In today’s episode, Catherine Boyle interviews Kimberly Britt from Anchor International. Kimberly will be presenting at Disability and the Church 2024. We hope you’ll enjoy this preview of the conference and the great work of Anchor International.
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Boyle: Hi everybody, this is Catherine Boyle. Welcome to Key Ministry the Podcast. You know how much I love to have guests on, and today I have a special guest that I'd like to introduce to you. Her name is Kimberly Britt; she is the executive director of Anchor International. Kimberly is going to be speaking at DATC 2024, so if you're listening and it's before May 1 - 3, 2024, then I encourage you to go check out DATC 2024 on the Key Ministry website, and go ahead and register, so you can talk with Kimberly in person in Orlando. Kimberly, welcome to Key Ministry the podcast!
Britt: Thank you, Catherine. It's good to be here.
Boyle: So you were at DATC a couple of years ago, and I had a chance to talk with you then, but our audience might not be familiar with you or your organization. So just spend a couple minutes talking about Kimberly: where you grew up, a little bit about yourself and then your role in ministry now, and maybe if you'd be willing to share, just any personal information about mental health experience that you have.
Britt: Sure. Well, I am the Executive Director of Anchor International, as you already stated. It's a nonprofit ministry based in Denver, CO that equips churches to support mental wellness. I'm also a wife; I am a mother of four daughters. My oldest is 11 years old and my youngest is 8 months old. Life is busy right now!
Boyle: Yes, congratulations on the little one! I don't know that I knew you had a baby since the last time we talked!
Britt: Yes, thank you very much. That's why I was unable to be at the DATC last year; I was getting ready for her. A little bit of my background, let's see: I wanted to be a storyteller since I was a little girl. I have a background in film and TV production, and then at 30 years old I completely changed careers and went into counseling. I will share a little bit more of my story at the conference, but just a little preview: I can tell you that I grew up in south Mississippi; I experienced abuse and trauma at an early age which led to me experiencing a lot of depression and anxiety in my very early teens. I did not cope with these challenges very well at all; I coped with them very poorly, and that led to me developing a pretty significant eating disorder and eventually some postpartum addiction struggles as well.
Boyle: You know it's sadly common that when you have the trauma and abuse backgrounds to have things like eating disorders pop up. Fast forward a little bit, so you had this very early on in life career change. And for some time now you've been serving as Executive Director of Anchor International. Our listeners might know it as My Quiet Cave, because several years ago your predecessor Brandon was writing for Key Ministry about some of the work you guys were doing. So talk a little bit, if you will, about what Anchor does, and some of the resources that you provide to ministry leaders to equip churches.
Britt: Yes. Anchor International was founded in 2011 as My Quiet Cave, and we are here to support churches to support mental wellness. We do this by equipping peer leaders to facilitate support groups, small support programs within churches, congregations, faith-based schools, anywhere where faith and mental wellness—it makes sense for those to go together. We have several group programs: we have programs for adults and for teens, and we have some programs specifically for moms: we have Overcome, which is a group program for adults. Fearless is for youth, and Fierce Love is our program that we wrote in partnership with MOPS International, which is now known as The MomCo. And then our Anchor groups: those are our long term, open support groups for everyone.
Boyle: Wonderful. Our audience is probably familiar with similar organizations who are doing support group models, but Anchor has a little bit different focus on some specific target groups. I wasn't even familiar with your mom's support, but that's really a tremendous resource that you have, because I'm not aware of anybody else who's really reaching out to moms who—many women experience that postpartum kind of depression and mental health struggles. So that's a wonderful resource that you have developed.
Britt: Yes, that's kind of a heart project for me, I guess. When I—we wrote right after I started working with then My Quiet Cave—now Anchor—in 2017. I came on [staff with Anchor] and I was kind of in the midst of a lot of that, and got the opportunity to work on that project. It's called Fierce Love, and it was just such a special time and a special opportunity to be able to do something like that, thinking, what would I have wanted to have, or what do I need now?
Boyle: Right. And one of your foundational operating models that I think is—I spent some time on your website, and you guys have a concept or an operating model called ‘Anchors of Wellness.’ I thought that was really—it creates a really good visual in my mind, just hearing that term. If you would, talk a little bit about what this is: what those individual anchors are, and why they're important for people who have mental health needs, and then also the churches that are hopefully there to support those individuals.
Britt: So the Anchors of Wellness is a tool that we developed to help us know how to move forward during really difficult seasons, and also how to prepare for difficult seasons, because we know that when it comes to our mental wellness, or our wellness in general, there's a lot of things that are out of our control. There’s illnesses; there's environmental things, biological but there are also some things that we can kind of do: tools and ways that we can move forward. So we identified these practices—we have 6 practices that we identified—that can really help us to thrive during difficult times, and to thrive even when it's not a difficult season of life. These are called our Anchors; these are our anchors of wellness; knowing that if we remain firmly anchored in these things that it can help us feel more steady and whole, no matter what life kind of throws our way.
Some of these—I have it in front of me so I won't forget what these anchors are! Some of these are anchored in Christ—the one at the very center of this diagram. It's knowing that we are created and loved by God; that is our number one identity, and that we have Christ at the center of our lives, and we remain anchored in Him, and just center our life around Him in an abiding relationship with Jesus.
We also have our anchored in community, knowing that we were created for community, and that we thrive when we're in healthy relationships with others. We're also anchored in wisdom, knowing that we can't control everything around us, but we can choose to learn and adapt and move forward. And in very challenging situations, being anchored in wisdom also means gathering information or tools that we can apply. As I said earlier, I did not cope as well as I could have when I was struggling with anxiety, and I found things that at the time I felt like worked, or were working for me, that weren’t! It was making my life much worse, much more chaotic. But if I had had some of the tools and things that I could do to cope with my mental and emotional health at the time, it would have made a pretty significant difference.
Some of the others [anchors] are being anchored in support; having professional support, having peer groups that you can attend, having a therapist, having a doctor, things like that. And then being anchored in purpose and also self-care; those are our six anchors.
Boyle: You mentioned a couple of times in in the last couple minutes peer support. I know that's one of the things that you guys really champion—not only helping people maybe get through the crisis, or prepare so that they don't fall deeply into crisis if something else happens, but equipping people who have had these kind of challenges to go out and then help others. That is such a biblical model; it 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 or 3 through verse 7, however you want to look at that. So why are you guys so passionate about this? And have you seen—is this something that you've personally benefited from, or where have you seen this peer support kind of equipping really be effective?
Britt: I'm so passionate about peer support, in my own life and also as a professional counselor, just knowing that research says that strengthening that social connectedness is one of the most effective ways to promote mental wellness and elevate our wellness. I feel like mental health can feel so isolating; it could be very isolating because it's such an internal struggle. And when you're among your peers, you're reminded that you're not alone, and you're reminded that you're not the only one struggling with this. And I often say—sometimes when I'm deep in that struggle or I'm kind of spiraling—I have the spiraling thoughts—I forget what is true, I feed into false beliefs and negative beliefs. I need people around me to point me to truth, and not just remind me that I'm not alone, but remind me who I am and remind me whose I am. I want to say that. That’s what peers can do for us. It's connecting with other people, and it's also connecting with God.
I had a colleague of mine recently say that healing happens through relationships, and we also see God show up through relationships; we can connect with God through other people and through our relationships with other people. And that's why I think it's so important. Peer leaders specifically in the support groups that we run—I think—can be very powerful leaders, because they have this other level of empathy and understanding of what the people around them are going through.
Boyle: Right. And you don't have to have any special qualifications to be a peer leader. You just have to have that experience and then when you’ve come through your challenges, and maybe had just a little bit of training that really anybody can do—then you are so equipped to be able to help that next person who's coming along behind you.
Well, one of the things that your ministry does is—that we just are so excited about—is that you don't just want churches to take your support group materials and create a support group and be done. You guys are very much focused on developing long term mental health ministry in churches, and with somebody who is a leadership contact at that church. We have different terminology, but it's the same thing: it's either mental health champion, mental health liaison; somebody who's just making sure—it doesn’t have to be a staff person—but somebody who is in charge of making sure that mental health is not being forgotten in the mix of the supports that are being offered by the church. So tell us why this matters to you, and why it matters to Anchor International, and maybe an example of where it's working well. I think a lot of times when people can see something that's working, it can help them really think about how it can work in their environment, as well.
Britt: I have so many responses to that! Let me start with kind of what you said: we don't want people just to start programs; we are not just trying to sell workbooks or programs, because we actually don't sell our programs! Our training and our curriculum is free. We offer that because it's important to us—we want to see lives changed; and we want to see people connecting with each other and with the Lord on deeper levels. So we're not just here trying to pump out curriculum; we don't want to just start a bunch of groups—we want to see communities enriched. We want our programs to kind of influence, and change the DNA of those communities. We want to see—we call them ministry mindsets and not programs. It's not just a program; it's a ministry mindset change. It’s having this culture of safety and support, that kind of permeates throughout the entire community.
We do that by training our peer facilitator. As you said, training is very important. We provide training and support for our facilitators, to make sure that they are thriving as leaders, and that the group thrives. We kind of do our part—meaning that we're training and supporting on our end, but we need somebody on the other side of that relationship. We're in a ministry partnership with the facilitators, and with the leadership contact at the church. And Anchor International being the third part of that. That just helps somebody champion—I think you used the word champion; is that what you called them?
Boyle: Yes, it's that word.
Britt: I love that. That’s what we say we need; they need someone to champion their groups at their church site. And there's a lot of other reasons too, like just logistical reasons and safety measures and stuff, but just to have somebody champion that, it's really important. And it's important that the group continues, because eventually, people step out or step down of out of those facilitator roles and that ensures that it continues going, even after new people kind of step into those roles as well.
Boyle: Right. I appreciate what you said a minute ago about the mindset and the overall environment in the church, because too often these kinds of ministries—whether it's mental health or traditional—if you will—disability support ministries can become very siloed. And people think that that's only something for those people over there, but this approach we think is really the better way, because it's looking at everything that is being done, and making sure that people who have—whatever their challenge is—that they're going to encounter staff and the membership of the church who you—if they don't know how to support you, that they're going to know that their church will have someone who can come alongside and be supportive, or point that person to someone within the church community that can be supportive.
Britt: I was going to say—to piggyback on that, about things being siloed—I have seen in churches or heard from people to say ‘we had no idea that we even had this kind of group program!’ I've actually spoken in churches before, and people have come up and said ‘we didn't know’ that they've been running this group for several years. And that's just another reason to make [mental health ministry] a part of the culture.
Boyle: Very much so. Just like we do, you talk about so-called hidden disabilities or invisible disabilities. The listeners are probably familiar with this, just based on our audience, but just in case, tell me what you mean by invisible disabilities?
Britt: So broadly, I mean disabilities that are not immediately recognizable or easily recognizable from the outside. For example, mental health I consider an invisible disability, like anxiety, depression, ADHD. And then of course, even traumatic brain injuries, etc. For the purpose of the workshop that we're going to be leading at the conference, we're going to be specifically talking about autism and about mental health. That's because my co-presenter, Kristen McKee, that's her background. Her specialty is working with autism. That's also part of her story as well, and then mine would be in mental health.
We found that that was the common thread, was this idea of the invisible disabilities, and how to support and engage and help families and individuals with these to feel welcome in the church. I felt like that was the common thread, so that's why we use the term invisible disabilities. It's really just—how to include people that feel like they're on the outside, or that they don't belong.
Boyle: Yes. And you know, it is sadly—as I'm sure you know—that the people who have, who are on the autism spectrum are much more likely to have mental health issues. Part of that is just because—when you maybe don't fit in as easily as other people do, it can be quite easy to become anxious and depressed, or have even you know other mental health things that are just are present in your life, [and can] really become exacerbated in that sort of situation.
Well, we want to make sure that our audience leaves today with a couple of things that they can do, that they can put into action today or very soon. If you would, just share a couple of ideas or a couple of ways that ministry leaders can engage more successfully for those individuals who are already in their church or definitely already in their community, those individuals who have invisible disabilities. And then also, for the ministry leaders, what would you—do you have one or two things that ministry leaders could take away, and just at least be thinking about for their ministry toolbox when it comes to mental health?
Britt: When it comes to mental health, I would say for ministry leaders to start by—a great place to start is by listening; asking questions and listening. I think leaders are overwhelmed; I know they're overwhelmed! When they hear phrases like invisible disabilities and inclusion ministry and mental health crisis, it feels so big and overwhelming that we assume the solution to the problem must be big and overwhelming, when really it's about listening and connection. It's listening to each other's experiences, and connecting in meaningful ways, and then adding resources or programs that do promote wellness—like groups for support, small groups for people to connect around these shared experiences, to deepen their connections at the church and just disciple each other to grow closer to the Lord during this time. I don't know if I answered your question!
Boyle: Yes, you did. And I think that we tend to want that big silver bullet kind of response to these questions! But it's really much simpler. Simple doesn't equal easy, but it's really a much simpler thing. And I think that's part of why it's been challenging for folks. But in a world where we have this kind of communication, where we can be talking from Denver to the east coast; there are all kinds of barriers now to having good connection, and really—kind of heart-to-heart listening. So ministry leaders who can do that are serving their communities very well, particularly those who have hidden disabilities.
Well Kimberly, thank you so much for joining me today. We will share links to the Anchors of Wellness and your website, the Anchor International website. For the listeners, all that's going to be in the show notes. Again, if you're listening and it's before May 1 – 3, 2024 go to the Key Ministry website and sign up for DATC 2024 right now, because then you'll get to come visit Kimberly in person in Orlando!
Kimberly, thank you so much for your time, and thank you everyone for listening to Key Ministry the Podcast.
