While serving God as a pastor or in church leadership requires an individual to be completely committed, having a heart to serve others requires more than just a willing spirit. Pastors and ministers have found that more and more church leadership positions demand a degree in Christian Studies, Christian Counseling Certification, and Theological preparation.

As a matter of fact, missionaries and pastors have found that by offering Christian Counseling to communities, they are able to open doors to countries that were previously shut to them. A recent Mission Network News report announced that Slavic Gospel Association’s Eric Mock gave biblical counseling training for Russian pastors. These individuals minister in Far East Russia as part of the group’s Reach Russia Now initiative.

Accessing communities during crisis

Pastors were trained in how to respond to the area’s high drinking and suicide rates. They were also given tools to help the community deal with depression and addiction. That counseling opens the door to individuals who may have never heard of the hope Christ brings.

“It is helping Gospel missions. We’re helping groups from churches go out to unreached villages,” said Mock. He then explained that counseling was only a tool used to help in dire circumstances, but required tact to allow for the pastors to truly connect with community members.

This addresses a problem that many pastors, who have not received such training, can encounter when dealing with crises in local communities.

“Many times we may have the best of intentions when trying to help someone but are extremely limited because we have not invested in being better helpers, listeners, and tools that God can use,” said Melissa Quintanilla, Dean of Hispanic Studies at Harbor Genesis Christian College. “By taking a course in Christian counseling we invest our time to better understand ourselves, and learn how to understand the population we work with in our church and home.”

Biblical Counseling Certification Courses are crucial

Pastors and ministry leaders interested in developing their gifting in Christian Counseling can take online counseling courses through Harbor Genesis Christian College. Since the courses are offered online, students can take the courses at their leisure, instead of being bound to a traditional classroom schedule.

“God calls us to be the best administrators we can be with the time and resources He has given us,” said Quintanilla.