Our passion for equipping churches leads us to provide a unique training opportunity through the Association of Biblical Counselors. Equipped to Counsel is an 8-month course designed to train followers of Christ to apply the gospel in both personal and issue-specific ways so that we, as the body of Christ, can learn how to wisely and biblically disciple suffering people. We address both the theology and practice of gospel-centered counseling. Participants are trained to minister effectively to individuals, couples, and families from a biblical perspective on change in the context of community. Issues such as addictions, anxiety, anger, and depression are explored. This class is for ministry leaders, pastors and others that desire to learn to care in the church informally or in the practice of biblical counseling.

1. 14 expected in-person trainings on either the selected evening or morning class time
2. Textbook, articles and videos to self-study, homework that is graded by an instructor
3. Weekly interaction with your group leader and classmates
4. Access to a Student Advisor to help you through assignments, class questions, and as-needed meetings to make sure you have all you need to be successful
5. In-class video observations and discussions so you can see the actual care and counseling process
6. One-year subscription to the Journal of Biblical Counseling ($21 subscription paid directly to CCEF)
7. A Salem Heights Church Biblical Counseling Ministries (SHC) certificate upon completion OR
8. The Association of Biblical Counselors (ABC) certification upon completion
9. For ABC students, $25 of your fee will be paid directly to ABC upon submission of your ABC application

Online enrollment begins July 1 and remains open until September 8 or until classes fill up. Apply early!

We plan to meet on Sep 23/24, Oct 7/8, Oct 21/22, Nov 18/19, Dec 2/3, Jan 6/7, Jan 20/21, Feb 3/4, Feb 18 (Thursday evening community workshop), Feb 24/25, Mar 10/11, Mar 31/Apr 1, Apr 14/15, Apr 28/29, May 12 (Wednesday evening celebration). Class dates are subject to change. The same material is covered on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, so choose which time is more convenient for you.

Although we only meet a couple of times a month, there is still an expectation of reading on the weeks we don’t meet, usually around 5 hours for ABC certification and 2 hours for the certificate of completion.

If you don’t know, please register for the Salem Heights Church Biblical Counseling certificate of completion. We will give you more information in the first class session. You may change your track up until October 15.