Welcome to the first of, Lord willing, many podcasts from Biblical Counseling Ministries (BCM). BCM is an equipping and consulting ministry that helps churches develop a culture of Biblical soul care for God’s glory.
Our hope is that through this podcast you would become more aware of the process to build a ministry and culture of Biblical soul care for your church and in your own life. In this episode, we are introducing the concept of Biblical soul care culture and how Biblical counseling can build a more robust discipleship ministry and a healthier church body.
Resources:
- Learn more about our 5-Project Biblical Counseling Blueprint Model™
- Explore the rest of our website – bcmnational.org
Key Takeaways
- People don’t usually turn to the church to solve their problems. When it comes to our parenting stressors, job pressures, life issues, and worries, our first instinct is not always to turn to the church. This could be because historically the church isn’t equipped to handle it or it may be that there is already a heavy burden of responsibility on the staff and you don’t want to add to it. But honestly, the church should be the first place people turn to. Biblical soul care takes all those stressors and moves them back into the church. This can only happen if the church is willing to take the time to become equipped to offer support and point people back to the source of truth–the Scriptures.
- You don’t have to do this alone. It can be daunting to consider building up a Biblical soul care culture by yourself, but you don’t have to do this alone. Not only has BCM been developing a customizable plan to help pastors do this very thing, but you can equip the saints in your church to help do this work. The public and private sides of your ministry require different skills. God may already have gifted individuals in your church that you can equip to do the Biblical soul care of your ministry. You as a pastor are called to shepherd your church, but you don’t have to do it all alone.
- Every member of your church is called to soul care. Every member of your church is called to serve one another. There are many passages in Scripture that talk about all the things we are to do for “one another.” Take for example Gal. 2:6 where we are called to “bear one another’s burdens.” So in some capacity, every member of the body is called to practice Biblical soul care. That doesn’t mean everyone will become a certified counselor, but it does mean that we are practicing caring for one another within the church.
Meet Kari
Kari Gross is an executive assistant for Biblical Counseling Ministries since March 2022. She has a MA in Biblical Counseling from Trinity Theological Seminary and holds a certification from the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC). Kari and her husband, Brett, have four children and live in Bloomington, Illinois where they attend Immanuel Baptist Church.
