Biblical Soul Care
What is Biblical Soul Care?
We would most simply define Biblical Soul Care (BSC) as speaking the truth in love in your circle of influence. It is unique to the local church as it is anchored in the Word of God, dependent on the Spirit of God, and practiced in the community of believers.
It's More Than a Model of Biblical Counseling
Biblical Soul Care is more than a model of biblical counseling. It is intentional and intensive discipleship and deep, authentic fellowship. It is something we all should do at the level we are equipped. It is not a new idea. It is living out the one another commands in the Scriptures. It has been practiced since the early church (Acts 2). It can be found in the Puritan community of the 16th and 17th century. It is our mission to restore soul care to the church.
Context: In Community
While all good biblical counseling content is the same (it is based on the authority and sufficiency of the Bible), how and where counseling happens differs. We believe the context is more about community than privacy. While we hold strongly to confidentiality and discretion, we believe in counseling in community. That can look like inviting friends into formal counseling, or doing informal counseling in a small group format. In other words, Biblical Soul Care is not just for pastors or biblical counselors but it is the privilege and responsibility of every believer. It can take many forms like mentoring, coaching, and advocacy.
Mission
Our mission in biblical counseling is to come alongside those who are struggling and seek to apply the principles in God’s Word in such a way that the person(s) responds in an obedient and godly manner to the problems they are facing to the glory of God and the person’s own good.
Vision
It's our vision to return soul care to the local church. No more "refer & defer" but carefully stewarding and caring for the people entrusted to the body of Christ.
Passion
Ministering to the hurting in full dependence on the Word of God, the Spirit of God, and the Community of God to experience transforming life change.
Core Values
- Christ Centered (Colossians 1:15-20) - The person of Christ, his preeminance, the gift of his life given to us Biblically Grounded with
- Truth & Grace (John 1:14) - We get principles for life and godliness from the Bible and we want to give counsel that is a blend of both truth and grace.
- Spirit-led (John 6:63) - The real counselor is God who meets us through his Spirit. We want to be careful to give heed to his guidance and not simply let our experience dominate the direction for our counsel.
- Prayer Saturated (Colossians 4:2) - Humility and dependence on God are shown most clearly through prayer. We want to practice and model both humility and dependence throughout the counseling process.
- Community Based (Hebrews 10:24-25) - God calls us to live life in the context of his people. Care, encouragement, exhortation, and healing happen most fruitfully in the church community.
Do you need counseling?
Are you struggling with an area of sin? Is someone else's sin affecting you? Are you experiencing the consequences of foolish choices? Are you going through a life-altering trial, or do you just need help and hope? It’s our desire in Biblical Soul Care to come alongside you during this time. We hope to lovingly care for you and help carry your burdens (Galatians 6:1-2; James 1:2-5) but, more importantly, point you to and remind you of the ultimate hope, Jesus Christ.
Fill out the Biblical Soul Care application here. You can either print it off, fill it out and hand it in, or you can download the application to your computer, fill it out, re-save it and then email it to Juliet Saum.