Develop a Dynamic Grief Ministry

for Your Church and Community

Right now, someone in your congregation is sitting in a pew - smiling on the outside, shattered on the inside. And all around your building are neighbors carrying losses no one has ever asked them about. They are not looking for easy answers. They are looking for a safe place to grieve, and for people who know how to walk with them.

Your church can be that place.

You Don't Have to Figure This Out Alone

Most churches want to care well for grievers - they just haven't been shown how. That's where Spark of Life comes alongside you. Since 2009, we have walked with grieving people through more than 100 church grief workshops and 147 three-and-a-half-day retreats, with over 2,000 attending. We know the road, and we'll guide your church every step of the way.

Partnering with Spark of Life:

• Grows the grief ministry your church already has - or gives you a clear strategy to start one
• Equips your members with specific, proven tools for an ongoing, powerful ministry
• Demonstrates the love of Christ to your members and your community in real, authentic ways

A Simple, Proven Path

1. Host a Grief Workshop.A weekend event at your building, open to everyone - grievers and non-grievers alike. We help you promote it and tailor it to your church.
2. Offer Two Next Steps.Workshop attendees who need deeper help can register on the spot for a Spark of Life Retreat in your area, or for Divine Grief, an 8-week small-group course hosted by your church.
3. Launch Your Grief Ministry Team.Your team forms naturally from members who have walked through deep loss themselves - comforted, equipped, and ready to comfort others.

Step 1: The Spark of Life Grief Workshop

Typically held Saturday (8:00 AM - 12:30 PM), or Saturday plus Sunday. On Sunday we offer a combined teen/adult Bible class, “The POWER of Lament,” and the sermon “Why Do You Hurt Me, God? Discovering God through Horrific Pain.” Every workshop is adapted to your church - your building, your people, your decisions.

Here's what surprises most churches: about half of attendees come from the community, not the congregation. When your members know a friend, co-worker, or family member who is hurting, inviting them to a free grief workshop feels natural - and people in deep pain are often wide open to receive help.

Promotion

You are not on your own here. Spark of Life supplies proven promotion ideas and works closely with your church's contact person from the day you book.

Cost

We ask for a $3,000 donation to Spark of Life to host a workshop. Some churches give more; some churches struggle with that figure. We will work with your church to make this happen. We ask the church to cover the presenter's travel (airfare, or the 2026 IRS mileage rate of $0.76/mile), plus food and lodging. Tax ID: 27-1107884.

Sponsorships

Many churches invite local funeral homes, hospice organizations, and therapists to sponsor the workshop - often 2-3 sponsors at $500-$1,000 each. This not only helps the church cover their costs for the workshop, but also helps promote the workshop in your community. Sponsors are recognized in the program and from the front, and they publicize the workshop to the very people who need it most. It is truly a win-win.

Step 2a: The 3½-Day Grief Retreat

We encourage host churches to schedule a Spark of Life Retreat in your area a few weeks after the workshop. Retreats are limited to about 16 participants (18+) and can be held at a retreat center, resort, a member's home, or online. We handle registration and communication; church volunteers often help serve meals.

Church staff and members who attend receive powerful, first-hand training. They watch hope return - in others and in themselves - and they carry that hope back to your church and community, ready to ‘Live Forward.’ Many churches host a retreat once or twice a year as a continual outreach.

Step 2b: Divine Grief - The 8-Week Course

Offered by your church a few weeks after the workshop, Divine Grief is a small-group study of God's own grief - how God the Father and Jesus handled their sorrow. It can be repeated throughout the year.

The final lesson focuses on the ‘secret sauce’ of healthy grief recovery: purpose. What will I do with the grief I've experienced? Grievers in healthy recovery develop a heart to comfort others with the comfort they have received from God - and that is exactly where your Grief Ministry Team is born.

General inquiries: [email protected]  •  1-844-LIVE-FWD (1-844-548-3393)