Over the past nine years, more than 1,200 people have taken one or more of the training courses offered by Biblical Counselling UK (BCUK).
People’s motives for taking these courses vary. Those involved in church leadership, or with a pastoral care role in their church, often take the courses to develop their ability to care for others. Many others have no formal role in the local church, but frequently find themselves walking alongside a brother or sister in Christ. They take these courses simply to be better friends. Still others come from a background in the caring professions (therapists, doctors, mental health workers, etc.) and are looking for a Biblical perspective to set alongside their professional training.
Whatever their initial motive, many taking the foundational course, Dynamics of Biblical Change, find it transformational in their walk with Christ. So many times (and this was true in my own experience) I hear something like this: ‘I took this course because I wanted God to show me how to point others to Christ in the midst of their struggles. What I didn’t anticipate was that the first person who would be pointed to Christ was me!’ For myself, I can say that there is no experience – no course, Bible study, conversation or sermon – that has been more powerfully used by God in my own discipleship. Dynamics of Biblical Change made a difference: it changed the way I led and preached; it changed my approach to marriage and parenting; it changed my prayer life and Bible study; perhaps most importantly of all, it deepened my delight in Christ. And it did these things not by offering me some new take on the gospel message, but by taking the same old gospel message I’d always known and applying it to the attitudes and desires of my heart with a richer and deeper precision than ever before.
Speaking personally
The course is so much more than theory. Two ‘self-counselling’ projects help apply the Bible’s teaching at a personal level: first to experiences of hardship and suffering, and then in relation to weakness and sin.
Here’s what some had to say recently about Dynamics of Biblical Change:
‘I am so thankful to God for this course because it has taught me to see myself in God’s eyes and learn how to change in His way, and in so doing, be able to love and help others.’
‘The lectures were well paced and so helpful, I found myself wanting more!’
‘The seminars gave the opportunity to hear other points of view and start learning to really listen.’
‘I have really enjoyed the course; it was challenging but in the right way, and God has used it to work through some deep-rooted issues I had and brought them to light.’
Other BCUK courses build on this foundation. Helping Relationships promotes wise engagement in intentional conversations. Scripture for Life and Ministry helps with the faithful and relevant application of the Bible. Counselling in the Local Church explores the place of personal ministry in our church communities. All with the aim that we become still more effective in the side-by-side ministry that helps to grow the maturity of God’s people as we serve Him in our churches and communities.
Responding to a crisis
We are all aware of the increased life struggles many are facing. Whatever is causing this current mental health crisis (and theories abound), the impact in local communities and churches is very clear. How good it is when the church can respond with compassionate Biblical wisdom – and that kind of response is precisely what the ministry of BCUK seeks to support.
The next opportunity to take the foundational course, Dynamics of Biblical Change, comes in September 2023. Most of the study is online but that is supplemented by in-person seminars (in six venues round the UK) or online seminar options. You can find more details on the BCUK website (www.biblicalcounselling.org. uk/certificatecourse)
More about Biblical Counselling UK is available at www.biblicalcounselling. org.uk or you can contact them at info@ biblicalcounselling.org.uk or c/o Christ Church, Christchurch Street, Cambridge CB1 1HT
