Atlantic Shores Baptist Church is planning to launch a lay counseling ministry in the summer/fall of 2024. The purpose of the lay counseling ministry is to care for our church family and reach our community through the ministry of Christian/biblical counseling. Lay counseling is not mentoring or discipleship training.

Need

At this time, we desire to recruit and equip volunteers within our church family who will serve as lay counselors. Also, we seek to develop a referral network of professional and credentialed Christian/biblical counselors. 

Process

To serve as a lay counselor, an applicant must be a member of Atlantic Shores Baptist Church for at least six months. Begin your membership journey here.

1. Apply to serve as a lay counselor at Atlantic Shores Baptist Church. 
   
   Check back soon for the application!
    
2. Complete the required training (see below). You can start your training today and complete your application (see above) later.
    
3. Complete an in-person interview with the church. Applicants must complete training and be approved by the church to begin serving as a lay counselor. 
    
4. Because consistency is important for counselees, commit to conduct a minimum of three 1-hour lay counseling appointments per week for at least two years to serve the church family and community.
    
5. Commit to continuing education and training.

Training

We partner with Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, which offers a Certificate in Church-based Counseling. The certificate degree contains 7 online courses that provide a well-rounded training for an effective counseling ministry. There is no licensure connected to the program. The 7 online courses can be completed in less than a year and include:

• Counseling Parents and Children
• Counseling Individuals with Problematic Emotions
• Counseling Individuals with Addiction Problems
• Individual Skills and Crisis Intervention
• Biblical Counseling in the Local Church
• Marriage and Pre-Marital Counseling
• Group Counseling Skills

Course Format: 7 courses / 30 lessons per course

Time Commitment: The average time it takes to complete each course is 6 weeks. The average lecture length is 20 minutes.

Cost: $500 (discounted from $679) for all courses. Apply here to receive the discount.

Because courses are offered online, students need a laptop or desktop computer with a strong Wi-Fi connection.

The Certificate in Church-based Counseling from SEBTS does not lead to professional licensure. 

Scholarships

A limited number of partial scholarships are available for people who complete the Certificate in Church-based Counseling and who are approved to serve as a lay counselor at Atlantic Shores Baptist Church. 

Timing

Our goal is to open the lay counseling ministry for appointments in summer/fall 2024. For that reason, we encourage all interested volunteers to begin your training immediately.

Other Recommended Resources

The Care & Counsel Library from Hope for the Heart Ministries