Do you want to learn more about starting a counseling ministry in your church? Do you wonder what that would even look like? As you get excited about the possibility, do you get worried about liability and the emotional sustainability of your leaders? Do you get confused about what counseling ethics look like for a lay-based ministry? Are you unsure how to talk about the possibility of this new ministry with church leaders and church members?
If you answered “yes” to these questions, this is a series of webinars you want to attend.
Here are a few FAQ’s about this webinar series.
- Do I need to attend all of them? Preferably, yes. This series will be cumulative; meaning each webinar builds on the ones before.
- What does it cost? It is free.
- How long is each webinar? About an hour. We will start promptly at 1pm EST on the dates listed below and be finished at or before 2pm EST. We designed this series so it could be a lunch and learn style experience for the majority of our participants.
- How do I RSVP? Here is the RVSP link for all 8 webinars. When you RSVP at this link, you are signed up for all 8 webinars.
- Is this an educational or cohort experience? This series is educational. We are developing a cohort experience for churches wanting to launch G4 or GCM. Attending this educational series will be a prerequisite for the cohort experience.
- What are G4 and GCM? G4 is a lay-based ministry model for counseling groups. GCM is a pre-marital mentoring ministry. These are the lay counseling models this webinar series is designed to help you launch at your church.
- Is there homework? Not for the educational webinars.
- Is this for pastors or lay people? Either. Both. The webinar series is for the catalytic leader who would oversee the G4 and GCM leaders at your church. This might be a paid staff member or a lay volunteer.
- When will the cohort experience begin? “Soon,” said Aslan. “When is soon?” asked Lucy. “All times are soon for me,” replied Aslan.
- What will the cohort experience be like? That is currently being defined. Cohorts will be limited in size. Cohorts will entail participants doing homework (i.e., reading assignments, intentional conversations with church leadership and community partners, and writing parts of ministry development plan) before each session. It will also involve a site visit to The Summit Church to see G4 and GCM in action. The cost for the cohort experience will be determined once the details are defined.
With that said, here is the schedule and topics.
Introductory Concepts
January 27 // Getting to Know the Terrain
- You Want to do a Good Thing: Let’s Do It Well!
- Parable of the Dark Room: The Fear of Liability
- The Challenge of Sustainability: HR Stewardship and Burnout
February 10 // Who Are the Helpers?
- Staying In Our Chosen Lane: What Is Counseling (Plural)?
- Where Is the Pastor In this Model?
Navigating Challenges
February 24 // Being Honest about What’s Hard
- 10 Challenges: Why Wouldn’t We Want a Counseling Ministry?
- Mental Health, Problems in Living, AND Meaning of Life
Thinking about Lay Counseling Ethics
March 10 // We’re Not Starting a Counseling Center
- Introducing the Spectrum of Formality
- Introducing the Spectrum of Expertise
March 24 // Understanding Influence in Counseling
- Introducing the Spectrum of Jurisdiction
Exploring Two Lay Counseling Models
April 7 // Getting to Know G4
- What Is G4?
- An Organic Approach to Launching G4
April 28 // Getting to Know GCM
- What Is GCM?
- An Organic Approach to Launching GCM
Preparing to Launch
May 12 // What Would a Launch Process Look Like?
- An Intentional, Six Step Approach to Launch G4 or GCM
- When Do We Put a “Counseling” Tab on the Church Website?
- Five Conversations to Have with Your Pastor or Fellow Church Leaders
* * * Here is the RVSP link for all 8 webinars. When you RSVP at this link, you are signed up for all 8 webinars. Please join us and invite anyone you think would be excited about this series.