Ambassador & Member Community Support
Connect, collaborate, and change lives as an Ambassador!
Mental Health Connect staff offer individualized support for member communities and facilitate connections among our communities through our Ambassador Program and Clergy Gatherings.
Faith community Ambassadors meet monthly for Collaborative Education Meetings and Outreach gatherings to learn about timely mental health topics, foster faith community awareness of MHC Navigation services, and discuss their community questions and concerns. We hold regular onboarding opportunities as well as customized coaching for new or continuing collaborative communities.
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Each month the collaborative comes together for insightful and interactive programming on timely mental health topics. Click HERE for details on the next Collaborative Education Meeting.
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Mental Health Connect’s new monthly Peer Learning Roundtables offer member communities a peer working space to ask questions, share experiences, and develop relationships.
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We welcome new ambassadors and anyone looking for a refresh to join these in-person meetings!
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We are grateful to be implementing this new enhancement model to offer more personalized support to our member communities. Beginning in August of 2026, a MHC staff person will be available as a relational coach to help member communities build and grow their mental health ministries to respond to needs within and beyond their buildings. This new role ensures no community has to navigate addressing mental health alone.
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Clergy and other staff leaders from our member communities are invited to quarterly gatherings to share needs and practices.
Collaborative Education Meetings
Ambassadors meet monthly to learn about timely mental health topics and to grow awareness of MHC Navigation and other mental health resources. Ambassadors and anyone from the MHC collaborative communities are welcome to attend in person or online.
Ambassador Meetings: Collaborative Education
2nd Tuesdays of Each Month | 7:00-8:30 pm
In person Bethlehem Lutheran TC- Minneapolis or virtual Zoom option
(Please Note: Some sessions are Zoom only)
Some past topics include:
Mind-Body Practices for Promoting Mental Health
Creating Caring Faith Communities
What You Need to Know about BIPOC Mental Health Today
Adolescent Substance Use & the Role of Caring Others
Healing Religious Trauma
Taking on Eco-Anxiety: Congregation-Wide Approaches
Next Collaborative Education Meeting
Tackling the Stigma of Mental Illness in Our Faith Communities: Practical Ideas & Lessons Learned
Tuesday, October 13, 7:00- 8:30 pm | Bethlehem Lutheran MPLS and Zoom
Join us for October’s Collaborative Education Meeting! Mental Health Connect member faith communities are working hard at reducing the stigma of mental illness through education and information in their respective settings. This presentation is designed to provide ideas, resources, and lessons learned from three MHC members that you might consider adopting for your own faith community.
Appreciate the role empathy plays in fueling understanding, healing, support and faith-based accompaniment.
Learn how one faith community established a focus on youth in its programming and activities.
Become familiar with an interactive series of restorative practices which promote well-being.
Hear about a Music Heals project and its positive impact on one faith community.
Take home ideas for launching a Special Needs Worship Service of your own.
Presenters:
DENNIS DEGENEFFE, Chair, Lumen Christi Catholic Community’s Mental Health and Well-Being Ministry, St. Paul and Acting Chair, Catholic Mental Health and Well-Being Coalition
GAIL BERGSVEN, Mental Health and Wellness Team Member, Nativity Lutheran, St. Anthony
RICK GRAFT, Chair, Mental Wellness Ministry and Substance Use Ministry, Wayzata Community Church, Wayzata
For more information on this and other MHC events, click HERE.
Opportunities for Ambassadors
Member Coaching Support
Member Coaching Support ensures every member faith community feels supported, equipped, and connected as they serve their congregations and neighborhoods. Coaching support includes real-time guidance via calls, emails, and personal sessions to help faith communities expand and strengthen their mental health ministries. A staff-led volunteer team ensuring consistent, personalized support and offerings.
To request member coaching support or for more information, contact Heidi Peterson, MHC’s Education & Outreach Coordinator at hpeterson@bethlehem-church.org.
Collaborative Education
Monthly In-Person and/or Online
Zoom Link to Join Collaborative Education Meeting
Faith community Ambassadors meet monthly to learn about timely mental health topics and to grow awareness of mental health resources. Ambassadors and anyone from the MHC collaborative communities are welcome to attend in person or online.
Ambassador Onboarding
Our expanded onboarding process now combines our traditional Ambassador Onboarding Training program with the “Make Your Own Mental Health Ministry” workshop into one essential offering. The Member Coaching Support Staff Lead contacts and schedules this training with all member faith communities.
Every new member faith community completes this combined training; refresher sessions are strongly encouraged to all existing member faith communities.
Peer Learning Roundtables
Beginning September 16, 2026!
Zoom Link to Join Peer Learning Roundtable
Mental Health Connect will host monthly ambassador gatherings aimed at building relationships within our collaborative and offering faith communities the opportunity to share their questions and experiences in setting up and expanding their mental health ministries.
For questions, contact Kyle Soderberg at kyle@mhconnect.org.