Grief & Recovery
Groups
Unaddressed grief costs US businesses over $75 billion annually in lost productivity — but grief doesn't stay at work. It follows people home, erodes health, delays financial recovery, and isolates families. A 13-week GriefShare group, a DivorceCare series, or a peer-led bereavement ministry can intercept that grief before it compounds into chronic illness, job loss, or addiction.
1M+ Served
GriefShare has equipped 25,000+ churches and helped 1 million+ people over 25 years. Your church can access the entire program for $395.
Outreach Engine
Over half of GriefShare attendees come from outside the host church. Half have no active faith life. This is the program that brings unchurched neighbors through the door.
$395 Kit
One kit, one trained lay facilitator, one room. GriefShare is designed to be run by non-professionals. You don't need a counselor on staff.
Year-Round Ministry
Run 2 cycles per year plus holiday grief events (Surviving the Holidays) and a Surviving Suicide Loss event for maximum reach.
Grief Is an Economic Crisis in Plain Sight
More than 4 million Americans grieve the death of a loved one each year. Tens of millions more are navigating divorce, job loss, estrangement, miscarriage, or the ambiguous grief of a loved one's declining health. For most of them, the institutional response is three to five days of bereavement leave — and then silence. They return to work with unprocessed grief, and the consequences show up everywhere: missed workdays, errors, reduced output, interpersonal conflict, and, in too many cases, substance use, depression, and delayed medical care.
The church is the one institution in the community specifically designed for this. A grief support group costs almost nothing to run. It requires no clinical license, no counseling degree, and no large budget. What it requires is a trained lay facilitator, a room, and the courage to hold space for hard things.
The Grief Recovery Institute estimated that workplace grief resulted in a productivity loss of over $75 billion annually — a figure cited by Sheryl Sandberg in Option B (Knopf, 2017) and more recently updated to $100 billion+ in preliminary revised figures. Unresolved grief drives absenteeism (up to 30 lost workdays/yr per affected worker) and presenteeism — being physically present but emotionally absent — which Harvard Business Review estimates cuts individual productivity by one-third or more.
Source: Grief Recovery Institute; Sheryl Sandberg, Option B, 2017; World Economic Forum, Jan 2022; Harvard Business Review, cited in Workplace Options, Aug 2025.According to GriefShare, over half of grief group attendees are not from the host church, and half have no active faith life at the time they attend. This makes a well-run grief ministry the most natural community outreach a church can run — people arrive in genuine need, not to be recruited. GriefShare has been offered in more than 25,000 churches over 25 years and has helped more than 1 million people through the grief process.
Source: GriefShare / Church Initiative, Why Churches Choose GriefShare, griefshare.org/host-a-group, 2025.Drop in Productivity
91% of grieving employees report a significant drop in productivity. Only 11% of managers correctly identify performance issues as grief-related — the rest treat it as disengagement.
Lost Annually (US)
Annual US workplace productivity loss attributable to unaddressed grief (Grief Recovery Institute). Preliminary revised estimates exceed $100 billion.
Attend from Outside
More than half of GriefShare attendees come from outside the host church. A grief group is the most organic community outreach your church runs.
Grief Is Not Just Death — Design Your Program Accordingly
Standard bereavement leave covers only the death of an immediate family member. But congregations and communities carry grief far broader than that. A full grief ministry addresses all of these.
Death of a Loved One
Spouse, child, parent, sibling, friend
Divorce & Separation
DivorceCare curriculum · 13 weeks
Pregnancy Loss
Miscarriage, stillbirth — often unacknowledged
Estrangement
Ambiguous loss — no funeral, no closure
Job Loss
Identity grief, financial anxiety, isolation
Dementia / Long Goodbye
Caregiver grief before physical death
Suicide Loss
GriefShare offers a dedicated Surviving Suicide Loss event
Childhood Bereavement
1 in 12 US children lose a parent or sibling by age 18
A 2024 national report from the Coalition to Support Bereaved Children and End-of-Life Matters (CBEM) found that 1 in 12 children in the US will experience the loss of a parent or sibling by age 18 — approximately 6.3 million children. A 2011–2012 national poll found that 42% of bereaved children found attending grief groups helpful in processing their emotions and connecting with others.
Source: CBEM 2024 National Report; LA Outpatient Center Grief Statistics, citing CBEM data, March 2025.How Churches Run This Ministry
GriefShare is active in over 25,000 churches. These are documented formats from real operating programs across denominations and church sizes.
GriefShare: The Turnkey Grief Ministry
GriefShare is a 13-week Christ-centered grief support group designed to be run entirely by lay volunteers — no counselor on staff required. Each weekly session opens with a 30-minute expert video, followed by small-group discussion and personal workbook exercises. Participants can join at any point in the 13-week cycle. The kit includes all facilitator training, promotional materials, streaming video access, and workbooks. Ministry coaches from GriefShare provide free ongoing support to all facilitators.
Kit Cost & What's Included
Kits start at $395 for small groups. Includes facilitator training, promotional materials, streaming video access, discussion guides, and workbooks. Additional participant workbooks are $20 each. Churches typically charge $0–$20 per participant to cover the workbook.
Facilitator Requirements
All you need is a willing volunteer (ideally someone at least 1 year past their own significant loss) and a room. GriefShare coaches provide free unlimited support to all facilitators via phone, online training, and the LeaderZone forum.
Outreach Impact
Over half of attendees come from outside the host church. Half have no active spiritual life. GriefShare is consistently cited by church planters and outreach directors as the most organic community entry point a church can offer.
Companion Programs
Church Initiative also publishes DivorceCare (divorce recovery), DivorceCare for Kids, Single & Parenting, and the Surviving the Holidays and Surviving Suicide Loss special events — all using the same curriculum delivery model.
Parish Bereavement Ecosystem — Multiple Formats
Catholic parishes in the Diocese of St. Augustine run a documented multi-format grief ecosystem: GriefShare 13-week groups running at multiple parish locations simultaneously, monthly bereavement support groups on fixed schedules ("2nd Thursday of the month, 6 PM"), quarterly "Seasons of Hope" series (six 90-minute faith-sharing sessions per season, four seasons/year), and a Ministry of Consolation covering grief across life issues including divorce, job loss, caregiving, and family estrangement — not just death.
Ministry of Consolation Format
Broad-scope bereavement ministry covering loss from death, divorce, job loss, family estrangement, illness, and caregiving. Weekly meetings. Low overhead — volunteer-led. The breadth removes barriers for people experiencing losses that "don't count" under traditional bereavement definitions.
Seasons of Hope Format
6 sessions per season × 4 seasons = 24 contact points per year. Structured around prayer, scripture, faith-sharing, and fellowship. Each season stands alone, so participants can join any season without completing previous ones — reducing enrollment friction.
Year-Round Calendar: GriefShare + Surviving the Holidays
Many churches run GriefShare in two cycles per year (spring and fall) and supplement with GriefShare's standalone "Surviving the Holidays" event — a 2-hour evening event designed for the Thanksgiving-through-New-Year's season, when grief intensifies sharply. "Surviving Suicide Loss" is a second standalone event addressing the specific grief of suicide bereavement, which carries unique dimensions (stigma, guilt, unanswered questions) that standard grief groups don't address well.
Surviving the Holidays
A 2-hour standalone event (not part of the 13-week cycle). Designed for the November–January season. Provides concrete strategies for navigating the holidays in the first 1–3 years of grief. High attendance because the timing addresses a felt need.
Surviving Suicide Loss
A standalone event for survivors of suicide loss — a category with specific psychological characteristics (guilt, anger, stigma, unanswered "why") that require dedicated attention. GriefShare provides a separate event kit. No extra kit needed — comes with standard GriefShare materials.
Year-Round Calendar Strategy
Spring cycle (Jan–Mar), Fall cycle (Sep–Nov), Surviving the Holidays (November), optional Surviving Suicide Loss (September — Suicide Awareness Month). This gives your church a grief touchpoint in every major season.
Re-attendance Policy
GriefShare explicitly encourages attendees to return for additional cycles. People in different seasons of grief discover new meaning at the same sessions. This creates a self-reinforcing community of ongoing support rather than a one-time cohort experience.
Four Program Lanes — Start with One
All four use the same Church Initiative delivery model. One kit, one facilitator, one room. Layer them in over time.
GriefShare (Death Bereavement)
13 weeks · Core program13-week weekly group for anyone grieving a death. Video + discussion + workbook format. Lay-facilitated. Participants can join at any session — the rolling entry model dramatically increases attendance vs. cohort-only formats.
Run twice per year (spring + fall) for maximum community reach. Add the Surviving the Holidays standalone event in November for a third touch in the high-grief season.
DivorceCare
13 weeks · Divorce recoverySame format as GriefShare, built for people navigating divorce and separation. Addresses the legal, financial, emotional, and relational dimensions of divorce — including the economic consequences that hit hardest in the first 24 months. A separate kit from Church Initiative.
Often the most economically relevant program for congregations in lower-income communities where divorce frequently triggers housing instability, custody battles, and sudden single-income households.
Surviving the Holidays
Annual · 2-hour standalone eventA standalone 2-hour grief event designed specifically for the November–January holiday season — when grief intensifies for bereaved individuals as family traditions expose what's missing. High attendance because it addresses a felt and immediate need.
Included with the GriefShare kit. No additional purchase needed. Promote broadly beyond the congregation — this event draws the widest community audience of any grief ministry format.
Peer-Led Monthly Bereavement Group
Open-format · Drop-in · FreeA drop-in monthly group with no curriculum, no video, and no workbook — just a trained facilitator and a circle of chairs. Serves people who have already completed GriefShare and need ongoing community, or who aren't ready for a structured program yet.
The lowest-cost grief support format: coffee and a meeting room. The facilitator models honesty about their own loss while guiding without dominating. Pairing with a local hospice organization connects you to people within 90 days of bereavement — the period of highest need.
Sample Annual Budget
The $1,100–$1,600/yr figure reflects two GriefShare cycles plus a monthly drop-in group. Running DivorceCare concurrently adds one more kit cost.
| Program Line | Annual Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
GriefShare Kit (One-Time) First year only · reuse in subsequent years | $395 | The kit is a one-time purchase. Streaming video access is included. In subsequent years, your only annual cost is participant workbooks ($20 each) and any promotional materials. Kits come in small, medium, and large group sizes. |
Participant Workbooks 2 cycles/yr · 8–12 participants/cycle | $320–$480 | $20/workbook × 16–24 participants across two annual cycles. Many churches charge participants $0–$20 to offset this cost — making the program self-sustaining after the initial kit purchase. |
Monthly Drop-In Bereavement Group 12 meetings/yr · coffee + room | $600–$1,200 | Coffee, tea, light refreshments, and printed handouts. The only recurring cost for this format. Can be run entirely by volunteers with no kit required. Partner with a local hospice organization for referrals — many hospices co-sponsor these groups. |
DivorceCare Kit (Optional) Add-on program · separate kit | $395 | One-time purchase, same structure as GriefShare. Run one 13-week cycle per year. The economic relevance in communities with high divorce rates makes this a high-priority second program after GriefShare is established. |
Surviving the Holidays Event Annual · November–December | $0–$100 | Included with the GriefShare kit. Incremental cost is only promotion (flyers, social media) and event night hospitality. This is the highest-visibility grief event you can run with the lowest marginal cost. |
| Total (GriefShare + Monthly Group) | $1,315–$2,075 | Year 2 onward: kit cost eliminated. Ongoing annual cost drops to $920–$1,780. Programs that charge participants $20/workbook often run at near-zero net cash cost after year one. |
Common Funding Streams
The Real Argument for Funders
Church Annual Cost
~$1,400
two cycles + monthly group
Participants Served
20–30
per year, 50%+ from outside church
Workplace Loss Prevented
$3,000+
per working participant supported
Unresolved grief costs individual workers an estimated 30 lost workdays per year. At an average US wage of ~$30/hr, that's roughly $7,200 in lost productivity per affected worker. A grief group that helps even 5 working participants return to full capacity more quickly generates over $36,000 in restored economic productivity — on a $1,400 church investment. Frame this for hospital and hospice partners who are looking for community-based bereavement programs to fund.
First 90 Days
GriefShare is the most fully scaffolded program in this entire playbook library. You can literally go from zero to first session in 30 days with one phone call and a kit purchase.
Call a GriefShare Coach, Order the Kit
Go to griefshare.org and request a free consultation with a GriefShare ministry coach. In a 20-minute call, a coach will assess your church's size, schedule, and congregation, and develop a customized launch plan. This call costs nothing and prevents the most common startup mistakes.
Identify your facilitator. GriefShare recommends someone who is at least one year past their own significant loss and has a heart to help others who are hurting. No counseling degree or clinical training is required — the videos do the teaching. The facilitator's job is to hold the space and guide discussion.
Order your kit ($395, risk-free preview period). Designate your room — a smaller, more intimate space (10–15 seats in a circle, not classroom rows) significantly improves group dynamics. Grief support requires a different physical environment than a lecture series. Circles, not rows.
The People Who Need This Are Not in Your Pews
Register your group at GriefShare.org (free). This puts you on the national group finder that grieving people actively search. This single step is responsible for a significant share of community attendance at GriefShare groups across the country.
Call your local hospice organizations and hospital bereavement coordinators. Tell them you are launching a GriefShare group and ask if they would refer recently bereaved patients. Most hospice and hospital bereavement programs have long waiting lists and actively seek community partners. This is the fastest route to consistent attendance.
Promote within the congregation — but frame it correctly. "Anyone who has experienced any significant loss in the past three years" is a wider and more honest invitation than "anyone who has had a death in the family." Grief from divorce, job loss, estrangement, and caregiver exhaustion is all welcome.
First Session and the Rhythm That Follows
Hold your first session. Expect 4–8 participants to start — that's the right size for an intimate grief group. Resist the temptation to delay launch until you have "enough" people. A group of 5 people where everyone feels safe to speak is more valuable than a group of 20 where no one does.
Run sessions 2–5. In weeks 3–4, reach back out to your hospice and hospital contacts to report attendance and offer to accept referrals. Early feedback from a running group ("we had 7 people and three of them aren't from our church") is what convinces referral sources to keep sending people.
Plan your next cycle and your Surviving the Holidays event before your first cycle ends. Announce the next session start date to current participants — GriefShare's rolling format means current attendees often return for a second cycle and bring someone else. Continuity is built on announcement, not assumption.
What Goes Wrong — And How to Prevent It
Grief ministry is spiritually and emotionally demanding. Most failures are structural, not personal — they can be designed around.
Facilitator Absorbs Too Much
A grief group facilitator hears 8–12 people's most painful stories weekly. Without support structures, burnout is 12–18 months away.
- Always co-facilitate. Two people share the emotional load and ensure continuity if one is absent.
- Budget for a quarterly pastoral check-in — not clinical supervision, but a 1-hour conversation with your pastor or a trusted mentor who can hear what the facilitator is carrying.
- Set a 2-year facilitator term with intentional handoff. Use the last cycle before handoff to introduce the incoming facilitator to the group.
Treating the Group as Therapy
A grief support group is not therapy. Facilitators who begin offering clinical assessments, diagnosing complicated grief, or providing counseling expose the church and themselves to liability.
- Clearly communicate the group's scope at every first session: "This is a support group, not therapy. We hold space for grief together — we don't diagnose or treat."
- Have a referral list of licensed counselors and grief therapists ready for participants who need more than a support group can provide.
- If someone presents with active suicidal ideation, crisis-level substance use, or acute psychiatric symptoms, the facilitator should gently refer to professional care — not attempt to manage it within the group.
Confidentiality Breach
People share deeply personal things in grief groups. A confidentiality breach — even unintentional — destroys the group's safety and the church's reputation in the community.
- Establish and verbally reinforce a confidentiality agreement at every first session: "What is shared here, stays here."
- Facilitators must not discuss specific participant content with pastors, spouses, or other church staff — only aggregate observations ("the group is going well," not "John said X").
- Exception: active safety concerns (suicidal statements, statements about harming others) are reported to appropriate authorities, not kept confidential.
Promoting Only Within the Congregation
A grief group promoted only internally will draw 3–5 people from a congregation where everyone already knows each other's business — creating a different kind of inhibition than genuine community grief support.
- Register on griefshare.org so community members can find you through national search — this is non-negotiable for community reach.
- Contact local hospice organizations and hospital bereavement coordinators before launch. These referrals are your most reliable source of consistent attendees.
- Promote in funeral homes, libraries, senior centers, and community bulletin boards — wherever people who are grieving already gather.
One cycle, no follow-up plan
Running one GriefShare cycle with no announced second cycle means that participants who aren't done grieving (most of them) have nowhere to go. Always announce the next start date at session 12.
Grief without referrals
A grief group that doesn't have a clear referral pathway for clinical-level needs (complicated grief, active depression, suicidal ideation) will eventually face a situation beyond its scope — and be unprepared for it.
Spiritualizing too fast
Moving to spiritual resolution before participants have had space to fully voice their pain ("God works all things for good" before the tears are done) shuts people down and drives them away. GriefShare's curriculum manages this well — follow it.
Programs, Partners & Finding Participants
GriefShare — Church Initiative
Host a group, find a group, or order a kit. Free coaching, free online facilitator training, and free promotion on the national GriefShare group finder when you register your group.
griefshare.org/host-a-groupDivorceCare — Church Initiative
13-week divorce recovery program using the same lay-led format as GriefShare. Kit starts at $395. Companion programs include DivorceCare for Kids and Single & Parenting.
divorcecare.org/churchesNHPCO — Find a Local Hospice Partner
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization's locator helps you find local hospice organizations. Hospice bereavement coordinators are your best referral source for recently bereaved community members.
nhpco.org/find-a-providerThe Dougy Center — Childhood Bereavement
Free resources, training, and a national directory for grief support groups for children and teens. 1 in 12 US children lose a parent or sibling by age 18 — a population often invisible in adult grief ministry.
dougy.orgThe Most Natural Outreach Your Church Can Run
More than half of the people who walk into a GriefShare group are not from the host church. They found you because they were looking for somewhere safe to hurt. A $395 kit, one trained volunteer, and a room — that's what stands between a grieving neighbor and the community they didn't know they needed.
Choose How You Want This Playbook
Preview free, download the full toolkit, or get a version customized to your congregation and community context.
Step 1 · Explore
Free Playbook Library
Always free to preview.
Step 2 · Download & Plan
Downloadable Playbook Toolkit
Per playbook · or $497 for all 22.
Step 3 · Tailored to Your ZIP
Customized Grief Ministry Plan
Per customized playbook · $297 for any 3.
Ready to launch?
A $395 kit. One trained volunteer. A room with a circle of chairs.
That's what it takes to be the place in your community where grief is welcome — where people don't have to pretend they're fine yet.