A history of service to the human family

In the early 1960s, Lutherans in Milwaukee recognized that there was a great number of people among them who were elderly or in need of specialized care. Early joint ventures between the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) focused on geriatric and convalescent care facilities.

After the LCMS and WELS parted ways, joint ventures were dissolved, and our agency was created in 1965 with an expanded scope to include social services. Its purpose:

“To care for the spiritual needs of children, adoptive parents, troubled families, the aged, the convalescent and handicapped in a Lutheran welfare program including, but not limited to, custodial care, consultation, casework service, the maintenance and operation of foster homes, and to provide such other Christian welfare service as the Board of Directors may decide to institute.”

That’s a long list of services. For the next six decades, the agency would navigate the ins-and-outs of the senior and social services landscape, motivated by Gospel love to heal and help people in need.

It wasn’t easy terrain. Social service work in a sinful world is marked by ever-present needs and resource shortfalls. Yet the history of this agency exudes an abundance of God’s grace. Through the years, God has moved the hearts of his people to give, serve, and make key decisions when opportunities arise to share that grace.

A Blessed Journey from Senior and Social Services to Mental Health Ministry

When The Gardens of Hartford transitioned to new management in December of 2023, it was the end of an era for Christian Family Solutions. We concluded our service in the senior care sector and became entirely focused on Christian counseling and mental health care.

As our agency looks back on nearly 60 years of service to the human family, a clear and consistent theme emerges:

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Galatians 6:10)

Opportunities to serve people in need are abundant. The question is, how can we use our resources to heal and help the greatest number of people?

That was the question facing CEO Mark Klug when he arrived at CFS in 2015. With his background in behavioral health, Klug believed that the greatest ministry opportunity was expanding Christian counseling and mental health care services.

“The world of senior services was changing,” he recalls of that time. “Organizations were consolidating and there was increased pressure for capital investments in facilities.”

Klug worked with the CFS team to deliver healing and helping in ways that were not so dependent on bricks and mortar. This approach to ministry built up our mental health services, all to serve more hurting people and touch more lives with the Gospel.

No one could have predicted that a worldwide pandemic would result in a sharp increase in the need for mental health services. God’s hand was guiding this ministry’s efforts to meet the most urgent needs of His human family. Post-pandemic, there has been an increase in the number of people with a mental health diagnosis. Even more sobering is that in 2023, approximately 50,000 people died by suicide, more than any other year on record. Beyond those lost, 12.3 million adults reported that they seriously thought about suicide and 3.5 million adults reported making a plan.

These statistics are proof that mental health counseling is needed now more than ever. Particularly Christ-centered counseling that is grounded in hope for this life and for eternity.

A ministry in transition

Back in 2008, CFS worked with community partners and area churches to build The Gardens of Hartford assisted living facility. In 2021, CFS sold The Gardens facility to Spero Senior Ministries while retaining management of The Gardens operations.

“We wanted to sell The Gardens to another faith-based ministry, so the Christian culture could be preserved for residents and staff,” Klug says. “The leadership and board members of Spero are rooted in Christian ministry. Their mission is to help Christian congregations offer Christian-based senior care.”

In 2023, CFS completed its contract to provide management services for The Gardens, bringing an end to nearly 60 years of work for CFS in senior services.

“Our service to the human family continues to grow in the form of counseling care and services,” Klug says.

In 2023, CFS conducted 87,000 sessions with 7,100 different clients. Some of those services took place in a clinic. Others took place in the facilities of partner schools and churches. About one third took place via telehealth.

Now comes the behind-the-scenes work of transforming the agency’s accounting system, electronic medical records platform, and other infrastructure for more focused service in the mental health sector. Another big priority is maintaining spiritual and professional growth plans for all employees, so every counselor is fully equipped to face the challenges of this demanding work.

“The Gospel is what sets us apart from other mental health organizations,” Klug says. “The Gospel is what humans need most. It has always been here and always will be.”