A Crisis On The Mission Field
Exporting emotional instability
There is a growing mental health crisis in America, and most churches seem ill-equipped to address the struggles of their congregants. Some churches try to address the impending emotional instability, but others just bury their heads in the sand. Instances of depression and anxiety have increased exponentially since the turn of the century, with no signs of letting up.
I have not lived in America for 20 years, so I haven’t witnessed these issues firsthand. But I have read about the fallout in multiple articles. I have also seen the second-hand effect as many of our missionaries arriving on the field for the last 10–15 years have come with additional emotional baggage.
I am not blaming young missionaries struggling with their emotional health. My desire in this article is to point out a growing issue, minimize damage, and seek solutions. Because exporting emotional instability to ministries around the globe could have a catastrophic effect on both the young missionaries and the kingdom work they came to be a part of.
The subject of mental health, depression, and anxiety have been growing concerns over the past few years. I’ve noticed that the new crop of missionaries is struggling with these issues more than ever before. This is not to say previous generations…
