Pastoral Counseling
Schedule a Counseling sessionWhat is Pastoral Counseling?
Pastoral Counseling at Dare to Believe is first and foremost, biblically based counseling. It is conducted by trained and ordained pastors who are skilled at counseling a person for the purpose of healing as well as soothing emotional and spiritual wounds.
How is pastoral counseling different from Sozo?
Sozo ministry is aimed at getting to the root of things, such as lack of forgiveness, that hinderyour personal connection with God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). With a healed connection, you can walk in the destiny to which you have been called. Pastoral Counseling is more focused on processing through emotional and spiritual wounds and learning new skills to maintain freedom gained through either a Sozo or Pastoral Counseling session. The ministries can overlap and complement each other. Sozo sessions are individual sessions, while Pastoral Counseling sessions may include individuals, couples or families.
Dare to Believe Pastoral Counseling
Biblical Pastoral Counseling uses the truths of Scripture, explaining and applying them to the individual’s life—praying, encouraging, challenging, correcting, and training—so that practical help is gained through the understanding and application of God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16). The Word of God has power to “penetrate even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). The Word is the pastor’s primary tool in counseling and because of specific study and experience in this area, the pastor is in a unique position to utilize biblical principles.
Dare to Believe Pastoral Counselors seek to be “ministers of reconciliation” that the Bible speaks of in 2 Corinthians 5:17-19: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”
A healthy dependence upon God and His Word is sought and stressed in each session. The Pastoral Counselor, if appropriate, makes referrals to licensed Psychologists or other health professionals.
All Pastoral Counselors are trained and ordained ministers. They operate under the ongoing mentoring and supervision of Pastor Kristi Graner and a Licensed Psychologist.