Flourishing Beyond the Struggle
Bridge the gap between mental health and faith with practical tools to move from surviving to flourishing.
Flourish is a one-day Christian mental health conference for anyone navigating the tension between faith and emotional well-being.
Whether you are walking through personal struggles, supporting someone you love, or leading others in your church or community, Flourish offers a space to pause, reflect, and grow. You will hear from trusted voices, including keynote speakers Merle and Karen Mees, and choose from breakouts that address real-life mental health challenges through both clinical insight and biblical wisdom.
Through honest conversation, practical tools, and a focus on soul care, you will discover how to move from surviving to truly flourishing.
Flourish in Life, Lead with Wholeness.
Flourish is designed to help you slow down, reflect, and walk away with practical tools for emotional health, stronger relationships, and lasting hope. Through thoughtful teaching, honest conversation, and meaningful connection, you’ll discover how to move from surviving to truly flourishing.
Keynote Session
Merle and Karen Mees
SOUL CARE
Merle and Karen Mees are no strangers to our community. For over 18 years, Merle has faithfully served as Lead Pastor of Pleasant Valley, with Karen by his side as his greatest encourager and partner in ministry. They stepped into vocational ministry at just 19 and 20 years old—and never looked back. Karen, a Licensed Professional Counselor, runs a private practice in Liberty, Missouri, where she works with adult clients. This year, Merle and Karen celebrated 45 years of marriage. They are the proud parents of two married sons and the joyful grandparents of three.
Over the past 11 years, Merle and Karen have shared a deeply personal calling: to promote soul health among church leaders, ministry teams, and marketplace leaders. Their passion for soul care was born out of their own experience—after a long season of neglecting their inner lives, they discovered a new way of living and leading. Now, their journey fuels their mission to embody and share the life-giving truth that Soul Care Matters.
About the Session
Ministry leaders are most effective when they lead from the inside out. In this honest, inspiring, and hope-filled keynote, Merle and Karen Mees will invite leaders to consider the health of their own souls—because when the soul is flourishing, every area of life can thrive.
Rooted in personal experience and supported by research, Soul Care Matters offers practical insights and spiritual wisdom for cultivating sustainable leadership. Through their powerful testimony and practical guidance, Merle and Karen help leaders rediscover the rhythms of rest, renewal, and intimacy with God that lead to authentic, soul-deep living.
Recognize the warning signs of soul-neglect in leadership
Lead from a place of authenticity, wholeness, and inner peace
Reconnect with God’s presence as your true source of strength
Break free from the pressures of performance and step into grace-driven leadership
Whether you’re leading in the church, the home, or the marketplace, this message will breathe life into your leadership and remind you: your soul matters to God and to those you lead.
Breakout Sessions
Pastor John Newsom
Resilient Compassion: Harnessing Strength Through Vulnerability
Mendy Shriver, MA, LPC
Restoring Connection: Healing Attachment Wounds in the Family Through a Christ-Centered Lens
Dr. Doug Davis
Thriving with Adolescent ADHD: A Journey of Hope
Paula Dayringer
Soul Fatigue: Restoring Balance and Boundaries
Brent Moore, PhD, LPC-S (MO),
LCPC-S (KS), RPT-S
From Digital Dependence to Sacred Interdependence: Flourishing as Whole Persons in a Connected World
John Newsom
Resilient Compassion: Leading with Empathy in Every Season
With over two decades in corporate sales, 15 years as an Army Chaplain, and 8 years serving as a Care Pastor, John brings a rich tapestry of experience to the conversation around compassionate leadership and emotional resilience. His journey across boardrooms, battlefields, and church communities has equipped him with deep insight into the power of empathy, especially in high-pressure, high-stakes environments.
John has spent his career walking with people through their most challenging moments helping them cultivate strength, emotional clarity, and connection through compassion. Whether he’s leading a team, comforting a grieving family, or speaking to a crowd, John is known for his grounded wisdom, authentic stories, and practical tools that leave a lasting impact.
About the Session
What does it look like to lead with both strength and tenderness? In this session, John explores how compassion is not a soft skill, but a critical leadership tool that strengthens relationships, builds emotional resilience, and transforms workplaces and homes alike.
Drawing from years of frontline experience in the military, ministry, and corporate leadership, John will guide attendees through practical strategies for staying grounded and connected—even when life feels overwhelming.
Build emotional strength through intentional, compassionate leadership
Understand how resilience is developed through challenge
Use empathy and active listening to foster trust and connection in any setting
Create supportive environments where people can thrive
Whether you’re a leader, caregiver, pastor, or professional facing everyday stressors or extraordinary challenges, this session will equip you to lead with courage, kindness, and clarity no matter the season.
Mendy Shriver, MA, LPC
Restoring Connection: Healing Attachment Wounds in the Family Through a Christ-Centered Lens
Mendy Shriver, MA, LPC, is a Licensed Professional Counselor and the Director of Counseling at Pleasant Valley Counseling Center. Mendy is deeply committed to strengthening families through Christ-centered, trauma-informed care. She believes that healthy families are the foundation for healthy communities. Mendy is clinically trained in EMDR, Emotionally Focused Therapy (Level 2), and play therapy. This diverse skill set allows her to offer developmentally appropriate care for children and equip parents with practical tools to foster emotional resilience and secure attachment in the home.
Mendy also has a strong passion for helping women heal from trauma and establish daily habits that promote long-term emotional and physical wellness. She is the founder of Gospel Centered Health, a ministry and wellness platform that equips women with biblical tools for developing healthy habits and breaking free from shame and striving. She hosts the Gospel Centered Health Podcast, where she shares insights and encouragement for living a life of faith-filled wholeness.
Mendy is a mom to five adult children (including two adopted daughters), and a proud grandmother of 2 little girls. She brings a compassionate, authentic perspective to her work with families. Mendy’s personal journey fuels her calling to walk alongside others with grace, wisdom, and hope.
About the Session
In this transformative session, families will explore the foundational role of attachment in emotional, relational, and spiritual well-being. Many individuals carry hidden wounds from early attachment disruptions—wounds that can quietly shape how we connect, trust, and love. Through a compassionate, Christ-centered approach, this course will unpack the science of attachment, the impact of broken bonds, and the hope of healing through both clinical insights and biblical truth.
Recognize patterns of insecure attachment in themselves and their loved ones.
Understand the connection between attachment wounds and behaviors such as anxiety, people-pleasing, emotional withdrawal, and fear of intimacy
Learn how God’s unconditional love and grace offer a secure base for personal and relational transformation
Cultivate healing practices that foster emotional safety, spiritual growth, and deeper connection within the family
This session is designed for parents, caregivers, couples, ministry leaders, and individuals seeking to break generational cycles and rebuild trust, security, and intimacy in their relationships—all grounded in the healing power of Jesus Christ.
Dr. Doug Davis
Thriving with Adolescent ADHD: A Journey of Hope
Dr. Doug Davis brings over 30 years of experience in education, counseling, and clinical psychology to his work with adolescents and families. A retired teacher, school counselor, and coach, Doug is now a Clinical Christian Psychologist at Pleasant Valley Counseling Center, specializing in ADHD, anxiety, depression, and suicidal behavior in teens.
With a PsyD in Clinical Christian Counseling and Psychology, Dr. Davis blends neuropsychological insight with a Christ-centered counseling approach, creating a therapeutic space where teens feel both understood and empowered. Known for his approachable, down-to-earth style, he connects easily with youth and parents alike, offering clarity, compassion, and real solutions for the challenges they face.
Doug is currently preparing to publish his doctoral dissertation, “Suicide Prevention and Treatment in Adolescent Depression: A Case Study Clinical Christian View,” with both The Journal of Psychology and Christianity and The Journal of Biblical Counseling. He also leads a 10-week Adolescent ADHD Counseling Group annually at PVCC.
Doug is a man of deep faith and wide-ranging interests he loves martial arts, golf, the beach, Star Wars, and Dr. Pepper. He and his wife, Cindy, have been married for 30 years and live in Liberty, MO. They are proud parents of two married adult children.
About the Session
ADHD doesn’t define a child’s future it reveals a different way of experiencing the world. In this engaging and hope-filled session, designed for adolescents (ages 12-21) and their parents, Dr. Doug Davis will explore the inner landscape of ADHD through a combination of clinical expertise and Christian faith.
Together, we’ll unpack the neuroscience behind attention, emotion regulation, and executive functioning to better understand what’s really happening in the ADHD brain. Through practical tools, biblical encouragement, and years of real-world experience, Dr. Davis will help families recognize not only the challenges but also the hidden strengths of life with ADHD.
Understand ADHD through a neuropsychological and developmental lens
Explore emotional regulation strategies that support the adolescent brain
Identify symptoms, triggers, and behavior patterns with clarity and compassion
Recognize the gifts and unique talents often overlooked in ADHD diagnosis
This session will leave you encouraged and equipped with tools for thriving academically, relationally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Paula Dayringer
Soul Fatigue: Restoring Balance and Boundaries
Paula brings a rare blend of military leadership, clinical expertise, and lived caregiving experience to her work as a counselor and speaker. A retired Colonel and combat veteran, Paula served 30 years in the Missouri Army National Guard before earning her master’s degree in counseling from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Since 2019, she has served at Pleasant Valley Counseling Center, specializing in trauma and grief.
Beyond her professional training, Paula has walked the hard road of caregiving firsthand, having served as guardian and conservator for a family member living with schizoaffective disorder since 2007. Her deep compassion, grounded wisdom, and no-nonsense approach offer hope and clarity to those navigating similar paths.
Paula is especially passionate about supporting caregivers—those who pour out their energy for others, often at the cost of their own well-being. Her work is marked by honesty, grace, and practical strategies for those walking through prolonged stress, loss, and emotional fatigue.
About the Session
When you’re called to care for others, it can be hard to know where your needs end and theirs begin. In this powerful, grace-filled session, Paula invites you to rediscover your own soul as you learn how to serve from a place of strength—not depletion.
With wisdom forged through both personal and professional experience, Paula will guide participants through key practices for recognizing soul-fatigue, setting healthy boundaries, and recovering from burnout. She’ll help you embrace your own limitations and those of your care-receiver, offering both practical tools and spiritual encouragement for staying healthy in the hard seasons.
Identify the early signs of soul-fatigue and burnout
Pace your emotional and physical energy for long-term sustainability
Establish clear, compassionate boundaries in caregiving and ministry
Reconnect with God’s presence and strength as your daily source
This breakout is ideal for caregivers, counselors, ministry leaders, and anyone in a helping role. Come ready to breathe, reflect, and be reminded: your well-being matters too.
Dr. Brent Moore
From Digital Dependence to Sacred Interdependence: Flourishing as Whole Persons in a Connected World
Dr. Brent Moore is a respected educator, scholar, and clinical supervisor who brings a deeply integrated approach to human development, combining the disciplines of psychology, theology, education, and business. He serves as Professor and Chair of Behavioral and Health Sciences at Indiana Wesleyan University and regularly teaches as an adjunct professor at California Baptist University.
Dr. Moore holds graduate degrees in multiple disciplines and is the founder of Neural Pathways Learning Center in Liberty, Missouri an educational diagnostic service specializing in the identification of learning disorders such as dyslexia. He also serves as a clinical supervisor for counseling trainees and provisionally licensed counselors at Pleasant Valley Counseling Center.
A lifelong learner and global collaborator, Brent actively contributes to research with the Center for Online and Distance Education at the University of London. He and his wife, Nikki, have been married for over 22 years and are parents to three children. Their family story includes both deep loss and enduring faith, having lost their second child to brain cancer in 2012. Their daughter, Mia, is a college sophomore at Taylor University, and their son, Micah, is a middle schooler at Faith Christian Academy.
About the Session
As digital devices become extensions of our minds and mediators of our relationships, how do we retain our humanity and more importantly, reflect the image of Christ? In this thought-provoking session, Dr. Brent Moore examines how our increasing reliance on technology affects our thinking, emotional well-being, and spiritual identity.
Drawing from the fields of cognitive science, education, and theology, Dr. Moore will guide attendees through an engaging discussion of “outsourced thinking,” digital dependence, and how faith-rooted formation can help us thrive in a hyperconnected world. You’ll leave with a renewed understanding of how to cultivate wholeness and Christlike character in yourself and others through both education and sacred community.
How technology shapes and extends cognitive processes like memory, attention, and problem-solving
The impact of “situated cognition” in how we understand ourselves and others
The difference between digital dependence and healthy interdependence
Reclaim your identity as an Image Bearer with practical, faith-based strategies for Christlike virtue and depth in a tech-driven world.
This session is ideal for educators, parents, ministry leaders, and anyone passionate about guiding the next generation toward wholeness and wisdom in an age of digital saturation.
Register for Flourishing Beyond the Struggle
October 11, 2025 | Cost: $25 per person
Flourish is open to anyone seeking practical tools and faith-rooted support for navigating mental and emotional health. Whether you’re coming on your own, with a friend, or as part of a church or caregiving team, you’ll find space to breathe, learn, and grow.
Your registration includes:
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Access to all keynote and breakout sessions
- Light Breakfast and Lunch
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Access to on-site resource booths
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Printed conference materials
Register by September 29, 2025 to guarantee your event T-shirt.
Pleasant Valley Baptist Church
1600 Rte 291, Liberty, MO 64068
Who is Flourish for?
Flourish is for anyone longing for support and passionate about Christ-centered emotional wellness and healing. Whether you’re leading others through ministry or on your own soul care journey, this event will empower and equip you.
I’m exhausted and struggling spiritually. Will I even have the energy for this event?
Yes, and we welcome you just as you are. Flourish isn’t about striving or performance—it’s about rest for the soul. This event is a safe, sacred space to step away from the demands of life and receive the encouragement, healing, and hope your heart needs. You don’t have to be “on” here. Just come
What will be covered at the event?
Topics include soul care, trauma-informed ministry, mental health and the Church, emotional resilience, burnout, and practical tools for caring for others while nurturing your own spiritual and emotional health.
Is Flourish faith-based?
Yes! This event is grounded in biblical truth and integrates Christian spiritual formation with evidence-informed mental health practices.
Can I attend if I’m not a counselor or pastor?
Definitely. Flourish is open to anyone who desires to grow spiritually and emotionally, whether or not you’re in professional ministry or counseling.
Are CEUs available for counselors or professionals?
We currently do not offer CEUs for this event.
Is childcare available?
We are unable to provide childcare at this time. We recommend securing childcare in advance to allow for full participation.
What’s included in my registration?
Registration includes access to all keynotes and breakout sessions, conference materials, and lunch and light refreshments.
Will the sessions be recorded?
Select sessions may be recorded and available after the event to registered participants. More details will be shared post-event.
How can my church or organization support Flourish?
We welcome partnerships! We are currently looking for various vendors to set up for the resource fair.
Where is the event located? Are there hotel options nearby?
Flourish will take place at Pleasant Valley Church, located in Liberty, Mo. We will meet on the 3rd floor of the building.