FOLEY — The First Baptist Church of Foley is finding a way to give back to its members and the surrounding community by offering courses to help people get through some of the curveballs life has in store at one point or another for most people.

First Baptist Church of Foley’s pastor, Dr. Billy Nale said the courses were the church’s way of giving back to the community while also building a stronger community.

“We are doing this because of the needs that are in the community. We live in a community where we see it all the time. We deal with people who are going through divorce all the time. Especially in our own church, last year was one of the worst years as far as death. There are a lot of people who have lost loved ones and they are still grieving so we wanted to offer a course or a support group, something to help them through the process to become emotionally and spiritually healthy again.”

“What we are finding in our community, it is not just ours but every community, basically everybody deals with the same issues no matter where you are but divorce is a major problem. One out of every two marriages ends in divorce. A person losing a loved one is always painful. Some people have a hard time getting through that, processing through that. We feel that there is a need to be able to offer something for those who feel like they need a little extra help to get through that process,” he said.

Because of the need the church has seen within its own walls and in the community, Nale said the church has decided to expand the courses offered to include DivorceCare in addition to the courses, which were previously offered for grief and financial rehabilitation.

“We are going to have a number of support groups for people who may need them. What we are offering is support groups for people who have been through divorce, for kids who have been through divorce, for people who have lost a loved one and for people who have financial problems. So we have a number of courses we are offering to meet those needs and we want to let the community know about it,” he said.

Nale said the church has been offering a program called Financial Peace University since 2005. According to Nale, the program has been very successful and popular since it was introduced. He also thinks with the uncertain economy this course will be popular when it is offered this spring as well.

“With the economy the way it is a lot of people are struggling, they need help learning how to manage their money in a bad economy and so we offer Financial Peace University, which we have been offering that for years. We have had a lot of people in the community take that,” he said.

Nale and his wife, Rhonda, began the Financial Peace University courses after going through the course themselves and building a stronger financial foundation. Dave Ramsey, a former real estate guru who is now a radio talk show host and a financial advisor, designed the course, which teaches students how to eliminate their debt, manage their personal finances better so they can feel more at peace.

Nale said the church has been offering a program called GriefShare twice a year for the past two years. He said the program started out because a member of his church lost her husband and she found herself in need of a support group, so she created her own. She is still the leader of the program.

“That has been a very good course for a lot of people who have lost loved ones,” said Nale.

GriefShare’s Web site states the goal of the program is to help people move beyond the hurt and loss left by a loved one’s death as they rebuild their lives. According to the site, each meeting will begin with a video followed by group discussions sharing experiences and support.

Nale said the church gets regular calls asking about support groups. Most people ask about a grief support group, but recently there has been an increase in inquiries about support groups for people going through divorce.

Because of the increase, Nale said they decided to offer two courses for those going through divorce, one for adults and one for children.

“This is the first time we have offered DivorceCare. We are offering it as a result of we are just seeing more of a need for it. So, we have decided to offer that and see how it goes. We wont know until we see who contacts us and says, hey, I want to be a part of that,” he said.

Nale said those attending the courses usually include a few church members, but also a lot of members of the community. Church members who have experience in the area lead all of the courses. and offered free of charge. The only cost associated with the courses is for the reading materials. Nale said the materials for GriefShare, DivorceCare and DivorceCare for Kids are $15. The materials for Financial Peace University are more expensive.

“All of these courses that we are offering are all geared towards trying to help our community be as healthy as it can be. Spiritually, emotionally, especially those dealing with grief and going through divorce and then also financially. If you are financially healthy usually you are a little bit happier. There are so many people who are hurting and we are here to try to help them overcome that,” Nale said. 

GriefShare courses will be offered on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. beginning Wednesday. DivorceCare and DivorceCare for Kids will be offered on Tuesdays at 6 p.m. beginning Tuesday.

For more information about Dave Ramsey and Financial Peace University visit www.daveramsey.com. For more information about the GriefShare program visit www.griefshare.org. For more information about the DivorceCare program visit www.divorcecare.org. For additional information about classes offered at the First Baptist Church of Foley go to www.fbcfoley.com or call the church at 251-943-8352.