We help churches cultivate a ministry of counseling that cares for the needs within their local congregation and community.
We help churches cultivate a ministry of counseling that cares for the needs within their local congregation and community.
We partner with leaders of local churches who have a desire to develop a ministry within their church that equips laypeople to provide biblical, God-honoring care and support for one another.
Our theoretical framework and methods of counseling generally aligns with the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation Model of Care. Read more about the details of our counseling methods HERE.
Involving the whole church: We invite the full church to join us in this process of learning and growing in our ability to minister to one another. Many people have negative beliefs about the practice of counseling and those who require this type of support. In order to validate a ministry of counseling within the church, we embrace every opportunity to challenge harmful stigmas and judgements. We promote and normalize the biblical practices of carrying one another’s burdens, confessing to one another, mourning with those who mourn, moving through the biblical stages of lament, and allowing for Christians to experience all the seasons of life, including those which are painful. We make every effort to help the full church gain insight and ability in their practice of "the One Another" commands and the fruit of the Spirit with each other. We cast vision to the church members about God’s commands to the church, and the types of interactions and relationships we must build in order to be able to consistently play these roles in one another’s lives. Whenever we schedule practical training events for our counseling team, we invite all church members to join us, with an exhortation that we all benefit when we learn how to help others through difficulties with discouragement, painful pasts, conflict, spiritual questions, loneliness, grief and loss, stress and worry, and many other common struggles.
Selecting the right people: Individuals interested in becoming commissioned counselors must be established church members who are mature int their faith, have a reputation of righteousness and self-control in their life and family, and demonstrate a character of compassion, humility, and wisdom. Counselors must be strongly recommended by their church leadership and have already practiced a personal ministry of caring for others, with spiritual gifts that equip them for this type of ministry. Those who consistently demonstrate spiritual, emotional, behavioral, and thoughtful gifting will be invited to participate in the specialized training and supervision we provide for our core group of volunteer counselors.
Practical Equipping: Weekly or bi-weekly meetings with the counseling team to develop, maintain, and progressively improve in all necessary hard and soft skills. We discuss cases and treatment approaches within a biblical framework, have group and individual supervision, provide peer-feedback, role play, and develop the skills to compassionately minister to the needs of the church body. We regularly review important topics of privacy, dual relationships, integration of prayer, correct application of Scripture, and the difference between telling and showing. Once counselors have completed the core training curriculum, modeled sufficient mastery applying these core methods of care, and demonstrated a consistent ability to administer this care with sensitivity and skill during individual counseling sessions (under direct supervision), that counselor will be evaluated by the church leaders and may then become formally commissioned by the church to discharge this ministry of counseling. All counselors continuously participate in ongoing training and supervision throughout their involvement in this ministry.
A structured curriculum that equips our counselors to address issues of grief and loss, wounds from the past, the biblical foundation for understanding heart wounds, and the valid need for care and support to overcome such wounds. Counselors gain a systematic model for helping others move through seasons of lament, identifying and healing from painful events, and recover hope for healing and trust in God. Through role plays, practice sessions, and peer/leader feedback, counselors grow in their ability to effectively support individuals and groups through painful issues, improve as listeners, overcome habits of offering advice or quick fixes, validate the pain and effects of heart wounds, and ground their support in a biblical framework.
A structured model of biblical conflict resolution and deep Christian discipleship. Counselors learn a two-dimensional theology of confession and forgiveness, the distinct "One Another" commands God has given to define relationships within the body of Christ, and the biblical standards for pursuing peace and unity even in moments of injustice. Counselors also learn a systematic process of helping others gain self-awareness about underlying expectations, individualized beliefs and assumptions about self, others, God, and the world, and reframing their perspective in a way that significantly increases willingness and ability to resolve relational problems, inner healing, forgiveness, growth in spiritual maturity, and healthy conflict resolution.
A psycho-educational training intensive about the harmful effects of pornography and other maladaptive and addictive behaviors. Counselors learn about the physiological components of compulsive behaviors and the deeper spiritual needs that drive them. This training is structured as an interactive discussion about the nature of struggles with shame, purity, identity, gender, and sexuality, from a biblical perspective on relational, spiritual, and physical realities for God’s creation. Strong emphasis on Christians’ needs to confess their sins to one another, for the sake of the individual, the church body, and obedience to God with trust that His commands are for our good. Vision casting for a need to build a church culture of genuineness, confession, transparency, humility, mutual discipleship, and growth. Counselors learn to overcome personal discomfort so they can talk about and care for these types of struggles with individuals and their family members. Counselors learn to attend to the deepest spiritual needs of hurting people, without placing undue emphasis on the wide range of external behaviors that often receive greater attention within church cultures.
Janeen Davis
We partner with leaders of local churches who have a desire to develop a ministry within their church that equips laypeople to provide biblical, God-honoring care and support for one another.
Our theoretical framework and methods of counseling generally aligns with the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation Model of Care. Read more about the details of our counseling methods HERE.
Involving the whole church: We invite the full church to join us in this process of learning and growing in our ability to minister to one another. Many people have negative beliefs about the practice of counseling and those who require this type of support. In order to validate a ministry of counseling within the church, we embrace every opportunity to challenge harmful stigmas and judgements. We promote and normalize the biblical practices of carrying one another’s burdens, confessing to one another, mourning with those who mourn, moving through the biblical stages of lament, and allowing for Christians to experience all the seasons of life, including those which are painful. We make every effort to help the full church gain insight and ability in their practice of "the One Another" commands and the fruit of the Spirit with each other. We cast vision to the church members about God’s commands to the church, and the types of interactions and relationships we must build in order to be able to consistently play these roles in one another’s lives. Whenever we schedule practical training events for our counseling team, we invite all church members to join us, with an exhortation that we all benefit when we learn how to help others through difficulties with discouragement, painful pasts, conflict, spiritual questions, loneliness, grief and loss, stress and worry, and many other common struggles.
Selecting the right people: Individuals interested in becoming commissioned counselors must be established church members who are mature int their faith, have a reputation of righteousness and self-control in their life and family, and demonstrate a character of compassion, humility, and wisdom. Counselors must be strongly recommended by their church leadership and have already practiced a personal ministry of caring for others, with spiritual gifts that equip them for this type of ministry. Those who consistently demonstrate spiritual, emotional, behavioral, and thoughtful gifting will be invited to participate in the specialized training and supervision we provide for our core group of volunteer counselors.
Practical Equipping: Weekly or bi-weekly meetings with the counseling team to develop, maintain, and progressively improve in all necessary hard and soft skills. We discuss cases and treatment approaches within a biblical framework, have group and individual supervision, provide peer-feedback, role play, and develop the skills to compassionately minister to the needs of the church body. We regularly review important topics of privacy, dual-relationships, integration of prayer, correct application of Scripture, and the difference between telling and showing. Once counselors have completed the core training curriculum, modeled sufficient mastery applying these core methods of care, and demonstrated a consistent ability to administer this care with sensitivity and skill during individual counseling sessions (under direct supervision), that counselor will be evaluated by the church leaders and may then become formally commissioned by the church to discharge this ministry of counseling. All counselors continuously participate in ongoing training and supervision throughout their involvement in this ministry.
A structured curriculum that equips our counselors to address issues of grief and loss, wounds from the past, the biblical foundation for understanding heart wounds, and the valid need for care and support to overcome such wounds. Counselors gain a systematic model for helping others move through seasons of lament, identifying and healing from painful events, and recover hope for healing and trust in God. Through role plays, practice sessions, and peer/ leader feedback, counselors grow in their ability to effectively support individuals and groups through painful issues, improve as listeners, overcome habits of offering advice or quick fixes, validate the pain and effects of heart wounds, and ground their support in a biblical framework.
A structured model of biblical conflict resolution and deep Christian discipleship. Counselors learn a two-dimensional theology of confession and forgiveness, the distinct "One Another" commands God has given to define relationships within the body of Christ, and the biblical standards for pursuing peace and unity even in moments of injustice. Counselors also learn a systematic process of helping others gain self-awareness about underlying expectations, individualized beliefs and assumptions about self, others, God, and the world, and reframing their perspective in a way that significantly increases willingness and ability to resolve relational problems, inner healing, forgiveness, growth in spiritual maturity, and healthy conflict resolution.
A psycho-educational training intensive about the harmful effects of pornography and other maladaptive and addictive behaviors. Counselors learn about the physiological components of compulsive behaviors and the deeper spiritual needs that drive them. This training is structured as an interactive discussion about the nature of struggles with shame, purity, identity, gender, and sexuality, from a biblical perspective on relational, spiritual, and physical realities for God’s creation. Strong emphasis on Christians’ needs to confess their sins to one another, for the sake of the individual, the church body, and obedience to God with trust that His commands are for our good. Vision casting for a need to build a church culture of genuineness, confession, transparency, humility, mutual discipleship, and growth. Counselors learn to overcome personal discomfort so they can talk about and care for these types of struggles with individuals and their family members. Counselors learn to attend to the deepest spiritual needs of hurting people, without placing undue emphasis on the wide range of external behaviors that often receive greater attention within church cultures.
Janeen Davis
