About Us
MESS Ministries is spiritually rooted, ethically grounded, and unreasonably hospitable.
We believe mental, emotional, and spiritual support should honor the dignity, autonomy, and lived experience of every person. Our work is shaped by faith, but never used to force faith. We equip helpers to offer compassionate presence, practical support, and sacred respect in moments of stress, crisis, and struggle.
MESS Mission
To equip clergy, lay leaders, and community partners to care for those in need of mental, emotional, and spiritual support.
MESS Vision
We envision communities where people are equipped to help one another hurt less and heal better—by offering mental, emotional, and spiritual support to self and others.
Meet Dorie & Joey
Deacon Dorie Jones, M.Div, MSW
Dorie Jones is the co-founder of MESS Ministries and co-creator of the MESS 6-Part Protocol©. An ordained Deacon, Word and Service, in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Dorie brings years of experience as a crisis counselor, chaplain, social worker, trainer, and curriculum designer to the work of mental, emotional, and spiritual support.
Through MESS Ministries, Dorie equips clergy, lay leaders, and community partners to offer support that is practical, compassionate, spiritually rooted, and ethically grounded. Her work centers on a simple but vital truth: helpers need care too.
Joey Fennell, M.Div, LPC
Joey Fennell is the co-founder of MESS Ministries and co-creator of the MESS 6-Part Protocol©. As a Licensed Professional Counselor and Peer & Patient Advocate in hospital and community settings, Joey brings both professional expertise and personal compassion to the work of mental, emotional, and spiritual support.
He walks daily with people navigating physical, mental, and emotional concerns, trauma, and recovery. Joey’s calm, grounded presence and deep understanding of the healing process inform every MESS training — bridging clinical insight with heartfelt care.
Pictured: Dorie with wife, Andrea.
Not pictured: their 2 precious pups and loving parents.
Pictured: Joey with wife, Lisa.
Not pictured: their 3 precious kids, their spouses, and 1 grand.
The MESS curriculum was adapted from years of teaching first responders at the federal, state, and local levels to provide support to peers struggling with stress (aka Peer Support). For that work, Dorie and Joey founded Crisis Support Solutions, LLC in 2011.