Counseling in the Local Church

Sample Lecture

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Course Description

Counseling in the Local Church provides an introduction, biblical foundation, and historical context for pastoral care and counseling. Key issues that will be discussed include pastoral care, such as hospital visitation, crisis response, and church discipline are surveyed with practical instruction.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Survey the spectrum of interpersonal ministry that exists in the local church, recognizing both public and private ministries of the Word for the whole church as a ministering community.
• Learn to assess a church’s culture, especially the ways this helps or hinders congregational care. Students will consider this through examining both informal relational share and the structures of the church where congregational care occurs (e.g., church discipline, small groups, lay counseling).
• Avoid pitfalls (e.g., mismanaging crises, burnout) and leverage opportunities (e.g., small group, hospital visitation) in congregational care.
• Study contextual dynamics of a local church that help or hinder thriving congregational care.
• Study and create a plan to strengthen current congregational care provisions in local church settings.