Love Me to Life

An unacknowledged crisis haunts the church as we fail to deal with the causes and aftermath of suicide and the stigma society often places on victims and their loved ones. How can we stand up for life and love these people as the Body of Christ? In Love Me to Life, Veronica Sites responds from personal experience, serious research and training, and a biblical perspective. Combining these crucial elements, she presents a plan for responding with the gospel message as we live out the message of Jesus in our churches. Crucial to this plan is involving leaders, but also in educating and empowering all members to understand and positively impact those in need of support. In support of this, she provides detailed information on the situation as we find it in most churches. She then looks at scripture for guidance in how we should deal with those who most need our support and sometimes active intervention. Finally, she looks at how the church can follow up and build the lives and ministries of the church to those in need. This book is filled with practical experience, detailed data, and scriptural support. It can provide the basis for a church to plan how they will acknowledge and respond to the suicide crisis. Individuals and small groups can benefit greatly as well, but we recommend studying this issue at the congregational level so that everyone is prepared to love their neighbors — whether down the pew or down the street — into a life of restoration and identity in Christ and not identified by a tragic event. Thus, this book is for everyone.