Helping Ministries Training & Resources

Online Training

• Helping Ministry
    Overview
    Assisting Physical Needs
    Comforting Those Who Grieve
    Counseling
    Crisis Intervention
    Listening
    Support Groups
    Visitation
   
  
• Body Life
• Christian Education
• Church Purpose
• Finding Your Best Fit in Ministry
• Leadership Ministry
• Outreach Ministry
• Prayer Ministry
• Shepherding Ministry
• Spiritual Gifts
• Staffing Ministry
• Teaching Ministry
• Worship Ministry
   
  

Bible Curriculum
Devotionals
Discussion Guides
Teacher Training
Specials
 

Children's Ministry
Church Life
Equipping Resources
Ministry Ideas
Seasonal / Holiday Resources
Teacher Training
 

Order the
Walk the Walk
Even When It Hurts
Devotional Guide

Click on the bookcover
for more information.

• give it to those who are grieving a loss
• use it in a support group
• give it to a counselee
• use it for your own understanding

Directories of Our Affiliate Stores to Help You Find What You Need:
	Books, Bibles, Music, DVD's
	Church Supplies
	Novelties, Crafts, Gifts, More

We are called to come along side of one another. Counseling is one of the ways to do that. God will use us to help others succeed in their way, to walk according to His ways. Let us remember, however, that the ultimate counselor in a person's life is the Spirit of God (Jn. 14:16, 26).
 

Click on a Counseling Training Topic:

• Why a Counselor?
   
  
• Who can Counsel?
   
  
• Counselor Qualities
   
  
• Counselor Objectives

• Counseling Technique
   
  
• Listening Skills
   
  
• Lack of Progress
   
  
• Counseling Resources
  

Why do people need a counselor?

Click on the answer you would choose.

A.   to tell them how to solve their problem
B.   to help them solve their problem
C.   to let them talk about their problem
 

But, some may say, why a counselor? If the Body of Christ is functioning as it should, are counselors really necessary? Undoubtedly a large portion of professional counseling could be eliminated if the church was committed to living out the 'one another' commands of Scripture.

. . . admonish one another . . . bear one another's burdens . . . build up one another . . . care for one another . . . comfort one another . . . confess faults to one another . . . encourage one another . . . spur one another on

Surely, in this kind of dynamic atmosphere, healing and change would occur. People would find the church to be a safe place, among those who accept one another. According to Titus 2:11-12, it is grace that "teaches us to say 'no' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age."

The intent of this training is not, however, to provide a dissertation on the pros and cons of professional counseling. Nor is the objective to provide in-depth coverage of clinical counseling or abnormal psychology. The intent is to help church leaders and workers to more effectively counsel in the normal course of ministry. This training is for the pastoral, lay, or peer counselor.

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Can anybody be a counselor?

In some regards, yes, any believer who is fulfilling the one another commands of Scripture will be a counselor. There are, however, those who are gifted to come alongside of people in a more concerted or more intentional way. People with the gift of exhortation may find themselves in this role more than those without that gift.

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What qualities should be found within a good counselor?

• warmth
• genuineness
• ability to empathize
• ability to listen
• confidentiality

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What should be the counselor's objective?

RE:   the counselor's involvement

The objective of the counselor ought to be to work himself out of a job. The counselor should work with people in such a way as to encourage personal discovery of the truth about their situation and personal responsibility in planning a solution to their problem. In so doing, the counselor is a teacher, training people to develop skills in any of the following life management tasks:

• healthy coping skills
• relational skills
• decision-making
• dealing with crisis
• conflict resolution
• communication skills
• thinking processes
• self-perception

As the counselor helps people work through their current situation by merely guiding or facilitating the process, people learn for the future. People are more likely to change because they own the solution. They were not simply told what to do.

RE:   the counselee's need for help

The first and foremost objective a Christian counselor should have for the people he counsels is that they grow into a deeper relationship with the Lord. Helping people reach their potential in Christ is the ultimate end toward which all counseling should lead . . . to live that full, abundant life Christ came to give them (John 10:10), to live productive, fruitful lives (John 15:1-8). In a real sense, a counselor is a discipler.

RE:   the solution to the counselee's problem

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death" (Prov. 14:12). Humanistic solutions yield temporary and long-range ineffective results.
 
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding" (Prov. 9:10). The application of godly wisdom yields deep-seated and lasting change.
 
This doesn't invalidate the field of psychology. There is natural revelation in which God uses what He made to teach men truth about Himself (Ps. 19:1-6; Rom. 1:18-20). And, there is divine revelation in the form of God's inspired Word which was written for our instruction to equip us (Rom. 15:4; 2 Tim. 3:16-17). Truth, regardless of the source, is useful. God's Word, however, is the only infallible source. Scripture is the final authority. The objective then should be to filter other sources through the grid of Scripture to discern what is truth and what isn't.

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