FBCSA and the H. E. Butt Foundation are partnering on a survey to help our church learn how to grow in our ability to address mental well-being challenges faced by our congregation. Please take a moment to participate in a brief, anonymous, 3-minute survey. Your input is crucial for FBCSA to understand how best to serve people experiencing distress. Thank you for your contribution.

(To view the survey in Spanish, click on the toggle at the top right-hand corner)

The Revive (Mental Well-being) Ministry is making FBCSA a place where everyone with mental or emotional distress gets good and caring help. Why? To obey Jesus's commandment to love one another (John 13:34), and to follow Paul's instruction to carry one another's burdens and fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2). That is, to love one’s neighbor (Matthew 22:39) and one another (John 13:34). As we do, we will incorporate the core values of Godly compassion, biblical perspective, trustworthiness and authenticity. Additionally, we'll pursue togetherness, open communication, transparency, restoration, and redemption. In other words, we pledge to treat everyone with the care and respect Jesus would. 

The Revive Ministry has four cornerstone activities: 

1) Crisis Response 

2) Meeting Practical Needs 

3) Providing or Referring for Counseling and Coaching 

4) Educating and Training Our Church 

More information on these actions follows below. 

How is the Revive Ministry organized? 

Ministerial staff oversight is by the Minister for Pastoral Care (Megan Langan). Ministry operations are developed and carried out by a trained team of FBCSA members and staff. Support comes from The Congregational Collective (TCC), an organization within the H.E. Butt Foundation dedicated to equipping churches to address mental and emotional well-being challenges. 

Who is on the Revive Ministry Team? 

Coordinator: Rick Evans, FBCSA Staff 

Members: Lane Ayo, Randy Garner, Juan Fernandez, Lupita Calderon Fernandez, Shana Hatnot, Melinda Lucas, Tomasa Sandifer, and Dave Spoon. 

How will the ministry be carried out? 

Eventually, everyone at FBCSA – and especially leaders – will have the opportunity to obtain basic tools to assist someone experiencing mental and/or emotional distress. But to start, the Revive Ministry Team is trained and competent to help during a crisis or life event and then to call on other resources for appropriate aid. That “other resources” help could be connecting with a person or organization (including but not limited to the FBCSA Social Services Office) who can 1) meet a practical need, 2) give informational or educational support, or 3) carry out professional or otherwise qualified counseling or coaching. 

Lastly, the Revive Ministry makes mental well-being information available to the church through printed and digital media, seminars, workshops, and classes. 

How can I obtain help for myself or someone else? 

The following options will ensure timely help arrives: 

• Click this link. The request will go to the Revive Ministry Coordinator (Rick Evans), who will assess, assist and/or refer as appropriate. 

• Contact any Revive Ministry Team member who will assess, assist and/or refer as appropriate. 

• Call the church office (210-226-0363) Receptionist, email Rick Evans, or contact any staff member, who will then forward the request to the Revive Ministry Coordinator (Rick Evans).   

May I be on the Revive Ministry Team? 

The team is currently at its optimum size and demographic makeup, but anyone at FBCSA can prepare to help someone undergoing mental or emotional stress, and we hope you will! Equipping opportunities will be announced in the Highlights newsletter, online E-Vangel, and other media communication tools. Please take advantage of these offerings as they appear. 

How can I get more information about the Revive Ministry? 

See below for expanded descriptions of Ministry design and capabilities and/or contact Rick Evans through the church office (210-226-0363). 

Additional Information about the Revive Ministry 

Cornerstone Activities: To accomplish the Revive Ministry objectives and to encompass the core values, four cornerstone activities are emphasized, and appropriate training for each is completed by providers/helpers: 

• Crisis Response: Competently come alongside congregants and community members to provide immediate comfort and calming, identification and prioritization of needs, providing coping strategies, and referring and resourcing to long term solutions. 

• Meeting Practical Needs: Providing material items or funds from internal resources, for example, Benevolence Fund, or navigating (guiding and referring) to external resources, as appropriate, to resolve circumstances contributing to mental or emotional distress. This effort is primarily the mission of the FBCSA Social Services Office but is augmented by members of the Revive Ministry Team and other trained church members. 

• Providing or Referring for Counseling & Coaching: 1) developing, offering and using a network of professional clinical or social work providers, including those at the Marla Rushing Center for Counseling and The Congregational Collective and 2) providing recovery coaching by the trained Revive Ministry Coordinator to address mild to moderate depression.

• Educating and Training our Church. Presenting, coordinating or otherwise making available informational and core concept training sessions for congregants in mental and emotional health topics to 1) increase awareness of the prevalence and normalcy of most individuals' experiencing mental unwellness from time to time and 2) reduce, if not remove, stigma either applied by congregants who observe mental or emotional unwellness in others, or experienced by themselves regarding their own situations, so that acceptance can be felt and healing reinforced. Examples could be periodic presentations, symposia or courses on topics such as suicide ideation and prevention; causes, effects and responses to trauma; ubiquity of depression, anxiety and mental illness in congregations and appropriate, Christ-like remedies.

Background: The Revive Ministry concept originated from initial efforts in partnering with The Congregational Collective (TCC) – an H.E. Butt Foundation 501(c)(3) organization created to contribute to resolving, or at least reducing, the national mental health crisis – so we could become equipped to competently minister to individuals who approach the church for assistance with mental well-being issues. Research has shown that people connected in any way to faith communities (churches) will usually first seek help from those communities, but that churches are generally poorly equipped to adequately respond.

As stated on the TCC website, “The Congregational Collective exists to equip congregations to become community leaders in mental health and wellness by partnering to build support systems, networks and ministry tools that include educational resources, training, and a network of relationships...to make San Antonio’s congregations the safest places in the world for people seeking mental wellness.”

The FBCSA/TCC partnership required establishing a ministry implementation team, which we named the Revive (Mental Well-being) Ministry Team. The Team’s mission is to encourage a culture in the church that accepts mental well-being challenges among congregants and intentional and becomes competent in assisting recovery from, or adjusting to, those challenges. The hope is that everyone helped will experience all aspects of the word “Revive” – restore, renew, redeem, resurrect, revitalize, rejuvenate, refresh, etc.

From approximately 2018 to 2023, FBCSA addressed congregants and, occasionally, community members’ mental well-being challenges through a combination of pastoral counseling and administering social services and benevolence. Since becoming a part of The Congregational Collective in October 2023, FBCSA has combined the activities of the Social Services Office with participation in TCC and now consolidates social needs and mental well-being support through the Revive Ministry.

Our Mission is to follow our Lord Jesus Christ, and to lead all others to a joyful life with him.