Our Consultation Process
Phase 1: Engagement
- Inquiry
- Questionnaire
- Interview
Phase 2: Development
- Assessment
- Formulation
- Implementation
Phase 3: Establishment
- Review
- Sustain
- Close
In the engagement phase, Churches seeking help from the Center for Church Equipping first submit an inquiry. The inquiry gives you an opportunity to express your interest as a church in receiving help from the Center while ensuring we all align in our core convictions, aims, and commitment to seeing the consultation process through to a suitable point of closure.
If alignment is confirmed, a suitable church leader or group of church leaders will submit a moderately detailed church questionnaire. The questionnaire gives us a picture of your current leadership, approach to discipleship and care, membership composition, current counseling services and training, as well as how you would like to see biblical counseling ministry grow in your church.
Once you submit the completed questionnaire, you will be given the opportunity to schedule an interview with a church consultant from the Center. The Interview lasts between 60-90 minutes and is intended to get to know you more personally, hear more about your church counseling culture, clarify responses you submitted through the questionnaire, and learn about your specific interests and aims for biblical counseling ministry in your church. The Interview concludes the Engagement phase of the consultation process, at which time you and the Center will make decisions about moving forward into the second phase of the process: Development.
The Development phase includes three subphases: Assessment, Formulation, and Implementation, which involves assessing the basic elements and organization of your church’s current counseling ministry, then helping you formulate and implement a strategic plan to establish a fruitful and sustainable biblical counseling ministry.
The third and final phase involves reviewing the fruitfulness of steps taken to develop biblical counseling training, supervision, and care in your church before helping you take steps to bolster sustainability of that progress over time, which will then bring the consultation process to closure.
What Services Do We Not Provide?
The Center for Church Equipping does not offer the following consultation services:
Reconciliation Ministry
Conflict among leaders and members of churches can be painful and grievous. Navigating these conflicts with biblical wisdom and care is important. Like all faithful Christians, we want gospel-preaching churches to be healthy and unified around the vital truths for sake of the gospel and the glory of Christ. Several ministries exist to help churches labor to this end. For example, Peacemaker Ministries stands at the top of the list (https://www.peacemakerministries.org) and Ambassadors of Reconciliation may be another good option (https://www.aorhope.org). At minimum, these ministries could put you in touch with reconciliation ministries in your region.
Leadership Coaching
Leading in a church can be hard, complicated, and sometimes overwhelming. Pastors and elders often benefit from consultants who help them grow in leadership wisdom and direction. Ministries like the Institute for Biblical Leadership (http://www.iblministry.org), Serge (http://www.serge.org), and Gospel Anchored (https://www.gospelanchored.com) offer these kinds of services.
Church Renewal
Pastors, elders, and church leaders often need help reorganizing or revitalizing churches with biblical wisdom and care. Examples of firms committed to helping with church renewal include The Center for Church Renewal (https://churchrenew.org/us/) and the Unstuck Group (https://theunstuckgroup.com). If you want help developing an overall church culture of care and discipleship, then Soul Care Consulting (https://www.soulcareconsulting.org) may be a great fit.
Counseling Certification or Licensure
Some churches and members of churches prefer formal certification and credentialing at the end of their training process. They want to align with a specific certifying organization and be able to communicate the benchmarks of their training in identifiable, shorthand forms. The Association of Biblical Counselors (https://www.christiancounseling.com) in addition to the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (https://biblicalcounseling.com) offer pathways to biblical counseling certification.