Mental Health Grace Alliance is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization focused on making Christ-centered mental health recovery and thriving freely accessible worldwide.

Partner with us today to continue our growing impact worldwide.

 
 
 
 

“To love them well.”

This is the guiding mantra, motive, focus, and Spirit before and behind all stated vision, mission, and values. This is the Spirit and filter behind every decision and everything we do at Grace Alliance.

Jesus FULLY identifies and loves the broken-hearted and marginalized, ministering to them is ministering to Christ (Is. 61:1-3; Matt. 25:35-40). We FULLY serve/love those affected by mental health challenges with free grace (Is. 55:1) — “making (resilient) disciples” who experience resilient mental health wholeness, wellness, and well-being (Is. 61:4; Matt. 28:18-20).


 

Grace Alliance “Vision”

We dream of a mental health-ready Body of Christ transforming lives.

Grace Alliance “Mission”

Building Transformative Communities. Developing innovative, evidence-based, Christ-centered mental health resources and groups proven to transform lives, families, and communities.

Grace Alliance Values

  • Ecumenical Reach

  • Evidence-based + Scripture

  • Innovative + Collaborative

 

Mental Health Grace Alliance Team

Jocelyn Engel | Director of Donor Relations & Development

Jessica Padilla | Administrative & Operations Director

Joe Padilla | Co-founder, Executive Director & President

MHGA seeks new team members with extra funding.

Mental Health Grace Alliance Board of Directors

Myra “Buzz” Moody | Board of Directors (founding board member), mental health advocate (NAMI, Grace Alliance)

Dr. Peter Leininger | Board of Directors, retired M.D., portfolio entrepreneur

Shane Petty | Board of Directors, corporate IT specialist, entrepreneur

Joe Padilla | Board of Directors, MHGA Cofounder/Exec. Director

 
 

Grace Alliance is a Christian Organization (view + belief).

Scriptural Integrity and Christian Creeds.

Our curricula align with the integrity of Scripture (Old and New Testament Bible). The Scripture clearly articulates that God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are One. Jesus Christ's death and resurrection offer salvation by grace, and the Holy Spirit indwells and transforms the believer's life, including their mental health journey (see our FAQs for more details about mental health recovery, science, and Scripture).

We align with the Nicene and Apostles' Creeds, and our core faith echoes the Apostle Paul's message:

"Jesus is Lord”

1 Corinthians 8:6 + Colossians 1:15 + Titus 3:4-8


 
 

Mental Health Grace Alliance was founded because it was an opportunity to change the statistics.

In 2011, the “Grace Alliance” was founded with the mission of providing evidence-based resources for individuals, marriages, and families facing mental health challenges through a grace-filled, Christ-centered approach.

We looked past the problem to see an opportunity …

  1. The Church was (and currently) ill-equipped for mental health needs … a lack of knowledge and skills from seminary and ministry training programs.

  2. Many Christian mental health books were available, but national/International Christian mental health groups did not exist or were few and local.

  3. Community mental health support groups and programs lacked Christian understanding and resources. Christian-focused discussions were not encouraged within the community groups. In addition, some of these groups were good at support, but many lacked growth-oriented principles and tools.

Many felt isolated (unseen and unheard), so this was a chance to help the Body of Christ reach the entire community.

Through Grace Alliance’s user-friendly, Christ-centered, and evidence-based approach, the model provides:

  1. Supportive growth community: Congregants associated with mental health challenges found a Christ-centered, restorative community and growth support.

  2. Supportive pastoral community: Church leaders began to learn, but didn’t have to be psychology experts, and/or try to individually pastor every individual, couple, and family. Congregants would find a community with an in-depth understanding and wisdom from lived experience, often with more insight than many pastoral leaders could offer. The community heals itself.

  3. Supportive community outreach: Grace Groups are inviting, and the material naturally creates personal interest in Jesus and God. Through relationships, these groups often attract non-believers and other faith groups (some faith groups see mental health and other disabilities as a punishment, curse, etc.). In this regard, Grace Groups have worked well in other cultures/countries.

  4. Supportive church model (no cost barriers for church + congregants): The simple community model and resource worked naturally within their Church model, with very little or no cost (no training or subscription fees; churches can print/bind Grace Alliance’s free group workbooks for participants as needed).

  5. Supportive bridges with pros: The group model establishes “task-sharing” connections between congregants and mental health professionals, providing community support and growth opportunities. Additionally, this model enables churches to collaborate with other churches, whether or not they have mental health resources.

The remarkable impact of the Grace Alliance programs and training was published in four journals, with results showing:

  1. Participants saw a reduction in mental health symptoms.

  2. Participants were aided in overall mental health recovery and trauma healing.

  3. Participants experienced a renewal of their faith and spirituality.

  4. Training increases confidence and skills to respond and minister to mental health challenges.


Mental Health Grace Alliance is a 501(c)3 organization. All contributions are tax-deductible. MHGA Federal ID is 27-3845241.

Join us in making Christian mental health recovery and thriving freely accessible worldwide.

Click below for more details about Grace Alliance’s solution to equip the Body of Christ to provide solutions to mental health needs (Case for Support) and to understand more about mental health recovery (science and Scripture) in our FAQs.

 
 

Join our online community!

 

All Mental Health Grace Alliance resources complement and promote professional therapy and treatment, and are not intended to replace or discontinue. (see full disclaimer).