Lead Your Church
Through the Mental Health Crisis
When people finally reach out for help with anxiety, depression, or trauma, one in four go to a pastor first — before any doctor or counselor. Not after therapy fails. First. The question isn't whether your church is on the front line. It's whether it's ready.
The Ministry Nobody Trained You For
Seminary gave you theology, homiletics, and church administration. Nobody gave you a course for the Tuesday afternoon phone call: the panic attack in the church lobby, the teenager who is self-harming, the marriage quietly collapsing under untreated depression, the family after a suicide.
But those calls come to you — and the research says most of the people who make them will never see anyone else. You are not adjacent to the mental health care system. For your congregation, you ARE the front line of it.
Most pastors are handed two bad options: "just pray more" (which dismisses the wound) or "refer everything out" (which hands your people away). There is a third way: a pastor equipped to minister to the hurting — who knows what Scripture and neuroscience each contribute, what the church can carry, and exactly when and how to bring in professionals.
That is what this cohort builds — in twelve weeks, with a small group of working pastors.
But those calls come to you — and the research says most of the people who make them will never see anyone else. You are not adjacent to the mental health care system. For your congregation, you ARE the front line of it.
Most pastors are handed two bad options: "just pray more" (which dismisses the wound) or "refer everything out" (which hands your people away). There is a third way: a pastor equipped to minister to the hurting — who knows what Scripture and neuroscience each contribute, what the church can carry, and exactly when and how to bring in professionals.
That is what this cohort builds — in twelve weeks, with a small group of working pastors.
The 12-Week Pastors Cohort
Twelve weeks. A small cohort of working pastors. A ministry your church keeps forever.
This is leadership training for the mental health reality every church is facing — biblically sound, scientifically accurate, and built for pastors without counseling credentials. You'll leave with a working framework, tools your congregation will actually use, and the confidence to take the next phone call.
📅 Weekly Live Working Session
90 minutes with Tony on that week's ministry skill: teaching, real (de-identified) case discussion, and Q&A. Recorded if you can't attend live — but this is a working cohort, plan to be there.
💬 Private Cohort Community
A confidential space with the other pastors in your cohort. Compare notes, bring the situation you're facing this week, and learn what's working in churches like yours.
📄 Weekly Ministry Tool
A ready-to-use resource tied to each session: a sermon insert, a care-team training sheet, a referral checklist — built for your congregation, not just your bookshelf.
🎯 A Chaplain in Your Corner
Direct access to Tony for the situations that don't fit a worksheet — forty years of pastoral and crisis experience, one question away.
🔓 First Access
Circle members see new books, courses, and sermon kits before public release.
🤝 Member 1:1 Rates
Circle-only rates for private consultation on your ministry, your church's needs, or the case you're carrying.
Pricing: First cohort — offered exclusively to pastors at the first-cohort rate: $360, or $250 paid up front. Future cohorts will be $500+.
Most churches fund this from the pastoral development or continuing education budget — it costs less than sending you to one conference, and unlike a conference, your church keeps the ministry it builds. A one-page overview for your board or treasurer is available; invoicing available.
Most churches fund this from the pastoral development or continuing education budget — it costs less than sending you to one conference, and unlike a conference, your church keeps the ministry it builds. A one-page overview for your board or treasurer is available; invoicing available.
The 12-Week Curriculum
Week 1: Why People Get Stuck — the 4-I Framework for pastoral care
Week 2: Insignificance — recognizing the wound behind false humility in the people you serve
Week 3: Independence — the high achiever's hidden trap (and why it fills your leadership teams)
Week 4: Isolation — why people can be surrounded by church and still unreachable
Week 5: Integration — what healing actually looks like, and how to preach it
Week 6: The Brain God Built — neuroscience every pastor should be able to explain
Week 7: Building a Mentally Healthy Congregation
Week 8: The Pastor–Counselor Partnership — when to walk with someone and when to refer
Week 9: Trauma in the Pews — what pastors need to know
Week 10: Preaching Mental Health — language that opens doors
Week 11: Crisis Response in Your Church
Week 12: Your Church's Mental Health Ministry Plan — putting it all together
Who This Is For
- ✅ Senior pastors who are the first call when someone in their congregation is in crisis
- ✅ Associate and youth pastors facing anxiety and self-harm in their students
- ✅ Chaplains who serve trauma regularly and want a stronger framework under their care
- ✅ Church planters building a mentally healthy culture from day one
- ✅ Ministry leaders training care teams, small group leaders, and elders
- ✅ Pastors who believe faith and science belong together — not in opposition
- ✅ Leaders who want a better answer for their people than "just pray more"
The Quiet Door
One more thing, pastor to pastor. Every tool in this cohort — the regulation skills, the wound framework, the theology of a Father who runs — works on shepherds too. Nobody here will ask you to raise your hand. But most pastors who come to learn this for their people quietly find it was also for them. That's not a bug in the curriculum. It's how God tends to work.
About Tony
Tony Portell is the Lead Pastor of Vineyard Life Church (Indianapolis & Plainfield, IN), Chaplain for the Indianapolis Fire Department, and a crisis responder deployed with the State of Indiana, FEMA, and the Red Cross. He holds graduate degrees in Counseling and Biblical Studies and has spent 40+ years walking alongside people through their darkest moments. His bestselling book No Longer Stuck has helped thousands understand why they feel stuck — and how God designed their brain to heal.
"I'm not teaching from a textbook. I'm teaching from 40 years in the trenches with people experiencing their darkest moments."
— Tony Portell
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need counseling credentials?
No — this is built specifically for pastors without them. It keeps you in your lane while making you far more effective in it.
Can my church pay for this?
Yes, and most do. There's a one-page overview you can hand your board or treasurer. Invoicing available.
What if I miss a week?
Sessions are recorded. But this is a working cohort, not a content library — plan to be there.
Is this therapy or a support group?
Neither. It's leadership training for the mental health reality every church is facing. You'll be equipped, not counseled — though many pastors find the material does its own quiet work along the way.
What happens after 12 weeks?
Graduates get first access to ongoing options — a continuing circle, individual coaching, and help building a mental health ministry in your own church.
Pricing: First cohort — offered exclusively to pastors at the first-cohort rate: $360, or $250 paid up front. Future cohorts will be $500+.
Most churches fund this from the pastoral development or continuing education budget — it costs less than sending you to one conference, and unlike a conference, your church keeps the ministry it builds.
A one-page overview for your board or treasurer is available.
