Located in St. Louis, MO, Grace Place Wellness is an RSO of the Office of National Mission Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Dr. John Eckrich a longtime member of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, began Grace Place Wellness Ministries in 1999. As a licensed, practicing physician serving hundreds of LCMS church workers and their families, he noticed the high level of stress-related illness due to the impact of church work on ministry families. He witnessed many servants who ended up leaving the ministry due to burnout or a health-related crisis. We hold Church Workers Retreats, Congregational and Ministry Team Wellness Workshops along with Professional Church Work Conferences and Overseas Missionary Retreats and more for all of our Professional Church Workers, Pastors and spouses, DCE's, Teachers, staff-led congregations. Since 1999, our retreats have helped over 9,000 of LCMS church workers and spouses learn skills of preventative self-care. A life in Christian ministry can be filled with tremendous joy. It can also be demanding and stressful. Our Church Workers leave our retreats feeling refreshed and reinvigorated, they re-engage in their callings at church and school with renewed passion and energy. Everyone benefits when church workers are living and serving at their very best! In retreat settings conductive to the right balance of learning and relaxation, couples and singles spend 4-5 days in study, reflection, prayer, rest and recreation . Using a Christ-centered and time-tested model of balanced, healthy living, participants make lifestyle adjustments that enhance their wellbeing.