Mission:
The Ministering to Ministers (MTM) Foundation seeks to be advocates for clergy and their families in all faith groups who are experiencing personal or professional crisis due to deteriorating employment or congregation-clergy relationships.
Greetings from the MTM Foundation
Welcome to the MTM web site! Founded in 1994 by a group of ministers who had experienced forced termination from their ministry positions and by some interested lay persons, MTM serves as an advocate for clergy and their families. MTM works as a mediator to reconcile minister and congregation when possible, and strives to develop church-minister relations in the beginning stages of church relationships, promoting strong communication before conflict arises and addressing the impending church leadership crisis in our churches and communities.
When a minister is involuntarily separated from his or her church, both church and minister are damaged and the joy of the gospel is dampened.
C.A.R.E. became the purpose of MTM:
The centerpiece of the MTM ministry continues to be the intense five-day Healthy Transitions Wellness Retreats for Ministers and Spouses. Many of those to whom MTM ministers in the midst of crisis are enabled to resolve situations and either stay in their ministry position or make a healthier transition to their next ministry position. Wounded and burned-out ministers are renewed for greater effectiveness, joy in ministry and resilience when the going gets tough.
A pastor recently stated: Though I did not realize it, living and ministering in the midst of a conflicted church for several years was sucking the life out of me. My creativity was gone, my self-esteem had evaporated, my self-confidence was eroded and I felt a deep sense of failure. As the conflict increased, I worked harder and longer hours, feeling that if I worked hard enough and long enough, I could "fix" the problems. The overwork made my ministry less effective. My experience at the Wellness Retreat and with the resources made available to me afterward enabled me to become a healthier person with a more realistic concept of ministry.
Through the past many years of MTM’s ministry, I have become convinced that the epidemic of forced terminations in churches of all sizes, all denominations, all church polity forms and all parts of the theological spectrum diminishes not only the quality and availability of excellent leadership, but also the health of congregations and the communities in which they are located. I believe that healthy ministers help produce healthy churches, healthy churches help produce healthy communities and healthy communities contribute to healthy societies.
Charles H. Chandler, D.Min.
Executive Director
Donate to the MTM Foundation
You can help the MTM Foundation in its ministry by making a donation using your credit card. For more information about donating to MTM, click here. The Ministering to Ministers Foundation is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization.
NOTE: If you are making a donation in honor or memory of someone, on the final review page on PayPal before submitting your donation, look for the link labelled ““In honor/memory? Type name here.” and type the name of the honoree.