We believe that God has provided the hope and answers we need in his sufficient Word.
Track One Foundational Training
The Bible teaches that believers have the responsibility to admonish the unruly, encourage those who are struggling, help the weak, and be patient with everyone (1 Thess. 5:14). We find, however, that many Christians, even some pastors, are intimidated by the implications of that passage to those whose marriages are declining, to those who are struggling with anger, to those who are depressed, and those with other problems.
Therefore, we have designed a counseling training program, based on over 40 years of counseling experience, that will help you help those who are struggling – whatever their particular concerns might be.
Eleven Mondays to a Changed Ministry
Our class meets for eleven weeks, but holidays are observed. Therefore, the length of the class will range from 11 to 13 weeks depending on the holiday schedule. The training course begins at 9:00 am and concludes by 9:00 pm.
This is a certified training Center for those wishing to pursue ACBC Certification. For more information on ACBC Certification, please visit www.biblicalcounseling.com.
2023 Schedule
- Spring 2023 (March 13 – May 22)
- Summer 2023 (June 5 - August 29). (No Class on 6/19 or 7/3)
- Fall 2023 (September 11 – November 27); (No Class on 11/20)
Lectures
From 9:00 am until 1:00 pm the counseling staff presents lectures on the most common counseling problems. Topics include:
- Understanding the reasons for biblical counseling and the basic methods for doing biblical counseling. Included are lectures on why do counseling, the goal of counseling, what makes biblical counseling biblical, a comparison of counseling methods, and the six key elements in the counseling process.
- Ministry to people involves both helping them overcome their sin and helping them grow to be more like Christ through the trials and suffering that they face. Thus, we have sessions devoted to help you understand how to minister to people that struggle.
- It is also important to recognize that genuine change is change that occurs on the inside. Thus, we spend a lot of time talking about the heart not simply the behavior that Scripture would command.
- We will discuss the most common counseling subject: marriage and the family. We will provide specific teaching on communication, husband/wife roles, parent/child relationships, priorities, and sex.
- Introduction to counseling and common medical issues. Included in this section is a discussion of illness, counseling those with an illness, and how to counsel those on psychotropic drugs.
- Helping people understand and process their emotions properly is another significant counseling subject. So we will discuss how to help people who are struggling with worry, guilt, sinful anger, fear of man, and depression.
- The implications of this course to pastoral ministry are far reaching including evangelism, helping your people grow, equipping them for ministry, and pastoral responsibilities.
- Discussion of written case studies with our staff.
Observation
Our staff counsels from 1:00 pm until 9:00 pm in five different counseling hours. You will have an opportunity to observe about 20 hours of actual counseling sessions during the course.
Those who have taken the course before consider the observation time as a crucial part of helping them prepare for their own ministries.
Required Books and Pamphlets
Please Note: all publications are available at a discounted rate through Faith Resources for those in the class.
- A Theology of Biblical Counseling
- Counseling: How to Counsel Biblically
- Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands
- Strengthening Your Marriage
- The Christian Counselor's Casebook
- The Heart of Anger
- When Anger Gets The Upper Hand?
- When You Become Depressed?
- When Fear Overcomes You?
- When You Know That You're Hooked?
- When Your Marriage Goes Sour?
- When You Worry All The Time?
The current cost of the training course is a nonrefundable $239.00 plus $35.00 for the class notebook. This fee includes at least 30 hours of in-person lectures, 30-day virtual access to all recorded lectures (at the conclusion of your training module) and live counseling case observation and discussion.
The required books and pamphlets should be purchased prior to the first day of class.
Please Note: The cost of the training course is subject to change.
Apply Today
The application process is a three stop process:
- Acquire a letter of recommendation from your senior pastor. In that letter we ask that he include a brief statement of his relationship to you and why he believes it would be helpful for you to receive the training.
- Once you have the letter of recommendation, submit your application online.
- Once your application has been approved, a confirmation email will be sent to you along with instructions regarding payment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. In fact, we ask that you sign up for a session (e.g. Spring, Summer, or Fall) only if you plan on attending each week. We understand that emergencies can arise whereby a person is not able to attend a given week. However, outside of extreme situations we expect each trainee to attend every week.
The course is open to any member of a Bible-believing church, assuming there is pastoral approval. However, this course was designed specifically for pastors and lay leaders interested in making a difference in the lives of others. Pastors have often commented that this training helped them with their preaching in addition to their counseling.
All meals will be your responsibility. We generally bring our own sack lunch for noon and use one of the local fast food restaurants for the evening meal at 4:15pm. If for the 4:15 meal you would like to purchase a box lunch, we will all use the same restaurant on a given day.
Technically, the answer is no. However, we recognize that some of you will travel a great distance to be here. As a result, you are free to leave after your last scheduled counseling observation session. We do not allow trainees to skip sessions in order to leave early. If your last case ends at 7:45 pm then you are free to leave, but if you are an observer until 9:00 pm then you are not free to leave until that case is over.
In our opinion, the observations set our training apart from other training centers. We emphasize content, but we also show you how that content is applied in real cases. The observations are actual counseling cases with folks from our town and surrounding community. We work to provide you with 20 hours of observation with several different counselors so you can watch, learn, and grow.
The Monday program includes three components: (1) reading; (2) lecture; and (3) counseling observation. The lecture component of our Monday training matches the lectures taught during track 1 of the conference (there are actually 2-3 lectures from track 2 as well). The other two components, reading and counseling observation, are unique to the Monday training program.