The Hope Alliance
Training & Consulting
Churches
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” – Psalm 34:18
Dear Church Leader/Member,
I am so glad you’re here! I am committed to helping to equip the body of Christ with the mental health and trauma-informed tools that it needs to reach those among us who are hurting. And there are many. There are many attendees in the pews who struggle with mental health issues and who have suffered from traumatic experiences from which they have not fully healed.
While about 26% of American adults (1 of 4) suffer from a diagnosable mental illness in a given year, approximately 92% of Pastors only rarely or never discuss mental health during sermons or Church functions. Seventy percent of U.S. adults have experienced a traumatic event at least once in their lives. A woman is beaten every 15 seconds. One person in America dies by suicide every 12 minutes. There is a precious soul behind each of these statistics.
This is a topic that is near to my heart, as my family personally has been affected by mental health issues. I know what it is like to wonder if a loved one will die by suicide or if they will choose life and live to fight another day. I know how it feels to hope that the phone does not ring with news that you dread to hear. Parishioners all over the country are battling depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and PTSD. Many are struggling to cope with abuse or trauma that happened years ago. Often, their families suffer along with them. Mental illness can be a very dark place, not only for those with a diagnosis, but also for the family who loves them. There is a great need for the type of hope that the Church can provide.
Although I am very familiar with the painful side of a family’s journey, I also know the freedom in turning it over to God, knowing that He is sovereign and that His Will is perfect. He has graciously allowed beauty to rise from ashes by allowing me to partner with Churches to provide tangible strategies and tools to reach and comfort those who are suffering.
We offer the following services to Churches: Mental Health Sundays, mental health training, keynote speaking, trauma workshops, presentations, panel discussions, and conference speaking.
As a Christian speaker, I am honored to share messages of hope with my extended Church family. In addition to the topics listed on the Speaking page of this website, I offer Biblically-based messages that will encourage faith and emphasize hope. A partial list of titles is below. You can learn more about my ministry, Hope Restored, by clicking here.
Thank you for visiting. I look forward to speaking with you.
Your sister in Christ,
Melissia Wood (Mel)
Partial list of topics (contact for more)
Please contact us to discuss your program needs.
If you have any questions or would like to hear about other speaking topics, hit the button below.
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