Biola University
Healthy Leaders, Healthy Congregations
The Mental Health and the Church Initiative (MHC) at Biola University exists to foster flourishing in ministry leaders, churches and Christian organizations. An arm of Biola’s Rosemead School of Psychology, MHC provides research, resources, and services aimed at proactively improving mental health and wellbeing, especially for ministry leaders. Schedule a call to see how we can serve you, or take our Assessment to see how well you’re flourishing.
Features & Highlights
Become a Flourishing in Ministry Certified Coach
Become a certified coach through the premier coach certification program for spiritual formation and well-being of ministry leaders.
Download guide to Flourishing in Ministry Wellbeing Model
Learn how to flourish in your ministry and help you improve your wellbeing.
Learn about a Biblical View of Mental Health
Gain insight on how a Christian view of mental health compares and contrasts with a secular perspective.
Get a Coach to help you improve your wellbeing
Learn how you can get a coach to find a balance between your work and personal life, and how to flourish in all areas of your life.
About MHC
The Mental Health and the Church Initiative Exists to Foster Flourishing Ministry Leaders and Congregations.
Our Strategic Objectives:
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Lead in Research
Become a leader in producing, aggregating, and disseminating cutting-edge research on positive mental health and well-being in the church.
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Resource the Church
Become a leader in providing consolidated resources and services on positive mental health for ministry leaders, congregations, denominations and parachurch ministries.
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Train Ministry Coaches
Create and sustain a leading network of trained Flourishing in Ministry coaches that support and equip ministry leaders for flourishing ministry.
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Equip Students
Train students for the sake of increasing mental health preparedness in the local church.
Our Process
Ministry demands are increasing. So are the mental health needs of both ministry leaders and the people they serve. We desire to help everyone flourish in the midst of it all. Drawing on all the academic, clinical, and practical resources we’ve developed over several decades, here’s how we do it:
Research-Based Solutions
We actively produce and curate the latest research on human flourishing in order to create the most helpful resources.
Customized Engagements
Design a solution that addresses the specific needs of you, your leaders and the people you serve.
Experience Transformation
Grow in your relationship with God, your ability to care for yourself and your capacity to address mental health issues.
How to Work with Us
We believe that every ministry leader and congregation can flourish at a high level. And we’ve created a variety of resources and services to help you get there.
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Bring Us to You
Schedule a discovery call to see how we can support you and the people you serve through coaching, training, consulting or speaking.
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Assess Your Wellbeing
Take the Flourishing in Ministry Assessment to see how well you’re flourishing in the areas of daily wellbeing, resilience, thriving and authenticity.
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Get a Coach
Meet with a Flourishing in Ministry Certified Coach to help you make a plan to improve your mental health and wellbeing.
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Become a Coach
Become a Flourishing in Ministry Certified Coach, based on over 10 years of scientific research with over 20,000 ministry leaders, so you can help others flourish.
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Join a Research Project
Join the Christian Suffering Project to learn to walk with God in the midst of suffering or take a survey to help us understand the mental health needs of Asians and Asian Americans in Los Angeles and Orange County.
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Donate
Donate to MHC to help us create more resources and services, and help serve people that have been historically under-resourced, such as communities of color and rural congregations.
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Counseling and Mental Health Education
Explore counseling services and mental health education opportunities offered by Biola's Counseling Center.
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Build a Sustainable Care Ministry
Join an upcoming cohort to learn how to build a sustainable and scalable care ministry. Offered by Hope Made Strong, an MHC partner.
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Become a Mental Health Champion
Explore Spiritual First Aid (an MHC partner), an online course for peer-to-peer spiritual and emotional care.
Upcoming Events
Meet the MHC Staff
Reverend Chris Adams, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Read More About Chris AdamsRev. Chris Adams, Ph.D., is a third-generation pastor’s kid, ordained minister, clinical psychologist and certified well-being and leadership coach. He has served in pastoral care and counseling roles in a large congregation and a large Christian university. He specializes in the well-being of ministerial students, clergy and their families. Chris currently serves as Professor, Chaplain and Executive Director of the Mental Health and the Church Initiative at Rosemead School of Psychology, Biola University.
Chris teaches pastoral care and counseling, Christian leadership formation and psychology and Christianity integration courses for Rosemead and several seminaries. Chris is a consultant to numerous denominations and seminaries in the areas of clergy candidate formative evaluation, clergy health and flourishing and pastoral leadership formation. He leads the Flourishing in Ministry project, and is currently participating as a consultant and researcher with the Duke Clergy Health Initiative.
Chris is a frequent lecturer at seminaries, retreats and conferences. He was recently awarded the 2023 Archibald D. Hart Counseling Pioneer Award for Excellence in Research and Scholarship in Training and Educating the Next Generation of Leaders in Mental Health and Caring for Others.
Andrew Yee
Senior Director of Operations
Read More About Andrew YeeAndrew Yee loves helping people and organizations build the systems and habits they need in order to flourish in their God-given vocations. He is an experienced project portfolio manager, online program designer, entrepreneur, trainer, and coach.
His accomplishments over a 10-year career at Biola University include leading a multi-million dollar strategic project portfolio, founding Biola’s online lifelong learning platform, and designing multiple online degree programs.
He holds a Th.M. in New Testament studies and an M.Div. in Spiritual Formation from Biola University as well as a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a trained spiritual director and time management professional, a Tiny Habits Certified Coach, a Certified Facilitator of the Strengths Deployment Inventory (SDI) 2.0 and a Flourishing in Ministry certified coach.
Amanda Fierro
Program Administrator
Read More About Amanda FierroAmanda Fierro uses her expertise in organizational development, communication, and administration to help organizations and teams flourish by cultivating healthy environments where they can grow and thrive in order to reach their full God-given purpose.
She brings over seven years of experience working in Christian higher education and ministry. She holds an M.S. in Organizational Psychology and a B.A. in Communication Studies from Azusa Pacific University, and is trained as a Flourishing in Ministry certified coach.
Flourishing in Ministry
Flourishing in Ministry (FiM), a project of Biola University’s Mental Health and the Church Initiative (MHC), exists to foster the mental health and wellbeing of ministry leaders. FiM’s Wellbeing Model, developed from over a decade of research, helps leaders grow in their daily wellbeing, resilience, thriving, and authenticity. FiM offers a variety of resources for leaders, opportunities for receiving individual or group coaching, a coach training program accredited by the International Coaching Federation, and organizational services for helping churches and Christian organizations proactively care for the wellbeing of their leaders. Learn more at flourishinginministry.org.