TODD & MELISSA SHAFFER lost their 18yo son to suicide as he struggled with a long battle with depression. This traumatic event in 2020 changed everything in their lives, and drove them to cling desperately to Christ.

Their church was a powerful support, grieving with them as they cared for this family. Todd and Melissa were surprised to discover that most bereaved parents say they didn’t have any support from their churches. Sometimes, they’re even shunned.

There are so few resources available to help people navigate the darkest of afflictions. Our culture, and our churches, do not even have a language to understand mourning, grief, or lament.

Melissa typed “Christian suicide loss” into Google, looking for help, to see if there were other Christian parents who lost a child to suicide. Nothing came up. So she started one. Christian Suicide Loss is where she shares what she’s learning, in the darkest days, and better days, to share what she was learning.

Todd struggled with reading. He tried listening to preachers and podcasters, but his nerves couldn’t handle the loud, rapid-fire energy that most spoke with. He wanted a place to go that had a calm, comforting tone with good Bible teaching. Sparrow Falls was born.

FIRE BIRTHS A NEW MINISTRY

Three years later, their house caught fire a week before the anniversary of Tristan’s death. The garage was incinerated–the very place Tristan took his life. The rest of the house only suffered smoke damage.

It was as if God poured out his wrath on that garage. The church elders met with them and recommend they sell the house. It seemed God released them from the “hallowed ground” where received the soul of their son.

While displaced, they took to the road, traveling across the country to spend time with family and friends. Todd and Melissa talked about making a documentary about surviving child loss. Since they were traveling, they could use this opportunity to visit bereaved parents along their path and interview them on camera. This would kickstart the documentary.

Brad and Jill Sullivan, of the While We’re Waiting ministry, invited them to Hot Springs, Arkansas to interview 11 bereaved parents at their facility. The interviews were so profound, so helpful, they decided they couldn’t let them just sit on the hard drives until the documentary was made.

In February of 2025 they released the first of the interviews.

WHERE WE ARE TODAY

To keep their project moving forward, they need our help through prayer, sharing, and financially giving to sustain their work. Please prayerfully consider supporting their efforts, not to only bereaved parents, but to anyone who is gasping for air as the waves of trouble overwhelm.