It is no secret that youth mental health remains a major challenge in our society. Between 2017-2021, youth suicide soared, reaching record numbers by 2021. How can the Church take a proactive and positive approach to addressing youth mental health?

Join The Gospel Initiative at Denver Seminary on Fri. Feb. 9, from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m., for the Compelling and Credible Witness: The Church and Youth Mental Health conference. This event is open to mental health practitioners, educators, ministry leaders, and others invested in the well-being of our children and youth, either in person or online. The conference is free, and registration is open at DenverSeminary.edu/TGI.

Dr. Patty Pell, executive director of The Gospel Initiative, emphasizes the importance of the Church actively engaging in conversations about mental health.

“By opening dialogue, the Church can help create an atmosphere where individuals feel more comfortable seeking help without fear of judgment. Supporting families, educators, ministry leaders, and, of course, our youth and children is just one vital role we can play in ensuring a healthy society. This TGI conference is one piece of a much larger puzzle.”

The conference will tackle essential topics, including how Christians should respond to the youth mental health crisis, the relationship between youth psychology and the gospel, the necessary skills for youth to cope with societal challenges, and how Christian educators, youth pastors, nonprofit leaders, and families can holistically and intergenerationally promote wellness.

Speakers include:

• Dr. Stephen Grcevich, MD, child and adolescent psychiatrist serving as president and founder of Key Ministry, a nonprofit organization that helps churches welcome families of children with hidden, developmental, and physical disabilities.
• Dr. Julia Sadusky, PsyD, author, speaker, licensed psychologist, and owner of Lux Counseling and Consulting in Littleton, Colo.
• Dr. Adam Wilson, PhD, associate professor of counseling, director of the School Counseling Program at Denver Seminary, and director of the School Counseling Mental Health Initiative, a research initiative seeking to better understand effective mental health interventions in schools.

Denver Seminary’s faith-based, CACREP-accredited counseling curriculum trains clinically competent mental health practitioners in clinical mental health and school counseling.

Participants can register to attend the conference in-person at Denver Seminary, 6399 S. Santa Fe Dr., Littleton, Colo., 80120, or via livestream, for no charge at DenverSeminary.edu/TGI.

For more information about the conference, contact TGI Director of Public Engagement Jason Woodman.

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The Gospel Initiative supports the Church’s mission in creating a compelling, compassionate, and credible gospel presence in contemporary society.

Denver Seminary is a non-denominational graduate school of theology located in Littleton, Colo. The Seminary’s mission is to prepare men and women to engage the needs of the world with the redemptive power of the gospel and the life-changing truth of Scripture. Established in 1950, Denver Seminary offers on-campus, fully online, and hybrid degree programs, and has an extension campus in Washington DC and a Korean Global Program. In addition, the Seminary offers programming for lay ministry through its Hispanic Programs and Black Church Programs.

Please direct media questions to Senior Director of Communications Andrea Weyand.