Biblical Counseling
Mission
The mission of the Biblical Counseling Ministry is to provide a service to the members of
CrossWay Community Church in need of focused, long term biblical counseling/ discipleship to overcome
significant personal and relational problems. This ministry supplements the primary care provided
by Care Groups and pastoral counsel, and is conducted by trained lay counselors, as a labor of love.
Approach
The ministry is conducted within the context of church membership—members are referred after pastoral
counsel has been received. Applying the team approach to counseling ("...many advisors make victory sure,
" Prov 11:14), the ministry provides an opportunity to learn to apply the Word of God to all areas of life.
The fundamental principle of the ministry is found in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, which states that “all Scripture is
God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting an training in righteousness so that the man of
God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” We believe that Scripture is sufficient to address all
non-medical problems to enable a member of the Body of Christ to live a God-glorifying life in the midst of
any circumstances. The ministry thus relies on Scripture to:
- Teach - teach the ways of God
- Rebuke - point areas of failure to live God's way
- Correct - show the way to live in a way that glorifies God and pleases Him
- Training in Righteousness - help the disciple develop habits of living victoriously
The process employed is a grace-filled, yet intense study of the Word of God which will last for
anywhere from 12 to 24 weeks, as necessary. At the end of this time, the disciple will have been
equipped with the tools and understanding to address not only the current issue, but future issues
as well in a biblical manner.
Training
A key element of the ministry is the ongoing training of counseling team members. Initial training
consists of participation in the following courses:
- Self Confrontation
- Introduction to Biblical Counseling
These courses teach the fundamental principles of change, learning to first apply principles to
ourselves, then learn to teach others to do the same. The Introduction to counseling course provides
opportunity for hands-on role plays to begin to practice application of materials in a "real" environment.
Finally, the majority of counselor training occurs while participating as assistant counselors in actual
cases under the guidance of a lead counselor.
Though all efforts are made to equip counselors to serve with excellence, the Master Counselor, the
Holy Spirit is the one who actually accomplishes all that is accomplished in any counseling case.