By Eric Smith
Victory Temple Christian Life Center sits in a rougher-looking end of town. The walls of the church play a perfect host for the topic being addressed within.
Dotting the red fabric pews sit maybe 20 people. Black, white, men, women, young, old, all here in search of hope, spreading hope, and frequently, both.
In the pulpit at the base of the chapel’s gently sloping central pathway stands Beverly Brewington. Her story, her message, her ministry, always begins with a prayer.
Throughout his life, Brewington’s son was a sweet, caring, compassionate young man. He was the kind of person, as his mother recalls, to give away his shoes to those in need.
So, when her son’s behavior suddenly made a dramatic, violent turn after coming home from college in 2006, she was quickly thrust into an impossibly difficult situation: wanting to do everything in her motherly power to help her adult son but being powerless to make him help himself.
“I didn’t understand it, the behavior that he had towards me and his dad,” Brewington said. “I thought when he went off to college, maybe he got a hold of some drugs. Maybe he was drinking alcohol. The first thought is not mental illness.”
Brewington’s son’s behavior escalated from verbal to physical violence, not only towards others, but ultimately towards himself, having attempted 21 times to end his own life.
Faced with the daunting task of how to handle such a uniquely delicate and precarious situation, Brewington needed somewhere to turn. Calling the police – the instinctive reaction – wasn’t effective. Brewington found that, unless he or someone else were in imminent danger, there wasn’t much they were able to do.
Taking her son to numerous institutions for in-patient therapy didn’t seem to work either. Years of turmoil and sleepless nights left Brewington desperate for an answer.
“The Lord was putting something in my spirit,” Brewington said. “Because if I’m going through this, there are other parents out there who are going through it the same way.”
At that moment, she was inspired to found the Mental Illness Bipolar Awareness Ministry in November 2017.
“We started as a mental health informational support group for parents who have adult children with bipolar disorder,” Brewington said. “Because once they reach the age of 18, [the parents] don’t really have a say…they make their own decisions.”
Initially, Believers of Glory In Jesus Christ Church in Belton hosted the group’s meetings. Damon Brewington, Beverly’s husband, is the pastor at the church and, given their family’s deep-seeded faith, the location was both convenient and fitting.
After years of steady, dedicated effort, and a hearty dose of prayer, Brewington decided to begin to spread her ministry, speaking and gathering at different churches across Kansas City.
To date, Mental Illness Bipolar Awareness Ministry has taken its message to three different churches. A gathering at Victory Temple Christian Life Center on Saturday, May 17 marks the most recent. Next month, on June 21, she’ll be at Peculiar United Methodist Church.
Wherever she goes, Brewington brings her warmth, her heart and her faith. They have carried her this far. She’s been through the storm herself and decided that no longer should parents have to face such turmoil on their own without a beacon to light the way.
What had initially started as a group for parents trying to help adult children with bipolar disorder, quickly and naturally flourished into a community and a place for those seeking to help their children, a loved one, or themselves who have various types of behavioral or mental health conditions.
Through her ministry and underlying compassionate nature, Brewington provides a dose of a most basic and essential medication: a mother’s love.
“I’m not a doctor, I’m not a nurse, I’m not a therapist, I’m just a mom.” Brewington said. “And when a mom hurts and cries…we need moms to support each other.”
For more information, contact Believers of Glory In Jesus Christ Church at 816-288-5100 and leave a message.
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