I’m sure you know, Pastor, the heavy responsibility of looking after your flock. There is an expectation that you will have the answers and all the time in the world to counsel each and every member. If you are blessed to have other counselors on your team, it can be difficult to distribute the workload evenly.
How can you build enough trust in your team to create a culture of SoulCare throughout your church? What are the steps to identifying and training counselors to create a team around you? It’s because of questions like these that I am excited to talk about the apprenticeship program in this episode.
I’m joined by my teammate, Pastor Chad Nightingale, who serves as the Senior Pastor of Pekin Bible Church and is our Church Care Partner at BCM.
In this episode, Chad shares ways that pastors can redirect counselees to other competent counselors on the team, common mistakes an apprentice can make, some of the qualifications for an apprenticeship, and much more.
Resources:
- Reach out for more information about the Apprenticeship Program
- Learn more about our 5-Project Biblical Counseling Blueprint Model™
- Explore the rest of our website – bcmnational.org
Key Takeaways
- A trust transfer requires both competence and confidence. This is what we call when a pastor moves a counselee to another counselor who either is particularly gifted in that issue, is a better match for the counselee, or is equipped to handle the issue. In many cases, learning how to do this transfer well can be a challenge. You need to be confident in that counselor’s ability and they should have proven they are competent in the area of SoulCare.
- God has made us each unique. The goal of identifying and training other counselors is not to make a carbon copy of your own counseling style. God created us each with a unique personality and skills and that will be reflected in your counseling style.
- Learn how to discern who is gifted in counseling. Before you recommend someone pursue the apprenticeship program, it is important to discern if they will make a good counselor. You might invite some people to observe a counseling session and give their input afterward to determine if they would make a good candidate for the program.
Meet Chad
Chad Nightingale has been a Church Care Partner with BCM since November 2021. His previous training includes a Bible Certificate from the Word of Life Bible Institute, a B.S. in Bible from Lancaster Bible College, an M.A. in Counseling Practical Theology from Calvary Seminary, and an IABC certification. Chad currently serves as the Senior Pastor of Pekin Bible Church. Chad and his wife, Tracy, have three children.
