COUNSELING FUNDAMENTALS

SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE TO SINNERS AND SUFFERERS

January-May 2025, Mountain City Church will serve as a satellite location for the Hope Biblical Counseling Center's "Counseling Fundamentals" course.

• More about the Event: HERE

God’s sufficient word is the textbook from which we derive a Christ-centered, gospel-rich, biblically-accurate methodology of giving wise counsel.

This 32-hour course over four weekends walks through fundamental elements of biblical counseling starting with theological foundations, moving on to essential skills, and then working through common struggles people face in life. We will look at marriage and family issues as well as personal struggles such as anger, depression, and anxiety, and more.

Why Should You Take This Course?

Whoever speaks is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:11)

Everyone is a counselor. We engage in counseling every time we answer a question about life, offer words of comfort or encouragement or suggestion, or help someone think through a decision. Whether we call it giving advice, counseling, discipleship, or something else, the crucial question is, Is your counseling consistent with Scripture, biblically wise, and practically effective? This class will help lay the foundation of how to understand and address common problems from a biblical perspective.

Everyone needs counsel as they live out the Christian life in a fallen world. We all go through seasons—short and long—when we need wisdom spoken into our lives. This class taught in such a way as to benefit every Christian who wants to know how to better go through the challenges of life themselves.

God calls some to serve in a ministry of counseling.  The Holy Spirit grants to each believer unique gifts for the benefit of the body (1 Corinthians 12:7). Some have received gifts and passions that enable them to minister effectively as counselors in the local church. This course is a significant step in equipping those who have the desire to make biblical counseling a focal point of their ministry and pursue additional training.

Though most people will not minister as formal counselors, God does expect that all people “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). We are all to grow in speaking to one another in ways that build each other up and give grace (Ephesians 4:29). So no matter what your stage of life or relationships you have, you can grow in thinking and speaking biblically into the lives of others. Foundations will help you do that.

Dates and Times (January - May 2024)

• January 31-February 1
• February 28-March 1
• March 28-29
• May 2nd-3rd

Each Friday night will run from 6:30 PM – 9 PM
Each Saturday will run from 9 AM – 5 PM

Venue

Mountain City Church will serve as the satellite location for this event and will stream the training live from Columbia, MD. 

Registration

Follow the LINK to register for this course CLICK HERE

Cost 

• Individual registration: $150*
• Couples registration: $225*
• Pastors/missionaries and their wives: $75 each ($150/couple)*

*Scholarships Available

Through the Western Baptist Association (WBA) financial assistance is available for this course. The WBA executive committee desires to equip the ministry leaders with great resources and training. This is one such course. Contact Pastor Joe Saweikis HERE to inquire/request assistance. wbamdcoordinator@gmail.com

Materials

You will receive a notebook with over 200 pages of fill-in-the-blank notes. You will also receive a 30-page list of recommended resources covering many biblical counseling topics.

"What does the class require of me?"

We encourage your active participation in the class, but no reading or homework is required.