The Care Ministry Podcast

In this episode of The Care Ministry Podcast, Laura Howe is joined by pastor and care ministry leader Chad Clements for a coaching-style conversation about grief, leadership, and the pressure many ministry leaders feel to move faster than they should.

Chad shares openly about stepping into a newly created care role without a clear roadmap and how his own journey through grief and lament has shaped the way he thinks about care. Together, Laura and Chad talk about why care ministry does not begin with programs or systems, but with listening, trust, and taking time to understand what is already happening in a church.

This episode names a tension many leaders feel but rarely say out loud. The internal pressure to produce results, build structure, and make sure no one falls through the cracks, even when leadership has not placed those expectations on them.

Along the way, Laura introduces simple care frameworks, shares practical tools for grief support, and reflects on why going slow is not a setback but a faithful and wise approach to care. This conversation is especially helpful for leaders who are building care ministries from the ground up, navigating transition, or trying to care well without burning out.

Quotes

“It’s more my own personal journey of going through grief and lament. Just doing too many funerals, seeing too many tragedies, and seeing how powerful it was to meet God in the midst of it.”
Chad Clements

“The leaders haven’t pressured me, but I feel that internal pressure to produce and to develop what they’ve called me to develop.”
Chad Clements

“Care doesn’t start with systems. It starts with listening and slowing down enough to see what’s already happening.”
Laura Howe

Resources

CareNote

Notebird

Planning Center

GriefShare

The Loss Foundation

Stephen Ministry

New Life Ministries

Edmund Ng

Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries

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Coaching and Support

At Hope Made Strong, we walk alongside church leaders as they listen well, discern next steps, and build care ministries that are sustainable and relational. Coaching is not about rushing to solutions. It is about creating space to notice, reflect, and respond wisely.
Apply to receive coaching on the podcast

Connect with Hope Made Strong

Website: HopeMadeStrong.org

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In this episode of the Care Ministry Podcast, host Laura Howe is joined by Rebecca Bailey for a rich conversation on how spiritual formation functions as preventative care within church care ministries. Together, they explore why care and formation cannot be separated, how spiritual formation shows up across Hope Made Strong’s five-part Model of Care (self, community, peer, pastoral, and professional), and why care is less about fixing problems and more about being present and becoming formed alongside one another. This episode invites leaders to move beyond reactive care toward cultivating cultures that sustain people before crisis hits.



Quotes

“If in our care ministries we’re focused on the doing and the fixing, then we will miss the being and the becoming.” –Rebecca Bailey

“Spiritual formation is happening on the inside and the outside—it’s circular. What happens between us forms us.” –Rebecca Bailey

“Care has historically been reactive in the church. Spiritual formation helps us think about care as preventative.” –Laura Howe

“Spiritual formation isn’t about adding more programs. It’s about becoming more intentional with what’s already happening.” –Rebecca Bailey

“Good spiritual formation in care ministries keeps teams from absorbing what they were never meant to carry.” –Rebecca Bailey

Resources

Hope Made Strong Book Club

HMS Amazong store 🇨🇦Link, 🇺🇸Link

Download the Model of Care

Connect with Hope Made Strong

Website: HopeMadeStrong.org

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In this episode of The Care Ministry Podcast, Laura Howe is joined by psychologists, spiritual directors, and Soul Shepherding founders Bill Gaultiere and Kristi Gaultiere for a deeply honest conversation about empathy, burnout, and spiritual formation. Drawing from decades of counseling, ministry leadership, and personal experience, the Gaultieres unpack why empathy is “oxygen for the soul” and how self-judgment, emotional disconnection, and over-functioning can quietly lead caregivers toward compassion fatigue. They explore what empathy truly is (and what it is not), how Jesus models empathy throughout the Gospels, and why receiving God’s empathy is essential for sustainable care, healthy boundaries, and long-term ministry fruitfulness.

Quotes

“Empathy is oxygen for the soul. Without it, we may survive—but we won’t thrive.” –Kristi Gaultiere

“The instrument we bring to others isn’t our skills or our training—it’s who we are with God.” –Bill Gaultiere

“We often don’t care what someone knows until we know that they care.” –Kristi Gaultiere

“True growth happens when empathy is joined with truth and responsibility.” –Bill Gaultiere

“If we try to empathize with everyone, everywhere, all the time, we will drain our soul. Empathy must be stewarded.” –Kristi Gaultiere

Resources

Soul Shepherding

Get your Book Club book!

Care Ministry Collective

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Website: HopeMadeStrong.org

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In this episode of the Care Ministry Podcast, host Laura Howe sits down with Jennifer Bowen, Executive Director of Shalem Mental Health Ministries, to reflect on hosting a Local Church Mental Health Summit in Canada. Jennifer shares the heart, strategy, and lessons learned from hosting a multi-day summit that brought together pastors, therapists, educators, and ministry leaders to explore faith and mental health together. The conversation covers why embodiment and hospitality matter, how to scale summits to fit any community, and why collaboration across sectors is essential for sustainable care. This episode is both practical and visionary for leaders considering hosting a local summit or partnering more intentionally around mental health.



Quotes

“Mental health is part of our health journey. The brain is a beautiful, complicated, and fragile organ—and sometimes it goes a bit funky.”
— Jennifer Bowen

“We wanted to embody mental wellness in the entire experience, not just talk about it from a stage.”
— Jennifer Bowen

“The in-between moments—the hallways, the meals, the conversations—were as rich as the sessions themselves.”
— Jennifer Bowen

“This wasn’t about one voice leading the conversation. It became a mural of many voices coming together.”
— Jennifer Bowen

“The local summits are meant to be a choose-your-own-adventure—designed around the capacity and context of your community.”
— Laura Howe



Resources

Host a Local Summit



Connect with Hope Made Strong

Website: HopeMadeStrong.org

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In this episode of the Care Ministry Podcast, host Laura Howe sits down with Mark Strickland and Matt Timpson from Milton Bible Church to explore what intentional, sustainable care looks like in a mid-sized church. Together, they unpack why Milton Bible has chosen to remain “decidedly mid-sized,” how administration can strengthen (not replace) relationships, and how care systems can support people without becoming cold or program-driven. The conversation offers practical insight into connect groups, prayer pathways, boundaries in care, documentation, and building a culture where people are truly seen—without trying to meet every need alone.



Quotes

“Administration should feed ministry and feed what’s pastorally happening in the church—not the other way around.”
— Matt Timpson

“We don’t want to just go wide. We want to go deep.”
— Matt Timpson

“When you get beyond a certain size, the organic care that once happened naturally starts slipping through the cracks, and systems help bridge that gap.”
— Mark Strickland

“You can have great systems, but if people aren’t actually engaging with other people, something essential is missing.”
— Mark Strickland
“Care doesn’t mean solving the problem. It means walking with people and connecting them to hope.”
— Laura Howe



Resources

Care Ministry Cohorts

Milton Bible Church



Connect with Hope Made Strong

Website: HopeMadeStrong.org

Socials: Facebook – Instagram – Twitter – YouTube