Compassionate & Capable

MESS stands for Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual Support. We train chaplains, clergy, lay leaders, and community responders to provide calm, compassionate, and effective care to people under stress. We believe compassion is essential—but compassion alone is not enough. 

Care also deserves skill, structure, and support for the caregiver.

Before They Made a MESS

Co-Founded Crisis Support Solutions, LLC

As ministers and mental health professionals, Dorie and Joey both have spent years caring for those in crisis. From their education and field experience, they co-founded Crisis Support Solutions, LLC - helping agencies and organizations start, train, and maintain an effective Peer Support Program.

Answering the Call

Counselors and Clergy

In 2024, Dorie was ordained as a Minister of Word and Service in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and began working closely with emotional and spiritual response teams. Hearing a need for mental, emotional, and spiritual support training, Dorie and Joey (ordained 2004) cofounded MESS Ministries to provide similar professional, skills-based training.

Nothing Basic About This Training

  • Proud Partners

    In partnership with Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR), we provide skills-based training that strengthens care for individuals and communities affected by disaster.

  • Interfaith

    Training that honors various faith traditions and worldviews. Helpers learn to meet people where they are, without assuming or imposing a particular belief system.

  • Versatile

    Our training is built like LEGO blocks — modular pieces that can be curated to deliver crisis stabilization skills or more support care.

Let's Connect

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