Spiritual Care First Aid: An All-Hands Approach for Church and Community

Cody J. Sanders argues that spiritual care is inherently cultivated in every vibrant community--congregations and otherwise--and that every community member contributes to providing care for others. However, many congregation and community members lack confidence in their caring skills. In Spiritual Care First Aid, Sanders provides an accessible introduction to spiritual care characterized by mutuality, empathy, and compassion.

Recognizing that not everyone is a clinician, Sanders provides instruction in basic skills of spiritual care in a way nearly anyone can use. The book offers an approach of hearing, helping, and healing so whoever is near can serve as a spiritual-care first responder when and where needed. Readers will gain skills and confidence in their abilities to provide peer-to-peer care that contributes to their communities in life-sustaining ways.

Spiritual Care First Aid is an ideal training resource for seminary classrooms, particularly skill-building or pastoral care and counseling courses for non-clinicians. The book will also serve as a go-to field manual for lay ministry schools, congregations, and adjacent communities such as campus ministries and nonprofit organizations that train laypeople in spiritual care, as well as for pastors who desire to develop robust, practical care skills.

Cody J. Sanders is associate professor of Congregational and Community Care Leadership at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota. He has published seven books in the area of congregational ministry and spiritual care and is a nationally recognized leader in LGBTQ+ spiritual care. He is a frequent lecturer in churches and seminaries across the country.