Mobilizing Church-Based Counseling: Models for Sustainable Church-Based Care

by Brad Hambrick

Mobilizing Church-Based Counseling, the first book in the Church-Based Counseling series, provides a framework for guiding churches through the process of building a volunteer-led counseling ministry. Many churches would like to start a counseling ministry, but they don’t know where to start. Mobilizing Church-Based Counseling offers direction to churches for creating a ministry built around lay-led counseling groups and mentoring. Based on proven models used in his own congregation, Brad Hambrick lays out a clear plan to launch a sustainable soul-care ministry that can be replicated in churches of any size. Hambrick brings clarity to common points of confusion about church-based counseling and provides guidance on how to provide oversight for lay-led counseling groups and mentoring relationships. Your church can minister the hope of the gospel to the struggles of life—both sin and suffering—without incurring unwise liability or going beyond the capacity of your members.The first book in the Church-Based Counseling series is designed to help churches mobilize and utilize levels of care from friendship to mentoring to counseling groups.Discover two flexible models of church-based counseling ministry. One addresses common life struggles (the G4 model) and the other focuses on premarital and marital enrichment.Designed to fit within a local church and to be implemented by volunteers. Acknowledges and addresses questions and concerns of liability and ethics of lay counseling as well as the care and well-being of the mentors and leaders. Includes foreword by J. D. Greear

Genres: Counselling

178 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 16, 2023

Reviews

[Trent Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any pastor navigating the realms of counseling and lay counseling should read this book. There are several pages, instructions, and frameworks that I plan to use in my current and future ministry.

My one concern of the book, and more broadly the G4/GCM/struggle based groups is what he self identifies on 62: “ a risk of a recovery group ministry is that as it grows, it can sometimes turn into a church within a church. If the level of transparency within the counseling ministry is greater than the level of transparency within the general church culture, those in the counseling ministry can begin to feel like they are the ones really doing church. For this reason, when a church launches a counseling ministry, its discipleship ministry needs to take simultaneous steps to increase the authenticity within the congregation generally.”

What must pastors do to better equip all the Saints within a church to have the skills, biblical knowledge, and character to lean in and help those who are struggling? What existing structures and groups can we enhance/improve instead of starting new ones?

[Austin Uphoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be an undoubtedly helpful resource to consider when setting up any sort of counseling ministry or center, though it's more focused on group counseling and referring out to other local area resources. Buy a physical copy and prepare to mark it up.

[Allison Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for class. Practical and helpful. Even if using a different model of counseling within your church, it hits on so many practicals that will still be relevant. Formative to my thinking of structuring a counseling ministry.

[Michelle Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very helpful and practical tool for churches desiring to set up counseling ministries. Highly recommended