Churches, schools provide biblical help via support groups and counseling centers

A typical congregation gathers on a typical Sunday morning at a typical church. Everyone is dressed in his “Sunday Best” and ready to worship. 

What isn’t seen on the freshly washed faces or in the nicely pressed clothes are the hurts and struggles hidden from public view: the woman facing yet another day of depression; the couple struggling with marital problems; the young man who can’t stop using drugs or alcohol; the young woman who can’t forgive herself for the abortion that ended her child’s life. And if these are the problems inside the congregation, then what’s going on outside the church?

Helping the hurting, inside and outside the church, is the mission of biblical Christian counseling programs like those developed at several SBTC churches. These programs seek to minister to those suffering from an array of issues and guide them to health through the love of Christ, the wisdom of God’s Word and sound professional counseling.

At North Richland Hills Baptist Church in North Richland Hills, counseling often begins with one of the pastoral staff. Pastor Tommy Teague said pastors meet with a person several times to determine the direction counseling should take. 

“There are times that a person simply needs some redirection or clarification from God’s Word about a particular life issue. In those instances we might mentor them with biblical truths and practical application or we may take a coaching approach where we ask insightful questions and practice deep listening to help a person come to a logical point of resolution.”

However, Teague said sometimes pastors are not equipped to help people deal definitively with some issues. 

“It is in those moments that we refer individuals to the Cornerstone Counseling Center, which is under the umbrella of our church. It is biblically based, Christ centered and life-application focused. Each counselor has an earned degree, is licensed and shares beliefs consistent with the Baptist Faith and Message of the Southern Baptist Convention,” Teague said. 

The partnership of North Richland Hills and Cornerstone Counseling Center has been beneficial for North Richland Hills members and others outside the church, Teague said. 

“We have had many people pray to receive Christ, marriages have been restored, life issues have been resolved and the overall impact of the ministry has often served as a gateway of introduction to the fellowship of our church.” 

Being a gateway for introducing people to the gospel is also a primary mission of the counseling ministry of The Church on Rush Creek in Arlington, according to Sharon Good, minister of Real-Life and Counseling. “I wouldn’t do it if it weren’t an outreach,” Good said. “We are here to reach out to the community.”  

Good said the church has fallen down in its obligation to be a place where people can go when they are hurting. “We’re trying to bring this back.”

The ministry to both the members of Rush Creek and the unchurched is twofold, with counseling services offered through the counseling center and support programs, such as Celebrate Recovery, Divorce Care, and Grief Share, available through the Real Life ministry of the church itself. These programs have been reaching the community inside and outside the church. 

“About half the people do not attend Rush Creek,” Good said. “Many are unchurched and about half of them began to come to church.”  

Just recently, one of the counselors at Rush Creek was able to lead someone to the Lord during a counseling session. Good said that on the information form each person completes, visitors are asked whether or not they are believers. Many are not. “They say after seeing what is available out there, they thought it would be safer to go to Christian counseling.” 

In addition to bringing many nonbelievers into the church, the Real Life program at Rush Creek also sponsors a Teen MOPS program for teenage girls who are mothers of preschoolers. This came about when a local school district suspended funding for a program for teen moms and Rush Creek stepped up to fill the void. 

“Every month all these teen moms come in,” Good said. Recently two or three of the young women were baptized.
An emphasis on recovery, hope, health and healing is the focus of the support group ministry at Great Hills Baptist Church in Austin. Programs such as Celebrate Recovery, Grief Share, Divorce Care, Safe People, Boundaries and Wounded Heart are offered to help people in the church and outside in the community navigate life’s struggles. 
Great Hills provides childcare for support group participants. 

“It makes a big difference,” said Good, who sees that advantage offered by The Church at Rush Creek as well.

Another similar ministry is the Sagemont Counseling Center of Sagemont Church in Houston. 

“Our goal is to demonstrate that Sagemont is a ‘safe place’ to those who hurt by offering caregiving resources that meet the emotional and spiritual needs of church members and the community,” said Mike Schumacher, director of counseling.

In addition to support groups for issues such as anger management, grief, divorce care and parenting, Sagemont also has professional counselors, specializing in fields such as theology, psychology, marriage and family therapy and pastoral counseling. 

“Our counseling approach is Christ centered, and each counselor is committed to integrating his faith into his practice,” Schumacher said. “Therefore, the Sagemont Counseling Center is both clinically professional and distinctively Christian.”

While not every church can sponsor a full counseling center, every church can receive training in counseling to be better equipped for such ministry. One organization providing such training is “Hope for the Heart,” founded by June Hunt. Hope for the Heart sponsors the Hope Biblical Counseling Institute, which trains laypeople, pastors, counselors and others.

Based on Hunt’s book “Biblical Counseling Keys,” the Hope Biblical Counseling Institute was created in 2002 and initiated by Criswell College, where Hunt earned her master of arts degree in counseling. Each year Hunt leads 20 BCI conferences. Current BCI topics include “Decision Making: Discerning the Will of God,” “Adultery: The Snare of the Affair,” “Guilt: Living Guilt Free,” and “Marriage: To Have and To Hold.” BCI conferences are presented in association with Criswell College.

“Our ministry meets the needs of people through its Biblical Counseling Institute,” Hunt said. “The BCI equips people to find and share real solutions for their real problems. These solutions are based on our Biblical Counseling Library of 100 proprietary Biblical Counseling Keys. These keys open the doors of understanding on such everyday issues as marriage and parenting, forgiveness and anger, depression, divorce and death. We’re also known for tackling the high-profile topics such as alcoholism and adultery, abortion and euthanasia, child abuse and wife abuse, homosexuality and sexual addiction.”

In addition to its work with the Hope Biblical Counseling Institute, Hope for the Heart has also endowed the Hope for the Heart Chair of Biblical Counseling at Criswell College, as well as the Hope for the Heart Chair of Biblical Counseling at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. 

For more information about any of the counseling programs mentioned, visit the following websites:  Cornerstone Counseling (North Richland Hills): cstonecounseling.org;  The Church on Rush Creek Counseling Center: rushcreek.org/our-staff/;  Great Hills Baptist Church: ghbc.org, click on “Get Help”; Sagemont Counseling Center: sagemontchurch.org/connect/counseling/; and Hope for the Heart: hopefortheheart.org.