Biblical counseling is the “Christlike caring, person-to-person ministry of God’s Word to people struggling with personal and interpersonal problems.”[1] Biblical counselors use Scripture to “diagnose, explain, and solve these problems.”[2] All pertinent medical, emotional and spiritual information is considered. When counseling, the approach is to “humbly and compassionately come along side another”[3] to encourage, challenge, and help individuals “know and follow Christ more closely in heart and behavior amid their struggles.”[4]

Biblical Counseling is soul care from a biblical worldview. As such, the goal is not self-improvement but sanctification. It helps believers understand Scripture’s specific application of God’s truth in their situation. Change cannot happen without the Holy Spirit’s transforming effect. The counselor seeks to reflect the love, concern, and compassion of Jesus our Shepherd and Counselor. Biblical Counseling sees the complexities in people and life in the light of the Gospel of Jesus. “It means seeing each of our personal stories in the light of God's big story.”[5]

[1] Jones, Robert D. Do I Need Counseling? When and Where to Get Help, New Growth Press, 2022, pp 2-3.

[2] Jones, Robert D. Do I Need Counseling? p.2.

[3] Scott, Stuart, Biblical Discipleship/Counseling, Class handout.

[4] Jones, Robert, Do I Need Counseling? p.3

[5] Faith Lafayette Church Website. What is Biblical Counseling? (definition).

Bible-believing churches and their pastors and fellow church members are seen as God’s primary ministers of grace for those we counsel. The mission of Gospel Collective Church (GCC) is to glorify God, love our neighbors, and make disciples who make disciples. Biblical counseling is intensive discipleship. The private ministry of the Word is an essential part of discipleship. This involves helping one another apply Scripture to the issues and problems of living in a sinful world. Like all discipleship, the goal is to become more Christlike, recognizing that sometimes individuals need specialized attention for struggles that affect their personal lives or relationships with others.[6] When a person is not a believer, biblical counseling becomes evangelism. Therefore, biblical counseling is a natural extension of GCC’s mission of discipleship-making. Our broader goal is to discover how we can eventually include everyone in the church in the privilege of speaking the truth in love and seeing how this ministry will increase our effectiveness in discipleship and advance the Gospel by winning people to Christ.[7]

[6] Southwestern News, How to start a biblical counseling ministry in your church. Spring, 2021.

[7] Higbee, Garrett, Biblical Counseling and Soul Care in the Church in Biblical Counseling and the Church, Kellemen, B. and Carson, K. editors, 2015.

Virtually everyone can benefit from biblical counseling at some point in their lives. Some problems are physical, but all problems are spiritual. “While all of us face the common pressures of living in a broken world, sometimes the issues are too much to handle alone, and they hinder us from effectively functioning the way God designed.”[8] If you find yourself stuck spiritually or emotionally, overwhelmed by certain situations or sinful habits, you may benefit from the focused help that will be provided through the biblical counseling ministry at Gospel Collective Church.

[8] Jones, Robert D. Do I Need Counseling?

As we launch this Biblical Counsel Ministry at Gospel Collective Church, we want to not only meet specific needs through specific counsel provided by the Biblical Counsel Leadership Team (BCLT) but we want to help better equip the leadership in our church to do the same in their shepherding and discipling and help create a culture of growth in biblical counseling in the church.

We aim to do this by providing resources for Elders, Church Staff and Community Group leaders, (online classes, seminars, conferences, in-house quarterly trainings, etc.) We have also provided a resource list at the bottom of this page to know the foundations of biblical counsel and for some specific issues along with books for sale within the church. We would love to meet and share the pathway for those who want to grow in their knowledge of Biblical Counseling, as well as those who are interested in joining the BCLT.

1. Fill out a physical Biblical Counsel Personal Data Inventory (PDI) or online at gcclex.com/counsel.

Access PDI here

2. Someone from the Biblical Counsel Leadership Team (BCLT) will meet with the person to review over the PDI (for certain situations this may take more than one meeting) . From there the BCLT member will discern next steps for the person which could include the following options: a) A more intensive discipleship or intentional community group care with Biblical help going through the struggles or needs. b) Agreed upon biblical counsel between that person and someone from the BCLT.

In the event that the problem or issue is beyond the scope of the BCLT, the team may consider referral for professional assistance outside of the church.

3. The BCLT can help discern and decide who is best to meet with the person seeking counsel. Once starting to meet, the goal of the following counsel is to only meet 4-8 times and then help the person to get ongoing care and accountability through discipleship and/or community group. There can be continued consultation, but the goal is for the person to “graduate” from this Biblical Counsel to ongoing, healthy community and care within the church body.

*Disclaimer: Any person or couple who are attenders of Gospel Collective Church can meet with our Biblical Counsel Leadership Team for next steps and care. We do not offer Biblical Counsel if you are an attender of another church with the limited time and resources that we have with our Biblical Counsel Leadership Team (BCLT) but will do our best to give references with other churches in the area.