THE LIGHTHOUSE COUNSELING MINISTRY MODEL

Involving the whole church:  We invite the full church to join us in this process of learning and growing in our ability to minister to one another. Many people have negative beliefs about the practice of counseling and those who require this type of support. In order to validate a ministry of counseling within the church, we embrace every opportunity to challenge harmful stigmas and judgements about the biblical practices of carrying one another’s burdens, confessing to one another, mourning with those who mourn, moving through the biblical stages of lament, and allowing for Christians to experience all the seasons of life, including those which are painful. We make every effort to help the full church gain insight and ability in their practice of the “One Another” commands and the fruit of the Spirit with each other. We cast vision to the church members about God’s commands to the church, and the types of interactions and relationships we must build in order to be able to consistently play these roles in one another’s lives. Whenever we schedule training events for our counseling team, we invite all church members to join us, with an exhortation that we all benefit when we learn how to help others through difficulties with discouragement, painful pasts, conflict, spiritual questions, loneliness, grief and loss, stress and worry, and many other common struggles.

Selecting the right people:  Individuals interested in becoming commissioned counselors must be established church members who are mature in their faith, have a reputation of righteousness and self-control in their life and family, and demonstrate a character of compassion, humility, and wisdom. Counselors must be strongly recommended by their church leadership and have already practiced a personal ministry of caring for others, with spiritual gifts that equip them for this type of ministry. Those who consistently demonstrate spiritual, emotional, behavioral, and thoughtful gifting will be invited to participate in the specialized training and supervision we provide for our core group of volunteer counselors.    

Practical Equipping:    Weekly or bi-weekly meetings with the counseling team to develop, maintain, and progressively improve in all necessary hard and soft skills. We discuss cases and treatment approaches within a biblical framework, have group and individual supervision, provide peer-feedback, role play, and develop the skills to compassionately minister to the needs of the church body.  We regularly review important topics of privacy, dual relationships, integration of prayer, correct application of Scripture, and the difference between telling and showing. Once counselors have completed the core training curriculum, modeled sufficient mastery applying these core methods of care, and demonstrated a consistent ability to administer this care with sensitivity and skill during individual counseling sessions (under direct supervision), that counselor will be evaluated by the church leaders and may then become formally commissioned by the church to discharge this ministry of counseling.  All counselors continuously participate in ongoing training and supervision throughout their involvement in this ministry.