Lakeshore Baptist Church, on the gulf coast of Mississippi, recently hosted an Introduction to Biblical Counseling Seminar led by Pastor Darrell Gustafson and his wife Janet. Seven students participated in the week long training session and received an overview of the biblically based Nouthetic counseling method.
We minister in a community devastated by Hurricane Katrina, swamped by the BP oil spill, and hit hard by the nation-wide economic recession. As we minister in an environment of hopelessness and despair, Lakeshore Baptist Church desires to continue providing help and hope in the name of Jesus Christ to our storm ravaged community and to encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ as we seek the spread of his fame across the gulf coast. To that end, we jumped at the chance to extend our counseling skills with the training offered by the Gustafsons of the Grace Covenant Counseling Center in Gilbert AZ.
In the week long crash course, we were encouraged to follow the biblical mandate to all believers to trust in the sufficiency of scripture and the power of the Holy Spirit as we “council one another with all wisdom.” We learned how to help those in need by first listening for a person’s “presentation problem,” then how to dig deeper to determine particular sinful actions and attitudes that require biblical, measurable and practical repentance and change. We dealt with issues such as anger, depression, fear, worry, and sexual sins.
We want to thank the Gustafsons for sharing their ministry with us and allowing us to glean from their expertise and experience. We stand confident the training we received will enhance our ability to minister to believers and unbelievers as they deal with various difficulties, sinful patterns of behavior, and take concrete steps toward biblical repentance and change. We pray that God will glorify himself on the gulf coast as he continues to bring all things under subjection to Christ for the praise of his name.
