Biblical counselling is the process of applying God’s living Word, the Bible, to life and life’s problems and struggles. We were each created by God, planned by Him and known by Him before He even created the universe. He provided us with the Bible, His Spirit breathed Word, that is alive and able to guide us through all of life. A biblical counsellor has learnt how to apply this book to life to bring peace, bring purpose and bring solutions so that we can live to glorify God, which is our ultimate purpose.
Biblical counselling is like no other therapy. It is an interactive process between the counsellor, the counsellee and God Himself.
Rooted in God
Firstly, biblical counselling is rooted in God. This means that we acknowledge Him as the Creator. (Gen 1-2) We acknowledge His sovereignty and authority. (Eph 1:11-12) We rely on His Word for guidance, encouragement, rebuke, correction, wisdom and knowledge. (2 Time 3:15-17) We accept His characteristics of compassion, mercy and grace and His attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence and holiness. (Jer 32:23, Psalm 139, Lev 11:44) We live to glorify Him in everything that we do.
Deity of Jesus Christ
Secondly, biblical counselling, acknowledges that there is only one true Gospel that brings lasting heart change and that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (Prov 4:23) Jesus Christ is our only way to God the Father. It is through His life, His death, His resurrection and His second return that we can be restored to our relationship with God the Father and be saved from sin. (John 14:5-6)
Empowered by the Holy Spirit
We are designed to live a life controlled by the Holy Spirit. This means that we live for Him and not the other way around. We submit our lives to His will, which is the will of God, and He produces the things we desire, the fruit of the Spirit, in us. When we give up our lives to serve God, we find eternal life and the life we so long for. (Matt 16:25)The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal 5)
Faith is believing the Word of God and acting upon it no matter how I feel knowing that God promises a good result
(Heb 11:1, Rom 10:17, Jas 1:22-25, Jn 3:36, Heb 11, Heb 11:6, Rom 8:28-29).
Faith is a belief that is coupled with actions. The source of our faith is the Word of God and the more we know the Word and Jesus Christ the greater our faith becomes.
Training is provided through Biblical Counseling Center in the USA. They are an ACBC (Association of Certified Biblical Counselors) accredited training facility. All of the course work is online and is self paced.
Format: Online, self-paced
Duration: 12 months
Weekly time commitment: 4-6 hours
Reading: One textbook and 1000 pages of approved reading materials. The books are available in Kindle format which can be read on any device.
Qualification: Lay Certificate in Biblical Counselling
Cost: US$375. Please note this is US Dollars.