“It is very possible and very good for SoulCare to go back to the local church.”
This is something we return to time and time again and it’s because there are so many churches that outsource SoulCare™ to voices outside the Church. We have worked with many churches over the last ten years and we are passionate about relying on the sufficiency of Scripture and bringing biblical SoulCare back to the local church.
But the question remains, why does it matter that SoulCare is done through the local church?
Helping me explore this question today is my teammate Chad Nightingale. Chad has been a Church Care Partner with BCM since November 2021 and serves as the Senior Pastor of Pekin Bible Church.
In this episode, we’ll discuss the danger of seeking help outside the Church, who God ordained to care for the souls of believers, our vision for the future role of churches in SoulCare, and much more.
Resources:
- Learn more about our 5-Project Biblical Counseling Blueprint Model™
- Explore the rest of our website – bcmnational.org
Key Takeaways
- The Word of God is the only thing that can transform lives. There is power in the Bible. God has established it as the avenue by which He counsels us. This is why we believe strongly in the sufficiency of Scripture and caution against elevating other resources to the same level.
- Solutions outside the local church are not the primary solution God ordained. God established the local church to bring the Gospel into our lives and to change us – our attitudes, behaviors, and desires. Other methods are not sinful, but they should not be a replacement for the local church. We need to use caution when utilizing other resources and always bring it back to Scripture.
- Establish when and how many counseling hours you can handle. It can be overwhelming to start a SoulCare ministry. What we don’t want is for you to feel overloaded and burnt out. However much time you can set aside for counseling the Lord will use for good!
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.
