Christians and mental health
The Scriptures speak to the heart. Sometimes a licensed counselor is also needed. Those two things are not enemies, and they are not the same.
If you are in crisis — if you are thinking of harming yourself or someone else, or you are not safe — call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), or call 911. This page is not emergency care.
What the church can bear
God made man a living soul. He knows when we sit down and when we rise up (Psalm 139:2). The church is a people who rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15). Elders keep watch over souls (Hebrews 13:17). Brothers and sisters restore one another in a spirit of gentleness and bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:1–2). We pray. We open the Scriptures. We sit in hospital rooms and at graves.
None of that is small. Much trouble is lightened when a Christian is not left alone with it, and when sin is called sin, and sorrow is called sorrow, without shame that God never asked us to carry.
“Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”1 Peter 5:7 (ESV)
What the church is not
Assembling, preaching, and brotherly care are not a substitute for a physician, and they are not a substitute for a licensed counselor when one is needed. Some burdens involve the body, the mind, past trauma, or patterns that do not lift by a single conversation after services. Seeking skilled help is not unbelief. Refusing all help while quoting a verse can be.
We will not pretend that every sorrow is only a lack of faith, nor that every struggle is only a medical file. People are more whole than that. David poured out complaint before God. Elijah sat under a broom tree. Jesus said, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death” (Matthew 26:38).
Courses
Scripture-forward care paths
These courses paraphrase the teaching series What Christians Should Know About Mental Health (Parts 1–7), plus congregation teaching on forgiveness and what counseling is. Start with the overview, then anxiety, grief, trauma, depression, family, parenting, and forgiveness. They are for the church and visitors who want biblical clarity without confusing the meetinghouse with a clinic.
Drawn from the congregation’s teaching series What Christians Should Know About Mental Health, taught by Jason Cheney (elder; LPC — EMDR and PCIT certified). Counseling is wise help under Christ; it does not replace the gospel, repentance, or the assembly of the saints.
What mental health is
Mental illness is not a mystery word. Christians can name it with clarity, compassion, and without excusing sin.
Open this courseCare course · Part 3Anxiety
Anxiety is stress about what might happen. God commands us to answer it—not to baptize it as “just how I am.”
Open this courseCare course · Part 4Grief
The Lord is near the brokenhearted. Healthy grief faces loss without pretending hope means dry eyes.
Open this courseCare course · Part 5Trauma
Past harm affects behavior. It never excuses sin. Christ transforms from the inside out.
Open this courseCare course · Part 6Depression
Depression is heavy chemicals and real sorrow—not proof that life is meaningless. Scripture shows saints who sat in it and were met by God.
Open this courseCare course · Part 2Family and marriage
Healthy homes follow God’s order. Counselors often find hierarchy failures and whole-family patterns—not one “problem person.”
Open this courseCare course · Part 7Parenting
Train first; discipline with love. Children need safety and co-regulated calm long before they need a lecture.
Open this courseCare course · ForgivenessForgiveness
Bitterness keeps the wound open. Scripture calls Christians to heal, stay tenderhearted, and restore relationships when repentance comes.
Open this courseCare course · CounselingWhat counseling is
Christians may seek wise help for heavy burdens. Know what counselors do, test everything by Scripture, and never confuse professional care with the gospel.
Open this courseJason Cheney — elder and counselor
Jason Cheney is an elder of this congregation and a licensed professional counselor (MEd, LPC, NCC), EMDR certified and PCIT certified. Those are two different hats. As an elder he shepherds among us, preaches when called upon, and may be reached for the church at jasonjcheney@gmail.com, (205) 617-5888, or (970) 462-9944.
When he sees people as a counselor, that is professional work, not a church program and not the same as an elder’s visit. His counseling office—not the meetinghouse—is at 3198 F Road, Suite 204, Grand Junction; (970) 329-8451.
This page will not list fees, and it is not a way to book an appointment through the church. If you need the church, call the church. If you need a counselor, call a counselor. If you need both, that can be said without confusion.
A last word
There is hope in Christ for the fearful, the grieving, the angry, and the tired. The gospel still calls us to repent and believe, and the Lord still cares for His own. You are not a problem to be managed in the lobby. You are a soul. Come to worship. Ask for prayer. If the load is too heavy for one conversation, say so.