How I wish each of you would be walking through our door on Thanksgiving allowing the opportunity to relax, catch up with each other and enjoy a slice of apple pie, or pumpkin if that is your favorite! Okay, well maybe not all of you walking through the door on November 27th, but I truly would extend Thanksgiving day to a month if it meant that we could enjoy that laid back, cozy fun day with each of you!
It has been wonderful to open our home over this past year and offer over 27 Haven for the Heart retreats! It was during these times that ministry couples and leadership teams:
- furthered their understanding of how to connect with God
- strengthened their relationship with each other
- gained a clearer vision and deeper passion for their ministries
Christian leaders have travelled to us, and Mike has travelled across the country to the churches and homes of those who are devoted to equipping believers and spreading the gospel to the world around them. The assumption is often made that our pastors and their families are always intact and what is often seen as “smooth sailing on a Sunday morning” is often not the case. They, like each of us, are often consumed with relational, emotional and spiritual struggles that often get set aside or pushed down so that they can tend to the needs of their people. They often feel there is no place to be transparent with the real issues they are facing. The New York Times (2010) gives us some interesting input.
The statistics are alarming:
- Members of the clergy now suffer from obesity, hypertension and depression at rates higher than most Americans. In the last decade, their use of antidepressants has risen, while their life expectancy has fallen. Many would change jobs if they could.
- 23% have been fired or pressured to resign at least once in their careers.
- 1 in 4 don’t know where to turn when they have a family or personal crisis.
- 1/3 of pastors wives say that being in ministry in an outright hazard to their family life.
- 45% of pastors say they’ve experienced depression or burnout so severe that they need to take a leave of absence from the church.
- 57% would leave the ministry for good if they had somewhere else to go or some other vocation they could do.
- 80% believe that pastoral ministry negatively affect their families.
- Clergy now ranks 3rd (behind doctors and lawyers) as the career path most likely to send you into drug abuse, alcoholism and suicide.
1,500 pastors per month leave their ministries due to burnout, conflict or more failure.
The health of any church family or household community is rooted in the quality of its relationships and leadership -
Haven for the Heart is a ministry focused on helping to start and strengthen a wide range of ministries that are "spiritually alive in Christ, relationally connected to one-another and missionally engaged in the world." It is our belief that the transformation of lives happens as God’s people gather together in small communities and the Holy Spirit uses each other's gifts to build up one another. In some situations people need more intensive counseling, but in the majority of cases what they really need is community! When we do personal counseling it is designed to get people into one-anothering communities with caring and compassionate friends.
Through Haven for the Heart we help encourage and equip teams of shepherding servants who can model and mentor spiritual maturity. It is our conviction that biblical spirituality and community are rooted in healthy leaders/teams. The spiritual maturity of those parenting our kids and pastoring our flocks is critical.
We cannot do this work without you -
Along with those of you who are part of our PAST (Prayer Advisory Support Team), we have an amazing church family that provides a home base of ongoing encouragement and accountability.
Please consider being a donor to help underwrite our annual Haven for the Heart budget of $40,000. There are various ways to contribute, but here is an example of what your donation could provide:
- $1,000 donation underwrites a Haven for the Heart retreat and a one year coaching contract for individuals, couples or teams of leaders. leaders.
- $100/month donation underwrites a Haven for the Heart Retreat and a one year coaching contract for a kingdom worker, couple or leadership team.
- $50/month provides a Haven for the Heart retreat for a kingdom worker, ministry couple or leadership team.
- $25/month provides a mentoring session for a kingdom worker, ministry couple or leadership team
*You may send donation checks to:
Haven for the Heart
5415 Starwood Dr.
Commerce, MI 48382
