Fostering a Culture of Care in the Church – Part 2
This is the second part in a two-part series on care in the Church. For part one, click HERE
In part one, we discussed the biblical imperative for fostering a culture of care in the church. We also explored how churches can create an environment that encourages openness and begin to grow in their ability to understand the needs of others.
Now we will look at some of the practical steps that churches can take in becoming better equipped to handle the care and counselling needs of those around them.
Knowing Your Capacity:
One of the first and most important steps is to determine what your capacity is as a church. It is always better to count the cost before proceeding with a new ministry endeavour. Here are some of the questions that you will want to answer as you think of where to start:
What are the current needs of our church?
What resources (time, people, and finances) do we currently have available to start moving in this direction?
Are we prepared and able to invest in this for the long-term?
Knowing the answers to these questions will help guide you in discerning the best option for equipping your church for care.
Growing in One-Another Care:
The best place for any church to start is to focus on equipping leaders – pastors, staff, elders, small group leaders, and ministry leaders. There are excellent resources available that can be used to help equip your leaders to better care for those they are already serving in their area of ministry. The great thing about starting here is that there is usually a smaller financial burden and the process can happen over a period of weeks, not months. Here are just a few suggestions:
Instruments in the Redeemers Hands (Curriculum) – By Tim Lane and Paul Tripp
This curriculum, based on the book Instruments in the Redeemers Hands, by Paul Tripp, helps participants to learn the foundational principles of what true, biblical heart change looks like and gives practical guidance on how to engage others in deeper conversations using the “Love, Know, Speak, Do” model. More info on the curriculum can be found HERE
Transformed Series – By Garrett Higbee
The Transformed Resources are another excellent way to help foster deeper discipleship among the people in your church. Level One, “Transforming Mutual Care,” begins with building a foundation of what it looks like to care for one another. Level Two, “Transforming Small Group Leadership,” helps small group leaders to facilitate and build deeper connections within their groups. Level Three, “Transforming Leader Coaching,” focuses on developing leaders who can be more effective in coaching others. More information on the Transformed series can be found HERE
Side by Side – By Edward T. Welch
This short and excellent book by Ed Welch helps readers understand that we are all designed to need the help of others and are also called to give help to others. The chapters are short and could be broken down into a series of weekly meetings with a large or small group.
Formal Training and Certification:
A more advanced step in the process of equipping your church for care is to consider more formal training or certification in biblical counselling. Many churches will move in this direction after laying some of the groundwork for care, or sometimes this will be done in conjunction with one of the other items just listed. Moving in this direction requires more of an investment of time and resources, with the process taking several months to a couple of years. The purpose here is to equip people in the church more intentionally, so they can handle specific care needs.
Graduate Certificate in Biblical Care and Counselling from Heritage College & Seminary
This five-course certificate from a Canadian Seminary is aimed at providing participants with the theological foundations for biblical care, along with practical guidance for applying biblical wisdom in truth and love to those who are hurting and broken. For more information, visit their website.
Level 1 Certification from the Association of Biblical Counselors (ABC)
This certification course is designed to give participants a basic understanding of the principles and methods of biblical counselling over a 10 to 12-month period, including a guided 10 Session counselling practicum. Various counselling related issues are covered including depression, anger, anxiety, addiction, and sexuality. There are a number of ABC Certified Trainers in Canada who regularly offer the Level 1 Certification course either in-person or online. For a list of upcoming training opportunities click HERE
Fundamentals Training Course from the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC)
The fundamentals course is the first and necessary step in becoming an ACBC Certified Counsellor. The course is broken down into 30 parts, starting from the basics of biblical counselling and moving into various counselling-specific issues. For more information, visit their website.
Conclusion:
As I mentioned in the first post, we need to remember that growing a culture of care in the church takes time. There are no easy roads on the path to being a church that cares well for the needs of others. However, even a small step in the right direction can have a massive long-term impact in the life and health of a church. Our hope and prayer at the CBCC is that we will see more churches across Canada taking steps to grow in this way, to the glory of Christ and for the good of his people.
Curtis Heaton is the Executive Director of the Canadian Biblical Counseling Coalition. He also serves as the Student Care & Counselling Coordinator at Heritage College & Seminary. He has a Masters in Theology and is a certified biblical counselor through the Association of Biblical Counselors. Curtis is married to Valerie and together they have three beautiful and energetic children.
