throughout the week, and on Mondays they make biblical counseling services available to hundreds or thousands of people in the community each year, free of charge.
What happened over those forty years to result in such a remarkable outcome? Pastor Scott’ s answer is just as much about the biblical counseling philosophy as it is about a counseling process:“ We believe that biblical counseling is a part of the church accomplishing the great commission.”
The Church That Refers Out— and Walks Alongside
Pastors Calvin and Jeanne, a married pastoral couple, moved into a metro area where a lot of industry was moving out. They planted Connection Church, and ten years later, the church is growing and attracting people of all different socioeconomic and educational backgrounds and mental health needs.
As part of their master plan for their church, they sought to create a community counseling center. But they quickly discovered that the restrictions and entanglements in their state were burdensome. Because of the significant challenges, they pivoted to a different model. Rather than create an in-house ministry, they partnered with Christian clinicians. They had to work hard to establish relationships with professionals who were available for a certain number of hours and who they could trust in the same way they would trust someone in-house. But just as important, they needed some way to ensure that the people who needed help were actually getting it. And they needed some sort of pathway for ongoing care for them within the church at the same time.
That meant engaging volunteer lay leaders. The core of what they wanted to do was to have a mental health solution from professionals— but one that was part of this discipleship pathway in the church. So they built a process based on what they call their“ mental health advocates.”
The Caring Church in Many Shapes, Sizes, and Shades
We’ ve interviewed more than one hundred Christian leaders who are effectively leaning into the church being a light in the mental health crisis. We’ ve seen examples from hundreds more. While it may seem like a big“ lift” to get an effective mental health ministry off the ground, most churches are more innovative, motivated, and organized than they
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