Grace Counseling is a biblical counseling ministry.  What that means is that we view problems and their solutions from God’s perspective as presented to us in His Word.  Biblical counseling differs a great deal from other popular and/or secular counseling.  While these other approaches to counseling often view man’s problems as the result of his environment, his parenting, or something else outside of him, biblical counseling believes man’s problems start within him.  In Proverbs 4:23 God says, “Watch over your heart with all diligence for from it flows the issues of life.”  Based upon this verse and others like it, the first step of biblical counseling is to identify those wrong motives and ways of thinking that produce wrong and sinful behavior.  Once that initial work has been done, God’s Word can and will be brought to bear so that thinking is renewed and behavior is changed (Eph. 4:22-24).  The ultimate goal and mission of biblical counseling is see men and women living to obey God and to please Him in every area of their lives (II Tim. 3:16-17).

We understand that there are many difficult issues and situations in life that can tempt us to become confused, sinful, and defeated, or even hopeless.  It is our desire to obey God’s command to the church to the church in I Thessalonians 5:14 which reads, “And we urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all men.”  Whatever the reason for your struggles and your particular need, you can be sure that the counselors in the Grace Counseling ministry will patiently and lovingly guide you to God’s Word for hope, help, and healing.

You can be assured that Grace Counseling counselors will practice confidentiality and will not release specific information about particular counselees except in the few situations required by the Bible and the laws of our state.  These exceptions are: 1) when someone is in danger of being harmed, 2) when a child or individual is physically or sexually abused, and 3) when someone persistently refuses to stop a sinful pattern and it is necessary to seek assistance from his or her church to encourage proper change (Matthew 18:15-20 and Romans 13:1-7).

Because Grace Counseling seeks to minister to as many people as possible, we also use the counseling sessions to train and equip other people to become biblical counselors.  For this reason, most of our sessions are observed by one or two counselees-in-training.  We appreciate your willingness to help us accomplish this important task of training future counselors.  We envision this process will allow us to continue to offer this free ministry to our church and community.

Our Counselors:

Grace Counseling counselors are trained biblical counselors.  Our counselors are not licensed therapists or psychologists, but rather pastoral counselors.  All Grace Counseling counselors have done extensive training in biblical counseling and are approved by the leadership at Grace Church.

As mentioned above, the training process is rigorous.  Each counselor is required to complete a basic training course, observe 20 hours of actual biblical counseling, read over 20 assigned textbooks on counseling, and pass a proficiency examination.  Once this process is completed, each counselor must also demonstrate his or her ability to adequately and accurately share God’s Word by having 5 hours of their counseling observed and critiqued by at least two other experienced counselors.  Only when all of these requirements have been satisfied is a counselor permitted to counsel on his or her own.  Even at this stage, all counseling is done under the supervision of the senior pastor and frequent times of discussion and evaluation take place to ensure that counseling is biblical, sensitive, and appropriate.

All counselors are encouraged to continue their education and growth through additional study, reading, and training conferences.

Details:

Grace Counseling is a free ministry of Grace Church.  All of our counselors volunteer their time and services and there will be no charge for those services.  However, at your second session, we do ask that you submit a $25 cancellation deposit in cash.  If you need to cancel an appointment, please do so at least 24 hours in advance.  Failure to do so will result in the loss of your $25 deposit.  You will then need to submit another $25 deposit before continuing counseling.  If you faithfully attend and properly cancel all sessions, your deposit will be returned at your final counseling session. 

Counseling sessions are offered on Thursdays from 2:00 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.  Each session is approximately 1 hour in length.  Typically the counselor will meet with someone once a week for 12-15 sessions that will spread out over a period of months.  This time period is a general guideline as each situation is different in nature and duration.

Counselees are required to sign a consent form provided at the initial session.  We expect counselees to be on time and to be honest and open with the information they provide.  Each counselee is also expected to diligently complete homework assignments prior to each session.

It is our desire that each counselee attend a local Bible believing and teaching church during their time of counseling as well as spend individual time alone studying God’s Word and talking to God in prayer.  If one does not have a church, we would love to have you join us at our worship service on Sunday mornings at 10:00 a.m.  Small groups are also available throughout the week if you would like additional fellowship and accountability.

As a safe-guard, it is our practice that the pastor and other male counselors not meet alone with women.  For this reason, female counselees who make appointments with our pastor or male counselors must have a counselor-in-training observing or allow another individual to sit in during that session. 

For more information about becoming a counselor or to schedule a counseling appointment, contact Judy at (616) 786-2233 or email office@gracehbc.org.