IBC Care & Counseling
Vision: Offer the hope of Christ in the midst of problems in a broken world.
Mission: We offer biblical counseling to individuals, couples, and families of IBC who experience difficulty in life. Our desire is for people to grow in their faith in Jesus Christ as a result of their problems.
Distinctives:
Christ-centered. All of the help we provide is in efforts that a counselee has greater love for Jesus. Sin entangles us, we may suffer at the hands of others, and general hardships come at us; our Savior Jesus Christ provides hope for change and a future.
Biblical. Our counsel comes through a distinctly Christian worldview (who is man? what is man’s problem? how does man change?) founded on God’s word. In cases of matters not explicitly addressed in the Bible, our criteria will be consistent with scriptural truths and principles.
Community-oriented. Christians need one another for help and encouragement. The “one another” commands in the New Testament benefit believers living in community. Lasting change and growth occurs more during the week with others God has placed in your life than it does in a counseling room.
Clinically-informed. By God’s design, we are embodied souls (or psychosomatic wholes) where our material and immaterial bodies are inextricably linked. And, as a result of our fallen nature, both our material and immaterial bodies have been affected by sin. Where necessary, we seek to understand how physiological factors may impact one’s psychological well-being. Even though the assumptions of secular psychology are not grounded in a Christian worldview, we believe that insights nevertheless exist in the social sciences that may assist us in understanding and counseling a person’s mental condition, and sometimes facilitating application of biblical truth to their lives. Thus, we aim to employ a clinically-informed biblical counseling. As we recognize our limitations, we may work alongside other mental health professionals to ensure adequate care.
Biblical counselors are not alone in our desire to help others. There are many helpful Christian voices out there, and yet there are differences among us. Differences in practice usually reflect different theological emphases, particularly differences in how to understand people and how people change. There are also many secular voices whose differences in practice reflect more fundamental differences about who God is and his activity in our lives.
Our view of science is not a primary difference with other Christian and secular voices. Like others, we make observations about people that are useful to our counseling practice. We are also intentional to learn from the observations and experience of others, which includes the burgeoning Christian and secular literature. Biblical counseling adds, however, that all these sources are then interpreted and refined by the question: Who is the Lord and what does he say?
When we do find differences between biblical counseling and other counseling theories, we aim to identify the strengths in those theories and represent others and their viewpoints accurately. When we disagree, we want to engage with respect and a generous spirit, as if we were face to face.
This counseling ministry is offered to those who are members or regular attenders (of at least 6 months) of Immanuel Bible Church. The following are expectations of those who are recipients of counseling:
- Regular attendance of worship services at Immanuel Bible Church (fill out white card or App check-in)
- Regular attendance of an ABF, Bible study, or small group
- To regularly seek God’s direction through disciplines such as reading the Bible and prayer
The Care and Counseling office maintains a large database of local area Christian professional counselors. We would be happy to suggest referrals.
For more information, please call 703.813.1952 or use the Online Contact Form.
