Reporter Eden Morris I
There is a mental health crisis among college students, with 58% of students reporting poor mental and emotional health.
A survey conducted in 2020 concluded that “93% of Baylor freshmen and seniors identify with a religious tradition.” Fifty percent of Baylor students attend religious services at least once a week, compared to 30% of the U.S. population. ”
What is the correlation between these two statistics?
Dr. Malcolm Foley is co-pastor of Mosaic Church, located one mile from Baylor University’s campus, and special advisor to the president on equity and campus engagement.
“It’s important for churches to develop partnerships with mental health professionals,” Foley said.
Foley said the Mosaic Church congregation has many professionals who can help with mental health.
“I’m a spiritual advisor, but I also want[people]to know that there are other people out there with other forms of expertise, such as mental health professionals, who are speaking to their lives. I want to,” Foley said.
Mr. Foley emphasized the importance of seeking help from professionals as well as the Christian community.
“Christ uses mental health professionals for your health just as he uses physical professionals for your health,” Foley said. “Part of that is trying to understand what people are going through, but also using all the resources available to them for their own health.”
Foley said church communities can be a beneficial way to promote students’ mental health.
“Students should also be embedded in a community where there are people around us who remind us that we are never alone,” Foley said.
Dr. Bart Burleson, Dean of the School of Spiritual Life at Baylor University, holds a doctorate in counseling and has extensive life and work experience in the church and ministry.
“We are ashamed of our brokenness, and that is what we use to heal,” Burleson said. “People in society have become more accepting of counselors. They wouldn’t have said that in the ’70s. We started saying that this is part of what it means to be a person who is trying to be healthy. These are resources for people who are trying to live a good life in the way that we define as Christians.”
Claire Bernard, a sophomore at the University of Houston, said the church saved her life during a mental health crisis.
“I didn’t want to continue living,” Bernard said. “The only reason I’m still here is because God used a community of believers to help me heal. I didn’t go to church, the church came to me. He gave it to me.”
Bernard said it was a young pastor who helped him see the light during one of the darkest times in his life, when he couldn’t see a way out.
“This is a beautiful picture of what Jesus did and why relationships are so important in the church,” Barnard said. “The Christian community is very strong.”
The Baylor Counseling Center is available free of charge to students struggling with mental health issues.
