could be improved and which of these might be worth prioritising. This isn't about giving your church a score or comparing you with other churches. It's about helping you understand your church, your people and your priorities.
You’ll receive clear, practical recommendations to help you decide what to do next. Depending on what the review identifies, this might mean looking at further training, strengthening pastoral boundaries, improving signposting, reviewing policies and procedures, or providing helpful resources for your congregation. It may also highlight areas where particular ministry teams would benefit from support, or where a more consistent approach to mental health could be developed across the church. Sometimes, the next step may simply be finding better ways to talk openly about mental health within your church community. You decide what you want to take forward, and what feels realistic for your church.
You don't have to work everything out on your own.
If you'd like help putting your plan into practice, Encourage can provide ongoing support, training and follow-up reviews.
This might look like:
The aim is not to create another programme for your church to maintain.
It's to help you develop an approach that works for your church.