Voice of Prophecy Hosts Mental Health Series in Local Churches
27 August 2024|
Voice of Prophecy is continuing MindFit, a four-part mental health series focused on providing practical and spiritual resources to the public. The event premiered last spring at nearly 200 Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) churches across North America, with record numbers of congregants and laymen collecting to participate. The event consisted of a 30-minute docuseries where Alex Rodriguez, an associate speaker for Voice of Prophecy, interviewed mental health professionals and patients across North America. After each opening episode, attendees broke into small groups for discussion and guided reflection.
MindFit was designed to address the rising mental health crisis with evidence-based advice rather than dismiss or talk around it with religious jargon. The series hopes to educate not only with practical tips for regulation and a means to verbalize mental illness symptoms but also to inform the public on the development of mental health challenges and how they had often been misdiagnosed in the past.
“On a global scale, 1 in 8 people struggle daily with mental illness — 1 in 5 in North America. The implication is clear: It is nearly impossible to live on this earth and not be affected by mental illness,” said Alex Rodriguez in an interview with Northwest Adventists.
Community members and Adventists alike collected at local SDA churches to connect and learn. The feedback was positive, with some discovering the origin of issues they had never acknowledged before, let alone known how to properly identify. Through the provision of language to communicate their mental health issues as well as a biblical framework to address them, attendees left feeling like they could begin healing.
By partnering with as many SDA churches as possible, Voice of Prophecy is hoping to make the series accessible and keep the experience intimate. Many attendees shared how the sessions encouraged them to open up about traumas, problems, and pains they had carried for years and felt encouraged by the support and guidance. MindFit’s success has meant more sessions on Sept. 19–21, 2024, and again on Jan. 2–4, 2025.
