Biblical Counseling

Biblical Counseling Training

Providence Church is offering Biblical Counseling Training. Our training is intended to instruct those interested in the tenets of Biblical Counseling and those preparing for The Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC) Biblical Counseling Certification.

What is Biblical Counseling?

Biblical Counseling is discipleship. It is the personal ministry of the word through conversation. Every Christian is called to speak the truth in love to his neighbor and help them grow in grace. Believers should desire to apply the Bible to every area of life. …

— ACBC, Training, Fundamentals Track

3 Tenets of Biblical Counseling Training

1) God’s Word is Sufficient

We all need sound counsel from a good person that knows what he is talking about.   Only one person fits that description – God.   He is the only righteous one who knows all things and whose counsel can be fully trusted.   He has provided us with his righteous standard, and he has given us enough of his knowledge to wisely navigate a sin-cursed world.

2) Everyone is a Counselor

Whether you know it or not, what you say and do has an influence on other people.  It might be good or bad, but you are always communicating something about what you believe, desire, and value — and these influence others.  Are you a biblical influence?  Is your advice biblical?  Are your actions biblical? Are your values biblical? Or do you influence others toward unbiblical ways of thinking?

3) God Calls us to Care for People

True Christianity is marked by sacrificial love for others to the glory of God.  He has provided His Word with the wisdom that we need to care for others in a way that glorifies Him.  It is our desire to speak the truth in love so that people will be saved through the gospel and believers will grow in to Christ’s likeness.  We need to be ready to care for the deepest and most sensitive needs of anyone who walks through our doors.

We Are Training Biblical Counselors

It is based on these convictions that we are training our people to use God’s sufficient Word to help others grow in Christ-likeness.  We are making a concerted effort to equip our congregation with the knowledge, discernment, and skills necessary to give biblical counsel to those that need it.

There are three main areas that this training is meant to help us with.

1. Discipleship.
This is the ongoing activity of the Church.  We want to make sure that everyone knows what the Bible says about the various issues of life so that we will all be prepared to face life’s challenges in a godly way.

2. Informal Counseling.
Any time two friends are talking about life, counseling occurs.  We aim to equip our people in biblical discernment so that even their informal conversations are guided by the the Word of God. We want to be the kind of friends that truly build each other up in the faith.

3. Formal Counseling.
Sometimes people face problems that are extremely difficult to overcome or that require much more focused help.  These scenarios often require formal counseling to make sure that the necessary aid is given.  Not everyone can or should be involved in this type of counseling. But some are able and willing to answer the call.  We want to equip our people so that they will have the skill and confidence to get involved in these situations.

The Format of Our Training:

Every Wednesday Night, we meet to do Biblical Counseling Training.  We are currently using resources from IBCD.org for our classroom content.  We watch lectures on various topics and then break into discussion groups afterward. For those who are seeking ACBC Certification, we also provide a workshop to help them get through the ACBC Exams.

ACBC Certification

One of our goals in this training is to get as many people as possible certified with ACBC (The Association of Certified Biblical Counselors).  Certification takes place in three phases.  Our training at Providence is designed to help people through the process.