THE ROLE OF BIBLICAL COUNSELING

IN A CHURCH PLANT

By
Michael Keating
B.A., Malone College, 1998

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to the faculty

in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS IN BIBLICAL COUNSELING
at Faith Bible Seminary

Lafayette, Indiana
May 2016

Copyright 2016 by Michael Keating

All rights reserved

Accepted:

________________________
Advisor

________________________
Program Director

iii

ABSTRACT

The New Testament demonstrates that biblical counseling in all its forms was an
important part of first century church plants. Contrary to some contemporary positions, the
Apostle Paul especially expected new churches he planted to biblically counsel and be
counseled almost immediately after formation. New churches that emphasize biblical
counseling from the start experience benefits as a church family and mitigate many risks
related to church planting.
Emphasizing biblical counseling in a church plant will affect the way the church
engages the world around it and provides opportunities that a church model emphasizing the
Sunday morning worship gathering misses. Emphasizing biblical counseling also engages
new believers in personal ministry quickly because it has been modeled for them from the
start and the church culture welcomes every believer to participate.
Emphasizing biblical counseling does not solve every problem common to church
planting and introduces some new challenges. Church planters that want to emphasize
biblical counseling should carefully think through all of the ramifications of this model
including manpower, resource drain from other initiatives and managing the influx of a
higher than normal percentage of believers and unbelievers battling life dominating sins.

iv

This paper is dedicated to Kristen, whose biblical counsel

to me in good times and bad has been
Gods greatest gift to me apart
from my own salvation.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .............................................................................................. viii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................................

ix

Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION AND TERMINOLOGY ............................................................

Audience .................................................................................................................

Terminology............................................................................................................

Survey .....................................................................................................................

2. BIBLICAL COUNSELING IN THE EARLY CHURCH .......................................

10

Crossover Examples of Biblical Counseling in 21st Century Church Plants ..........

19

Contrasting Pauls Approach to Current Approaches .............................................

33

3. EVANGELISTIC BIBLICAL COUNSELING IN CHURCH PLANTS ................

35

Designing a Counseling Approach Likely to Draw Unbelievers ............................

41

Differences in Training Regimen for Lay Counselors in this Approach ................

47

vi

4. HOW A CHURCH CULTURE BUILT ON BIBLICAL COUNSELING

AFFECTS A CHURCH PLANT ..............................................................................

53

Every Member is a Counselor in Need of Counsel...................................................

53

The Welcoming Impact of Emphasizing Biblical Counseling .................................

60

Barriers to Maintaining a Biblical Counseling Culture as a

Church Plant Grows and Changes ............................................................................

63

Conclusion ................................................................................................................

66

5. SPECIFIC TACTICS OF A BIBLICAL COUNSELING CHURCH PLANT ........

67

Marriage Counseling When One Spouse is an Unbeliever .......................................

67

Serving the Community Broadly ..............................................................................

77

Managing Side Effects of a Disproportionately High Number of People

with Serious Problems Joining the Church ...............................................................

82

Conclusion ................................................................................................................

87

6. THESIS CONCLUSION ..........................................................................................

88

Appendix
1. SAMPLE CASE STUDY USED IN SOUL CARE SERIES...................................

90

2. SURVEY DATA ......................................................................................................

91

3. COMMENTARY ON SURVEY RESULTS ........................................................... 100

BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................... 104

vii

ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure

Page

2-1. Functional Centrality of the Gospel ........................................................................... 12

2-2. Comparing Stetzers Top Seven Issues
to the Literature Review............................................................................................ 19
2-3. Top Issues Facing Church Plants in the Survey......................................................... 32
3-1. Survey responses on how church planters spend their time ....................................... 59

viii

ABBREVIATIONS

ESV

English Standard Version

JBC

Journal of Biblical Counseling

MABC Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling

NIV

New International Version

ix

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND TERMINOLOGY

Biblical counseling (sometimes referred to as soul care or intensive discipleship) is
the application of the Scriptures to specific life situations to help people become more like
Jesus. Put another way, biblical counseling highlights the implications of the Gospel and
helps people live in such a way that God is made to look great and the Gospel is attractive.
Biblical counseling should be an integral part of church planting because the New Testament
clearly demonstrates that the Apostles used biblical counseling in their church plants.
However, currently the church planting world is dominated by leaders who diminish
or eliminate the role of biblical counseling in church planting.1 Steve Sjorgren wrote said
church planters should avoid all sorts of pastoral care and counseling until their churches had
reached at least 200 people, and that people in need of counseling are one of the top 10
church plant killers.2 The reality is the median size of churches in America is 75 people.
Nearly 60% of churches have fewer than 100 members, and by definition nearly all church

In the authors review of more than 10 modern church planting books (all listed in the bibliography),
none place an emphasis on comprehensive biblical counseling as a core principle.
1

Sjogren, Steve, and Rob Lewin. Community of Kindness. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2003, 176. The
book does make some helpful points but overall would advocate a church model that seems more contemporary
suburban than biblical.

plants start with a small number of people. This means Sjogrens approach would deny
counseling help to the vast majority of church plant members in North America.3
This paper advocates the position that regular application of the Scriptures to church
members, by those who know them and live in covenant community with them, is the
ordinary expectation of God and, as such, should be an integral part of church planting
efforts. The hope is that those who are generally aware of the need to help Christians live
lives more fully committed to the supremacy of Jesus in all things will be inspired and
instructed to incorporate one or more elements of biblical soul care and counseling into their
church planting efforts.
Where appropriate, this paper will make efforts to recognize the challenges and root
causes for why this approach is not already more dominant. Much of this stems from the high
level of consumerism in the western church which makes all of church life about offering the
maximum number of programs that meet the felt needs of the maximum number of people.4
Where possible, the paper will attempt to ground the lofty ideal endorsed with real life
experiences of Living Stones Church in Carrollton, GA planted on this model in 2015.
Chapter two will highlight how churches in the first century experienced and
addressed common problems by applying the truth available to them in practical ways. Using
the epistles as examples, the paper will demonstrate how the New Testament writers were
already using biblical counseling in even very young church plants. Further, it will show

"Fast Facts about American Religion," Hartford Institute for Religion Research. Accessed May 16,
2016, http://hirr.hartsem.edu/research/fastfacts/fast_facts.html#sizecong.
While it is not the authors intent to tackle a topic as broad a consumerism in the church, Skye Jethani
has addressed the topic in a thorough and readable way in his book. Jethani, Skye. The Divine Commodity:
Discovering a Faith beyond Consumer Christianity. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009.)
4

continuity between how biblical counseling principles used in the 1st century can address the
problems common to 21st century church plants in North America identified by church
planting movement leaders.
Research shows church planting is the most effective means of evangelism available
today with young churches reaching more lost people for Christ than older churches. Further,
almost all churches peak in regards to new growth by their fifteenth year.5 For biblical
counseling to be a welcome part of the church planting movement, it must be effective not
only as a tool to help believers conquer sin and have victory over suffering but also help a
churchs outreach to the lost people. Chapters three and four will demonstrate how a church
planting ministry and culture galvanizes local evangelism both directly and indirectly by
creating favorable conditions.
Chapter five will address some specific tactics useful for deploying biblical
counseling effectively in a church plant setting. Since church plants tend to have fewer
resources than established churches, church plants need to address the perception that new
Christians needing intense counseling is a disproportionate drain on resources not worth the
return on investment. This can be done by expanding the resource base beyond a normal
church plant and by mitigating the legitimate resource drain concern.
This project will include a survey of church planting pastors and elders from various
backgrounds, including those not already committed to biblical counseling. The survey
questions were developed in such a way as to not presuppose best answers to align with the
thesis proposition. In fact, recruiting materials used to solicit survey participants specifically

Aubrey Malphurs, Advanced Strategic Planning (Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Book House, 1999), 45
51. Aubrey Malphurs, Planting Growing Churches (Grand Rapids, MI, Baker Books, 1998), 44
5

stated the survey would be used to identify contexts where biblical counseling might be a
distraction or create barriers to the mission of some church plants. While some findings will
be interspersed throughout the previous chapters, chapter six will be dedicated to
highlighting findings that may challenge the thesis proposition or contemporary wisdom in
church planting literature. While the survey design is reliable and valid, the sample size is
small. As such, the findings may not be generalizable to the population.

Audience
There are three primary audiences for this paper. The primary audience is the
author and those who have chosen to plant this kind of church at Living Stones Church in
Carrollton, Georgia. At the time of writing, Living Stones is a little more than one year into
this church plant in a poor and underserved area. The church planter has tried to make
biblical counseling a core component of its strategy both toward those brothers and sisters
God has placed in the church and nominal Christians in the broader community. The goal is
to accelerates the cohesion of believers God has joined together and to engage nominal
Christians evangelistically. As a result, working through this content is helping Living Stones
to consider how principles translate into practices in a real situation with real people and real
struggles.
The second audience is those churches and church planters who desire to incorporate
biblical counseling more fully into current and future church plants. The research makes two
things clear: 1) The current generation of church planting activity is generally built on a
model that does not emphasize and can even obstruct a biblical counseling culture; and 2)
there is some level of interest within the evangelical community to increase the attention paid

to biblical counseling and soul care even at the very beginning stages of a church plant. 6
Hopefully this paper and any subsequent presentation(s) assists like-minded churches to
build both a biblical counseling culture and widely held skillset in their churches. Some of
the survey respondents included in this project shared this perspective. One respondent said
Biblical counseling, at least on a pastoral level, is an absolute necessity for the average
church plant. Most church plants initially attract the immature, the disenfranchised, and the
lost. A few come because they are mature believers who see the vision and want to be a part
of it. But most are not stable believers yet. So a deep understanding of how to apply Scripture
to complex heart issues is essential.7
The final audience is the faculty at Faith Bible Seminary in Lafayette, Indiana. These
leaders are responsible to the institution and to God to ensure this work is commensurate
with the graduate degree, Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling.

Terminology
As interchangeably used, the terms biblical counseling, soul care, and discipleship
primarily mean, the process whereby the Word of God is applied to the hearts of people by
the power of the Spirit to make them more like Jesus Christ in practice. John Piper offers a
helpful, albeit churchy, definition of biblical counseling as God-centered, Bible-saturated,
emotionally-in-touch use of language to help people become God-besotted, Christ-exalting,

On this point it is important to note that the author used two Doctoral theses on biblical counseling
and church planting as research sources, and had evangelical organizations actively planning churches volunteer
to recruit participation in this project from their membership. Interest in the project was present in every part of
the United States geographically and from a wide range of evangelical churches in terms of their pneumatology,
polity and ministry philosophy.
7

The entire survey is included in the appendix.

joyfully self-forgetting lovers of people.8 This paper will make clear where the biblical
counseling discipline is specifically used to describe ongoing formal counseling.
To be a biblical counselor means that a person is seeking to apply this discipline in
his or her own life and the lives of others. Biblical counselors do not require offices or
appointment books. Biblical counselors do not have patients. Rather, they have brothers and
sisters in the Lord who are equals with them in the body of Christ, the church. This paper
makes the case that Paul was a church planting biblical counselor because Paul oftentimes
showed churches how to apply the Word of God in real life situations. Chapter two develops
this idea fully.
Church planting is the umbrella term used to describe the attempt to create a viable,
long term, local church where one previously did not exist. The term mother/daughter
describes a church plant that is formally sent by a larger, existing church that supplies much
of the resource necessary to begin the church plant. The term pioneer describes church
plants in which one to a few families begin a church without the support and resources of a
mother church. The term revitalization describes an existing church that requires a
significant influx of new people and resources to revive it from its current state. Some
authors have defined types of church plants more granularly, however, for the purposes of
this project, the additional layers of detail and differentiation did not seem worth the possible
confusion they might cause. 9

MacDonald, James, Robert W. Kellemen, and Stephen Viars, Christ-centered Biblical Counseling.
Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2013. 24.
9

Roger McNamara and Ken Davis include 15 different types of church plants in their book grouped
under the headings: Lone Rangering, Mothering and Brothering. The Y-B-H Handbook of Church Planting: A
Practical Guide to Church Planting. Longwood, FL: Xulon, 2005. 120-133.

This paper considers the realm of church planting differently than much of the
contemporary literature. Many times in the west, a church plant is simply a new church that
gathers existing believers unsatisfied with some aspect of their current church. J.D. Payne
offers a helpful critique of this approach when compared to the biblical model. 10 According
to Payne, church planters should emulate the Apostle Paul: 1) church planting becomes
defined as evangelism that results in disciples made that results in churches planted; 2)
churches are planted from the harvest fields with 100% conversion growth, not with longterm Kingdom citizens (i.e., transfer growth); 3) priority is given to unreached people groups,
especially in North America; 4) a team works together moving through planned role changes,
eventually raising up/equipping pastors for the newly planted church and phasing out to
begin disciple making elsewhere; and 5) strategy and methods are to be thoroughly biblical,
appropriately contextualized, and highly reproducible for multiplication. While there are
certainly benefits to beginning a new church in order to minister to and with current
believers, this paper will focus on church planting as missionary activity.
Personal ministry is a general term that defines all aspects of ministry engaged in by
an individual member of the body of Christ. Personal ministry is common to every member
of the church and includes many aspects of soul care such as the one another commands in
the New Testament given to all believers. These include aspects of biblical counseling such
as using the Word of God to encourage, admonish, love, exhort and promote Christ-likeness

10

Strike the Match with JD Payne, "Apostolic Church Planting." Missiologically Thinking. November
10, 2015. Accessed April 11, 2016. http://www.jdpayne.org/2015/10/16/apostolic-church-planting-2/.

in another person.11 Throughout this paper the author will use this term to describe the kind
of informal counseling that should take place among believers in a church plant embracing a
biblical counseling culture.
For this paper, a biblical counseling culture means a fundamental orientation of the
entire church that focuses on each member speaking the truth in love to one another and,
when appropriate, evangelistically. 12 The reality is that every organization has a culture, but
few spend the time and energy necessary to cultivate the desired culture.13

Survey
As part of this thesis project, the author conducted a survey of those involved in
church planting from various areas in the country. The author controlled data collection by
requiring each to log in to prevent multiple survey responses from the same person. The
survey was open to anyone who knew about it. Since there was considerable interest initially
from churches affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, Harvest Chapel and SOMA
church families, the survey includes a demographic question so representatives could see
how their pastors responded similarly or differently from other groups and the participant
population as a whole.

11

The term and definition was helpfully provided by Dr. Carson in his unpublished doctoral thesis.
Kevin Carson, The Well Planted Church, (DMin diss, Westminster Seminary, 2004)
12

Kellemen, Robert W. Equipping Counselors for Your Church: The 4E Ministry Training Strategy.
Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Pub., 2011, p35. The idea of understanding and orienting the culture is so important to
Kellemen he mentions culture 28 times in the book and spends an entire early chapter on diagnosing
congregational and community fitness related to this kind of fundamental orientation.
13

Jim, Powell. "Digging In: Cultivating a Health Church Culture." Pastors.com. March 27, 2015.
Accessed October 15, 2015. http://pastors.com/digging-in-cultivating-a-health-church-culture/.

Since the author did not use the scientific rigor generally associated with published
surveys, this information is valuable in terms of color commentary more than direct
findings. Survey respondents were split in church plant age, size and origination model. The
survey results in total are published in an appendix, along with a brief analysis of the results.
The author provided participants a copy of the results of the survey and asked for comments
(if they were in a defined subgroup with at least three responses they received that as well.)
Comments were able to be submitted in written form or through interviews with the author.
Additionally, the author asked a few prominent leaders experienced in both church planting
and biblical counseling to comment on the results.

CHAPTER 2

BIBLICAL COUNSELING IN THE EARLY CHURCH

The type of pastoral care known as biblical counseling resurfaced following a

landmark book by Jay Adams, Competent to Counsel.1 The book was so important it led
some to compare Adams significance in this time to Martin Luthers impact on launching
the Reformation.2 The reality is that this type of care was common among pastors during the
era of the Puritans and continued until the middle of the nineteenth century.3 Adams did not
discover biblical counseling, but he reminded the church it was the way God intended His
people to care for one another.
If Adams benefitted then from men like Richard Baxter, Jonathan Edwards and
Ichabod Spencer, who then did these men follow? Was biblical counseling, whether or not
they called it that, an invention of men who lived in the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries? The answer is critical to understanding the role of biblical counseling in church
planting.

Adams, Jay E. Competent to Counsel. Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed Pub., 1970.

Print.
2

Lambert, Heath. The Biblical Counseling Movement after Adams. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2012.
164. Print.
3

Ibid, 25

10

New Testament Approaches to Biblical Counselling

A careful read of the New Testament demonstrates this kind of care initially started
after Christ. The first century church had many issues that were resolved using the approach
of biblical counseling as advocated today. The astute reader will certainly ask how it is that
biblical counseling could have been used during the time before the Bible was written. After
all, the early church did not even agree on which books were likely to meet the criteria
(Apostolic, widely embraced, orthodox) of the final Canon until AD130 at the earliest.4

Cooper, Barry. Can I Really Trust the Bible?: And Other Questions about Scripture, Truth, and How
God Speaks. London: Good Book Company, 2014. 52.

11

The New Testament Model

The answer is found in what Mike Bullmore has coined the functional centrality of
the gospel.5 He and his fellow elders state, We believe that our personal appreciation for
the gospel will manifest itself in lives marked by pronounced joyfulness, evident humility,

Figure 2.1 (left) illustrates how

the gospel in its essential form
radiates certain truths that are
only true because of the gospel
and creates the core doctrines of
Christianity. These truths then
have implications on the lives of
Christians which ought to affect
their everyday conduct. This
kind of logical flow is prevalent
in Pauls letters and is covered in
the following pages.
Figure 2.1 Functional centrality of the gospel.

uncommon generosity and an abiding personal assurance of Gods love.6 Bullmore points
out that the gospel is biblical shorthand for talking about the person and work of Jesus. He

Pastor Bullmore serves at Crossway Community Church in Bristol, Wisconsin. He has addressed this
topic in many different formats and it remains a core theme in his church, listed as the 2nd defining value of their
church after making the glory of God their highest aim. Figure 2.1 is used by Pastor Mike Bullmore in his
explanation of how the gospel ought to function or work itself out in the lives of every Christian. The author am
deeply grateful for the content and tone of his teaching in this area. One version of his presentation can be found
here: http://www.crosswayonline.org/resources/teaching-by-series/sermon/581-the-functional-centrality-of-thegospel
6

"Defining Values." Crossway Community Church. Accessed March 14, 2016.

http://crosswayonline.org/defining-values .

12

teaches that all problems come from a failure to apply the gospel. This was as true for
Christians in the first century as it is for Christians today.
He explains that understanding the essential gospel is always the starting point. A
commitment to the orthodox belief in the incarnation, sinless life, substitutionary death,
complete resurrection and ultimate ascension is the starting point today, similar to the
Apostle Pauls.7 Following a strict adherence to the truth of the gospel will reveal for those
looking carefully what Bullmore calls gospel truths. These are specific doctrinal points that
are true and take their shape because of the gospel.8 Furthermore, these doctrinal truths
necessarily call believers to live out their implications in their day to day conduct.
The Apostle Paul seemed to see things in precisely the same way. Throughout his
letters, Paul discusses the first priority of the gospel.9 Paul repeatedly started with the
essential gospel when he planted a church and developed ways to introduce people to the
gospel in their context. To Jews and other God-fearers, Paul demonstrated that Jesus was the
promised Messiah who would suffer for His people and then reign as their king.10 To Greeks,

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (ESV)

In 1 Tim 1:10-11 Paul reminds Timothy that there are things that are consistent or in accord with the
gospel and things that are not.
e.g. Rom 1:16; 1 Cor 1:23, 2:2, 15:3-4; Phil 3:13; 2 Tim 1:8 12. In reality, most of Pauls letters
make this point clearly.
9

10

e.g. Acts 17:1-3 (ESV)

13

Paul taught how God made a world unspoiled by sin and then sent a Redeemer to rescue it.11
This became the foundation for the doctrine that he taught in person and in his letters. 12
Paul stressed more than just an intellectual agreement with the gospel. He frequently
referred to the doctrine he taught as the basis for why those in his church plants should
behave in a certain way. Just as Bullmore advocates, Paul looked for the gospel
implications in various situations that those under his guidance and care faced whether the
struggles involved suffering and/or sin. In fact, some of Pauls writing unashamedly
instructed his church plants to let the manner of their lives be shaped by the gospel (i.e. Phil
1:27) or reminded them of his personal accounts where he lived out the implications of the
gospel himself (Gal 2:14). Paul taught and counseled people using biblical truths early in the
church planting effort rather than wait until there was an established church.
1 Corinthians 6
Pauls handling of sexual immorality in Corinth demonstrates his typical
methodology. In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul did not resort to moralism. He could have said that
the law was clear and the Corinthians needed to stop their sexually immorality. He did not.
Instead, he drew the Corinthians back to the essential gospel, Jesus incarnation, perfect life,
substitutionary death, and powerful resurrection, and expected it to mean something related
to the topic. He linked both Jesus death (6:20) and resurrection (6:14) to their specific
situation. He pointed out that there are relevant gospel truths (doctrine) that span well

11

e.g. Acts 17:22 33 (ESV)

12

e.g. 1 Cor 15:1 (ESV)

14

beyond Exodus 20:14, You shall not commit adultery, by bringing to bear the truths of
redemption and inhabitation. Finally, he drew out the ethical implications of these doctrines.
Since the doctrine of redemption is true, the implication is that the Christians body is not
ones own. The very body that the Lord will one day resurrect has been purchased at a price;
therefore, it is no longer up to the individual person as to how to use his or her body. The
doctrine of inhabitation is true and the implication is that whatever one chooses to do with his
or her body, he or she chooses to introduce into Jesus through His indwelling Spirit.

Romans 15
Pauls methodology is consistent as well when he dealt with the tension between Jews
and Gentiles in new churches in Romans 15. Paul did not order the Jews to accept the
Gentiles or vice versa, although he could have as an Apostle. Instead, he links relational
harmony with one another to relational harmony the believer has with Jesus (v 1-6). The
analogy is introduced clearly by the word for (Gr ) beginning verse four. It links
Christs interests, not in pleasing Himself but , in serving Christians by bearing with their
weaknesses by way of His strength. Paul rests his core argument on the essential gospel-the
person and work of Jesus (v. 3). Paul follows this by emphasizing that God is a God of
encouragement and points to the Old Testament to demonstrate the doctrinal point that God
is interested in saving all people-Jew and Gentile.13 The gospel implication then is that since

Romans 15:8-12 emphasize from the Old Testament that it was always Gods plan to reach Gentiles.
Pauls use of the Old Testament to amplify his point about the person and work of Jesus is just one more way he
functions as a biblical counselor to those struggling with sin.
13

15

God seeks after both Jew and Gentile to be in His family, both Jew and Gentile ought to
welcome one another and live in the mutual harmony created by the gospel.
This Romans 15 example is interesting because Paul did not even plant the church at
Rome, yet he expected the same gospel centrality to guide the soul care of its members.14
This makes his tracing the resolution back to the essential gospel, its truths and implications,
even more significant because it creates a norm that should be followed in church planting
efforts. Essentially, Pauls response to a problem was the same whether he planted the church
or someone else did, and it was true regardless of the age of the church.

Ephesians
Paul used this approach in a more macro sense as well in the book of Ephesians. In
the first three chapters, Paul presents and explains the essential gospel in various ways and
the gospel truths or doctrines that are shaped by the essential gospel (inner circle). In the first
three chapters Paul taught about Gods eternal plan of salvation for His people (1:3-14), a
thanksgiving section with three goals (1:15-23), and then provides more detail on how the
gospel secures these three goals in 2:1-3:21.15 Paul then uses the next three chapters to

14

This would also be true of the many other examples that could be pulled from the books of Romans
and Colossians. For example, in Colossians 1:23 Paul points out that the hope of the gospel should be the
motivation for all kinds of conduct. In Colossians 2:6 Paul tells them to use the basis of their relationship with
Christ (the gospel) to set their bearings on how to walk (i.e. live). In Romans 6:3-4, Paul emphasizes that the
gospel speaks to how the Roman church should fight sin.
15

Paul detailed three goals: 1) The hope of the call, 2) the riches of the glories of the inheritance of the
saints, and 3) the power of the Spirit to those who believe

16

discuss the gospel implications of the gospel truths (outer circles) which comprise last half of
the book.
Three gospel implications come within a few verses of each other. In Ephesians 4:32
Paul encourages the Ephesians to forgive each other, not because it is the right thing to do but
because of the example of God in Christ. This is the essential gospel (God forgives those
who come to faith in Jesus) working itself out in a gospel truth (the doctrine of unconditional
forgiveness) that produces a gospel implication (the Ephesians who have benefitted from
unconditional forgiveness through faith in Christ have no ground to withhold it from others).
The gospel is both the model and the motivation for forgiveness under any circumstance.
The second example in this section appears in Ephesians 5:2. Here Paul commended
the Ephesians to walk in a certain kind of love, which is defined by the essential gospel
(Jesus kind of love that produced His death on the cross) and results in important gospel
truths (such as dependence on Christ for all things or the prevailing law of love). The gospel
implication is that since it was the peculiar kind of self-denying love of Jesus that gave the
Christian life, that same kind of love should characterize all Christians as they increasingly
imitate their Heavenly Father (5:1).
Pauls methodology is further demonstrated in Ephesians 5:25. Having established in
the first three chapters the essential gospel that taught both their union in Christ and unity
with one another, Paul explained how this should play out in practical ways inside a
marriage. Because Christ demonstrated a sacrificial love for His bride, the church, the

17

implication is that husbands should demonstrate that same kind of love toward the wife God
gives him.16

Self-Counsel
Whereas Paul consistently demonstrated how the gospel impacted daily living in his
letters, what about his self-counsel? As a church planter, Paul struggled with his own
weakness, sin, and suffering. He used the same approach he advised the churches to use
when caring for his own soul. Paul discusses Gods comfort to him in struggle in 2
Corinthians. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to
make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a
deadly peril, and he will deliver us (1:9-10). For Paul, the temptation to despair unto death
was best treated by applying to himself the gospel of a resurrected Christ. He shared that
story with the Corinthians as an example.

16

Many more examples from the second half of the book of Ephesians could be used (e.g. Christian
unity has its basis in the united effort of the Godhead in the gospel (4:1-8), walking in darkness is cured by the
reality of gospel adoption (4:18), changed lives are based on gospel regeneration (4:23-25), a motivation for
purity is the reality of gospel redemption evidenced by the Holy Spirits work in Christians (4:29-30), gospel
inheritance ought to affect a believers passions (5:3-5), gospel adoption requires a response of living a lifestyle
consistent with the gospel (5:8-9), a Christian bondservant viewing recalling his purchase by Christs blood
when working for his earthly master (6:5-8), and Christian slave owners remembering that they too are slaves of
a master who does not motivate by threatening but by gospel love (6:9-10).

18

Crossover Examples of Biblical Counseling in 21st Century Church Plants

Ed Stetzer found seven problems common to church plants.17 Church planting pastors
around the world regard Stetzer very highly, so it is wise to consider his seven issues as the
filter for how the Apostle Pauls model of soul care can be used to address these 21st century
problems. Furthermore, these are challenges shared by other church planting authors as well.

Figure 2-2 Authors addressing Ed Stetzer's top issues facing church planters

The inability to develop leaders and reproduce culture

The first and biggest problem Stetzer mentions is the inability to develop leaders and
reproduce culture.18 He asserts that the key constraints leading to mistakes in this area tend to

17

Ed Stetzer is the president of Lifeway Research and a prominent speaker and author on topics related
to church planting. Stetzer addresses these in this introductory post and then follows up on each one in detail in
subsequent posts. Stetzer, Ed. "Top Ten Issues Church Planter's Face, Introduction." The Exchange (blog),
January 5, 2011. Accessed January 11, 2016. http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2011/january/topissues-church-planters-face-introduction.html.
Stetzer further defines this issue in his post on this topic Leadership development is the most
frequently cited challenge of planters according to our research in this survey of church planting leaders and
thinkers. Leadership issues included recruiting and developing leaders; implementing teams; creating a
reproducible leadership development approach; developing a leader/oversight/elder board; hiring and leading
staff; discerning changes required to facilitate growth; healthy decision making; and delegating and
18

19

be limitations of money, critical mass, and spiritual maturity. These challenges are real and
not easily overcome by additional effort spent in the same manner. A focus on soul care from
the start, however, can mitigate these issues and provide momentum for long-term growth
and reproduction.
For example, Stetzer points out that a lack of core leaders is difficult when, in an ideal
setting, the majority of a church plant comes from previously lost people rather than
seasoned Christians from other churches. By emphasizing soul care from the start, as Paul
did, these new believers will have real, in the trenches, ministry modeled for them from day
one. Their readiness to step into increasingly significant leadership roles is expedited because
they do not have the common experience of new believers, namely sitting and consuming
with only a view toward individual growth. Instead, these new brothers and sisters are
experiencing how to comfort, encourage, and strengthen others as they themselves are
comforted, encouraged and strengthened. Rather than the presumption being that a new
believer is unable to minister to anyone else for an extended time, the church adopting Pauls
method of soul care presumes that every believer is competent to counsel from the early part
of his or her Christian life.19
This pattern is also clear from the church at Thessalonica. According to Acts 17, Paul
was only present there three weeks before fleeing for his safety. During these short weeks

empowering volunteers. Stetzer, Ed. "7 Top Issues Church Planter's Face, Issue #1: Leadership Development
and Reproducing Culture." The Exchange (blog), January 12, 2011. Accessed January 11, 2016.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2011/january/7-top-issues-church-planters-face-issue-1leadership.htm
19

Romans 15:14 was written to a church that had limited or no direct apostolic teaching. It would have
been spiritually much less mature than a similar aged church today as demonstrated by some of the problems
covered in Pauls epistle.

20

Paul shared his life in not only interpersonal ministry but also in public preaching. The
Thessalonians became imitators (1 Thes 1:6) of Paul, not by an arms length example but
by close-knit relationships such as common with parents and children (1 Thes 2:7-8,11). He
expected this baby church to provide soul care to all kinds of people in all manner of ways (1
Thes 5:14-5:21).
How did this baptism-by-fire approach work with the baby church in Thessalonica?
Were they paralyzed by fear? Were Christians there irreparably damaged by the lack of
experienced and trained leaders providing guidance and ministry? On the contrary, Paul
highly complements these very Christians, they became an example to all the believers in
Macedonia and in Achaia (1 Thes 1:7 italics added). This is in stark contrast with many
popular authors in church planting today who insist new believers must gradually move
through phases before they will be committed to the mission of God in real ways.20 Sjogren
agrees by urging planters to put new believers into ministry roles as soon as possible so they
have less time to develop reasons that they cannot serve the body.21 By modeling biblical
soul care from the first encounter with an unbeliever or new Christian, many obstacles to

Perhaps the most popular version of this comes from Rick Warrens The Purpose Driven Church
where he insists people must move incrementally from a community of unaffiliated people, to a crowd that is
affiliated with the church, to a congregation of those who basically consume the services of others, to the
committed ministers, to the core leaders and influences in the body. The process as described takes a long time.
There may be some practical wisdom in this in Warrens church context, but it does not seem to be the way Paul
planted churches and does not seem to have any biblical mandate. Howell, Mark. "Crowd-to-Core: An
Essential Understanding of Purpose Driven Small Group Strategy." Pastors.com. April 28, 2015. Accessed
April 11, 2016. http://pastors.com/crowd-to-core-an-essential-understanding-of-purpose-driven-small-groupstrategy/ .
20

21

Sjogren, 48

21

personal ministry are removed almost immediately, which inevitably accelerates leadership
development.
Perhaps the best way an emphasis on biblical counseling in church planting helps this
observation of Stetzers is in the idea of replicating the culture. Those who have experienced
biblical counseling and soul care early will, almost by default, perpetuate the idea into the
church culture as it grows because it is a daily exercise both in self-counsel and helping
others. In this way, biblical counseling provides a common atmosphere for baby Christians to
breathe while simultaneously providing ministry skills to be absorbed. As the church grows,
members who are part of future leadership teams or church plants will retain this general
orientation toward biblical counseling without the need for staff or lay elders to constantly
reinforce it. Ongoing momentum is sustained as individual believers give and receive counsel
from the Scriptures in the normal course of body life together.

Building a launch team

Another obstacle Stetzers research shows as common among church planters is the
challenge of building a launch team and mobilizing volunteers who will serve long-term in
the church plant.22 The traditional approach is to build a group of anywhere from 15-200
people to plant a church who share a common vision for church planting. McNamara writes,

22

Stetzer, Ed. "7 Top Issues Church Planter's Face, Issue #3: Launch Team Development and
Mobilizing Volunteers." The Exchange (blog), January 19, 2011. Accessed January 11, 2016.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2011/january/7-top-issues-church-planters-face-issue-3-launchteam.html .

22

The larger the core group, the stronger the church will be.23 He further argues that even
unbelievers can be part of the core group that starts a church.24 However, Stetzer disagrees
and sounds similar to NBA coach Gregg Popovich who indicates it is not the best players
that win but the right players with the right mindset to play as a team and be coached to
win.25 Stetzer believes the key is blending strong relationships and task orientation so that
effective task management does not interfere with building and growing the relationships that
make gospel ministry flourish. It should go without saying that the right players must all be
redeemed in Christ, but outside of that baseline requirement, they could look very different
than most contemporary church planting teams.
An emphasis on biblical counseling from the start of a church plant does not eliminate
the risk of building and maintaining a launch team, but it does provide some mitigation.
Biblical counseling training and mentoring is extremely relational and can result in the blend
that Stetzer desires: effective task management and strengthened relationships. Further,
building a core team that is skilled and willing to counsel one another biblically exposes
those people whose faith may be inadequate for the task or absent altogether. Stetzer warns
of the common reality that conflict on core teams often causes core team members to leave
and marriages to crumble.26 A focus on soul care can help identify idols ruling one anothers

23

McNamara, Roger N. The Y-B-H Handbook of Church Planting: A Practical Guide to Church
Planting. Longwood, Fla.: Xulon, 2005, 223.
24

Ibid, 224

25

Baldoni, John, "Leadership: Lesson in Pop Management." Fast Company, 20 June 2007.
http://www.fastcompany.com/660336/leadership-lesson-pop-management (accessed November 9, 2015)
26

Stetzer, Ed. "The Secrets I've Learned from 30 Years of Church Planting." The Exchange. February
1, 2016. Accessed April 12, 2016. http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2016/february/secrets-ive-

23

hearts and circumvent these conflicts. Where conflicts occur anyway, those committed to the
kind of biblical conflict resolution embraced by the Apostle Paul and biblical counselors such
as Ken Sande27 make these situations less costly to the relationships and the church plant.
Early in the life of Living Stones, the plant team had to wrestle with this issue. In the
midst of conflict, it was difficult to not feel abandoned and discarded by other former church
planting partners. It was essential to remind the team of Gods providence through all these
difficult circumstances. Further, this is precisely what brought Living Stones to a poorer
neighborhood in Carrollton, Georgia where the church has already seen fruit in the spread of
the gospel. It is true that better and more proactive planning and communication could have
spared all the team members considerable conflict and stress, but the challenges forced the
team to focus on Gods measure of a successful church plant, which includes caring for one
another in the midst of hurt and seeking rapid reconciliation of broken relationships.

Maintaining vision and direction

Stetzers research indicates one major problem in many church plants is the church
plant losing sight of her direction.28 Stetzers recommendations include maintaining clarity in

learned-from-30-years-of-church-planting.html. And. "7 Top Issues Church Planters Face, Issue #3: Launch
Team Development and Mobilizing Volunteers." The Exchange. January 19, 2011. Accessed April 12, 2016.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2011/january/7-top-issues-church-planters-face-issue-3-launchteam.html .
27

Sande, Ken. The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict. Grand Rapids, MI:
Baker Books, 2004

24

communication and developing core values and ministry philosophy that the entire church
plant can embrace. One self-assessment Stetzer encourages church planters to consider asks
questions such as In the last 30 days did you hear your church members talk about your
churchs vision? and Do you staff and leaders embrace the value of values? 29 Apparently,
these are key issues in 21st century church planting.
How did the Apostle Paul, as a church planting biblical counselor, tackle this
obstacle? The answer is simple and goes back to Mike Bullmores comments on the
functional centrality of the gospel. Paul embraced one core value-the person and work of
Jesus. Much of the content in new churches mission, vision and value statements in the 21st
century do not have any relationship with the gospel whatsoever. Furthermore, often these
statements are so simple they could apply to Buddhism or Mormonism or they are so long
and cluttered that no ordinary person could possibly remember them.30 Mike McKinley goes
so far as to say that mission and vision statements can be superfluous to a church and the
only real mission and vision a church needs is to read and live the Scriptures.31 The Apostle

28

Stetzer, Ed. "7 Top Issues Church Planters Face, Issue #5: Casting Vision and Avoiding Mission
Drift." The Exchange. January 28, 2011. Accessed April 12, 2016.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2011/january/7-top-issues-church-planters-face-issue-5-castingvision.html.
29

Will Mancini's free Clarity Quiz is available in its entirety here:

www.christianitytoday.com/assets/10320.pdf
One example among many that could be produced is To be a Biblically-functioning community of
believers growing: Deeper through worship, Larger through evangelism, Stronger through discipleship, Warmer
through fellowship, Broader through ministry.
http://savannahchristian.com/henderson/about_us/mission_vision_and_values.
30

31

McKinley, Mike. Church Planting Is for Wimps: How God Uses Messed-up People to Plant
Ordinary Churches That Do Extraordinary Things. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2010. P 62

25

Paul also believed that preaching Christ crucified was a sufficient mission and vision
statement. (1 Cor 1:22-23). His goal was to know Him more and make Him more known.
Defining the mission or core values of a church and propagating them are different
things. However, one of the benefits of this approach to soul care is that it becomes a daily
enterprise that does not need to be squeezed into an already packed church schedule. It is
similar to Stephen Coveys illustration of the professor who put some large rocks carefully in
a jar then filled it to the top with gravel and water in stages until the class agreed it is full.
Upon asking the class what the moral of the illustration was, the class determined that no
schedule is ever so full that you cannot add another thing to it. The professor corrected the
class by explaining that the illustration teaches that if you dont put the big rocks in first they
will never get in at all.32 By making biblical counseling a big rock in a church plant from
the start, the planting team can ensure that it is incorporated into all facets of church life
properly.

A healthy planter and family

Stetzer concludes his list of issues church planters face by discussing the spiritual,
physical and mental health of the planter and his family.33 Most people involved in church
planting agree that planting a church from scratch can be one of the most difficult and

32

Covey, Stephen. "The "Big Rocks" of Life." The "Big Rocks" of Life by Dr. Stephen R. Covey.
Accessed April 29, 2016. http://www.appleseeds.org/big-rocks_covey.htm.
33

Stetzer, Ed. "7 Issues Church Planters Face, Issue #7. Spiritual, Physical & Mental Health of Planter
/ Family." The Exchange. February 7, 2011. Accessed April 12, 2016.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2011/february/7-issues-church-planters-face-issue-7-spiritualphysical.html.

26

stressful things a Christian can do, even under the best circumstances.34 Stetzer wrote
planters often struggle with: (1) the battle to overcome pride, self-reliance, drivenness and an
uncoachable attitude; (2) loneliness and isolation; (3) mistrust; (4) lack of rest; and (5)
maintaining joy. He added a personal reflection, I have found that the times we planted
turned cracks in our marriage into fissures. God used it to force us to grow up and grow
together.35 Since so many authors on the topic insist that the planters spiritual well-being is
the foremost consideration for a healthy church plant, this is a serious issue indeed.
How would an emphasis on biblical counseling help with this struggle? One major
difference in a church committed to this kind of soul care would be the structure put in place
to help the lead pastor in the first place. Romans 12:17 says Christians should plan ahead to
do what is right in the sight of all.36 In a church planting context, this would include
implementing a proper system of encouragement and accountability for the church planter.
Regardless of whether the planter is more prone to arrogance or despondency, when those
around him are trained to admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak,

34

To cite every instance of this in the prevailing literature would be impossible. Nearly every author
stated this issue either explicitly or implicitly. See for example each of the referenced Stetzer articles, Jensen,
Phillip. "I Will Build My Church (the Challenge of Church Planting)." I Will Build My Church (the Challenge
of Church Planting). Accessed April 12, 2016. http://phillipjensen.com/articles/from-the-resource-library-thestrategy-of-god/or http://plantingchurches.org/2010/06/church-planting-is-hard-spiritual-attack/. Darrin Patrick
spends 103 pages addressing the spiritual makeup and health of the church planter. (Patrick, Darrin. Church
Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010.) McNamara and Davis discuss in
detail the benefits of a mentor, sponsors, prayer partners, and state unequivocally The single most important
ingredient in the church-planting equation is the church planter himself! (McNamara, Roger N. and Davis,
Ken. The Y-B-H Handbook of Church Planting: A Practical Guide to Church Planting. Longwood, FL: Xulon
Press, 2005.)
35

Stetzer, 7 Issues Church Planters Face, Issue #7

The Greek speaks to giving thought to in advance or providing for in advance. Paul
uses it in 1 Timothy 5:8 to speak of providing materially for ones family and it carries with it the idea of
foreseeing the actual need and providing for it beforehand.
36

27

and be patient with them all he will be less likely to succumb to these temptations.37 This
particular challenge highlights the ultimate struggle of a church planter is not one of
marketing or messaging or networking, as some authors imply.38 Some authors completely
omit the spiritual nature of planting and growing a church entirely.39 Yet the Bible is clear,
church planting is primarily a struggle against the rulers, against the authorities, against the
cosmic powers over this present darkness and against the spiritual forces of evil in the
heavenly places.40
Spiritual warfare has been a reality at Living Stones. The church planter has received
soul care from a biblically counseling spouse and it has proved invaluable. In Gods mercy,
He may choose to use a broad base of soul care skills in a church planting team to prevent
long-term despondency and help the team bear one anothers burdens well.41 The ability to
trace reality back to the gospel as well as its truths and implications is the primary strategy

37

1 Thes 5:14

38

For example, McNamra and Davis devote an entire chapter each in their book to demographics and
advertising, and their chapter on pre-planning is replete with topics including getting a professional portrait
made of the church planter and his family, designing an attractive visitation brochure, networking with the
Chamber of Commerce, designing a church logo and slogan, and making the church well known in the
community. Sgogren repeatedly advises church planters to act like a business with tips like locating the church
building near malls because they have a lot of traffic and networking with new business owners to learn from
their experiences. The emphasis on church growth and increasing numbers attending a Sunday morning meeting
has fueled this trend.
Steve Kroening writes Growing your church requires marketing, and goes on to list tools to market
a church without mentioning God or the spiritual nature of church growth in any manner. Kroening, Steve. "The
5 Most Powerful Marketing Tools for Any Church." - Church World Direct. February 7, 2011. Accessed May
07, 2016. http://www.churchworlddirect.com/articles/2011/02/07/the-5-most-powerful-marketing-tools-for-anychurch.
39

40

Eph 6:12 (ESV)

41

Gal 6:1-2 (ESV)

28

for defeating discouragement as demonstrated earlier in the example of Pauls self-counsel in

1 Corinthians 2. When a church planter and his wife remind each other that the fight is a
supernatural one, or that both near-term and eternal victories are supernatural, they are
providing a much needed balm to souls wounded by the spiritual battles they face daily.
Some organizations with a more traditional church planting approach would no doubt
argue that there is a system outside the church that provides this kind of care for church
planting pastors.42 The question is whether a group of godly men outside the local church
(and perhaps not even in the same state) can provide the same level of support and soul care
as fellow members in the same local church? Paul did not seem to anticipate regular soul care
being provided from outside the local church when he wrote that to each one is given the
manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.43 Even though Paul had some kind of
relationship with the churches in Jerusalem and Antioch, it does not seem as though he ever
received soul care from them as he was church planting. His care came from those
ministering directly with him, and he expected he would set the example for these people by
caring for them in return.44 Paul did not write that support or help should never be provided
from outside the local church. Rather, he clearly indicated in passages 1 Corinthians 12,
Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and the multitude of one another commands in his letters that the

42

There are many contemporary examples of church planting networks desiring to support church
planters without any actual daily life on life contact with them. Perhaps the best known is ACTS 29 who
promise to help assess, coach and train planters remotely. "Plant A Church." Acts 29 Plant A Church
Comments. Accessed May 07, 2016. http://www.acts29.com/plant-churches/.Other groups such as Stadia offer
customized church planter support for a fee. "Preparing Church Planters - Stadia." Stadia. Accessed May 07,
2016. https://www.stadia.cc/us-planting/plantercare/.
43

1 Cor 12:7. The entire chapter makes it clear that God himself assigns spiritual gifts within a local
body of believers for the purpose of their mutual and plural benefit.
44

Acts 16:3; 25; Acts 17:15; 2 Cor 7:6, 13; 2 Cor 8:16,23; Phil 2:22; 2 Tim 1:13

29

primary source of the spiritual good done to a member of a local church should come from
his or her particular local church. Church planters are first of all church members, and there
is no exceptions .45 The planters own local church is most likely to observe and work to
remedy a habitual character deficiency or extended trial in him as formal and informal
gatherings occur multiple times per week. A culture in which a local church supports and
protects its pastor from the ills Stetzer cites not only produces a healthier pastor but also
reminds everyone that he is simply another member of the church who needs the same level
of care as every Christian.
Ironically, some of the same authors who completely disagreed with the need to
provide counseling for their church believe counseling is critical for the church planter. At
the end of his book, Sjogren lists tips to remain in ministry in what he describes as the most
difficult job in the world.46 His number one item for self-counsel in a church planter is,
Tend your inner garden, by which he means paying attention to and caring for your own
soul.47 The further irony is Sjogrens tips number five and six are to limit time with negative
people to less than five minutes and to refuse to counsel anyone at more than the surface
level. He is basically applying a double standard to soul care in the church. This approach
can both alienate those who feel like second-rate priorities and can rob the church of the kind

Some may say that passages such as Phil 4 provide an example of how Pauls needs were met by
those outside his immediate context, and it is true that Paul was encouraged by the Macedonian gift. A key
point from this passage is actually the opposite that Paul did not require the gift from Philippi and would have
been content without it (v11). In Pauls opinion the greatest benefit of the gift belonged not to him but to the
givers (v17).
45

46

Sjogren, p 202

47

ibid

30

of personal ministry that reminds everyone that God has so ordered the local church as to be
able to meet one anothers soul care needs comprehensively48.
When the author asked survey respondents a similar question as Stetzers, there were
slightly different results. The survey participants for this project had, in the aggregate,
expressed a higher overall commitment to soul care prior to seeing the questions.49 These
church planters seem to have some fundamentally different challenges based on their
responses. On balance, survey respondents for this project reported problems that were less
centered on the pastor and his character, less about paid staff, and more about the mission of
God in reaching lost people. This does not mean that a church planted with an emphasis on
caring for the souls of its members will never have some of these pastor-centric problems
Stetzer raises, but it could mean that a soul caring church plant can be reasonably expected to
face different challenges. This matters a lot because churches will invest in those areas where
they perceive the greatest struggles to be most likely.

48

1 Corinthians 12:4 26 (ESV)

49

Eighteen of the Twenty-two survey respondents indicated they would take some or all of the
responsibility to help a church member who confessed to a drug or alcohol addiction with biblical counseling.

31

What would you say are the top three

challenges facing your church plant?
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Loneliness/ Character
isolation
issues
(leaders)

Pursuing
unified
vision

Practical
logistics

Recruiting
believers

Getting/
keeping
funding

Developing Reaching Developing

non-paid unbelievers paid staff
staff

Figure 2-3 Top issues facing church plants in the survey

Recent church planting books tend to claim the biggest challenges in church plants
are getting people to show up and having the right programs for them to consume.50 These
simply do not seem to be the problems the Apostle Paul anticipated when planting and
establishing new churches. Peter went further and wrote a whole book to new churches about
how to suffer under various heavy trials which he saw as normal to a new church making a
difference in a depraved culture.51 It is a good thing that the North American church is less

50

For example, Malphurs indicates that modern church plants need more than ten to twelve seed
families to staff the various positions in different programs at a church plants first public meeting (p. 187).
Gary Gilley describes the practice as the market-based church. Gilley, Gary. "The Market-Driven Church: A
Look Behind the Scenes*." The Market-Driven Church: A Look Behind the Scenes. Accessed May 07, 2016.
http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Psychology/cgrowth/mkt.htm. Skye Jethani has written an entire
(excellent) book on the subject. Jethani, Skye. The Divine Commodity: Discovering a Faith beyond Consumer
Christianity. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009.
51

1 Pet 4:12 cited but the whole book of 1 Peter is written to churches in Asia Minor that may have
been established for some time but were clearly new enough that they were surprised by the suffering that came
with being a Christian.

32

concerned about martyrdom than Peter was, but as it enters an age where Christianity is
increasingly scrutinized, demonized and marginalized churches will have to ask whether the
investments they are making should be toward great sound systems and locations near
shopping malls or something more eternally significant?52

Contrasting Pauls Approach to Current Approaches

Paul used biblical counseling and expected it to be used in early church plants to a far
greater extent than it is today. Sjogren offers the most extreme example of how far biblical
counseling has been displaced in the current church planting movement.
Dont start doing significant pastoral care until your church has attained
critical mass. This is one of the most common causes for loss of momentum of
stopping growth. To begin to behave as a pastoral care expert before your church
reaches the 200 barrier will almost invariably stop its growth. We recommend that
even after your church has attained critical mass, you still dont do pastoral care.
Thats not your job. Thats the job of others you will hire and the role of small-group
leaders.53

In order to be very clear, before a church reaches 200 people the planter should never
provide soul care to a hurting person. After a church reaches 200, the senior leader dedicated
to and eternally held accountable to watch over the souls of the church family should never
provide soul care to a hurting person. So this authors vision of a church plant is a place

Sjogren, 58. One of his arguments is that being near a shopping mall is great because malls are fun
to be around. This is not to diminish the potential advantages of thinking strategically about location, but the
way authors like Sjogren, sometimes talk about these things make it sound like the key to a healthy church is
getting the right building in which to meet. In the worst cases, they actually use things like this to define their
mission field as only those upwardly mobile and socially acceptable people who like shopping malls and trendy
subdivisions to the exclusion of everyone else which seems to be the exact opposite of the people with whom
Jesus spent most of His time.
52

53

Sjogren, 175

33

where the lead under-shepherd never, under any circumstances, actually shepherds anyone in
a personal way. This is not the example set by the Apostle Paul.
First Thessalonians is a helpful reference because of Pauls short time in the city and,
presumably, relatively small church plant. Paul, in contrast with Sjogren, said But we were
gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children, and For you
know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you
and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom
and glory.54
It seems that Paul both modeled and expected biblical counseling to be the norm. Its
emphasis could help provide some measure of victory over the challenge to avoid an inward
focus. It can also provide greater opportunities and freedom to focus on the externally
focused challenges involved with reaching lost people for Jesus, the goal of every church
plant. This chapter has shown how an emphasis on biblical counseling may not eliminate
each of the challenges Stetzer brings out, but can mitigate or transform them into
opportunities to build the body of Christ.

54

1 Thess 2:7,11-12 (ESV)

34

CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3
EVANGELISTIC BIBLICAL COUNSELING
IN CHURCH PLANTS

The mission of the church is defined in Matthew 28:18-20 commonly known as The
Great Commission. It is Jesus own definition of what it means to grow the Kingdom of God.
The verb in the Great Commission (mathteusate) means to make disciples, namely those
who will learn what it means to follow Him. Jesus then proceeds to explain what it would
look like to make disciples. It will require aggressive evangelism (go), intentional
assimilation (baptize), and practical teaching on how to obey. Paul Tripp writes that the
outward direction of the first half of The Great Commission and the inward focus of the
second part of The Great Commission go hand in hand.1
As demonstrated earlier, church planting is the most effective way-and only way
described in the New Testament-to follow The Great Commission. Any church plant with a
strong emphasis on biblical counseling must orient itself around reaching lost people with the
glorious truth that they may be reconciled to God. Ultimately, all evangelism is soul care,
because all evangelism sees a soul that puts its trust in something other than God and seeks to
rescue it from an eternity separated from Him. Thomas Sigley says biblical evangelism and

Tripp, Paul. "The Great Commission: A Paradigm for Ministry in the Local Church Journal of
Biblical Counseling 16.3 (1998): 2-4.
1

35

biblical counseling are cut from the same piece of cloth; the same truth about God, the same
truth about human nature, the same powerful grace.2
While much of this paper has been a critique of contemporary church planting
methods and strategies, this is one point on which it is easy to find consensus. Sjogren says
of church plants, Steer your new church in an outward direction right from the start, when it
is small and pliable. No matter what price you pay to build this sort of church, it will yield
tremendous results. 3 Ralph Moore suggests many reasons why planting new churches is not
only helpful in reaching lost people but also necessary.4 He includes the statistical reality that
new churches provide superior results in reaching lost people. Moreover new churches can
better adapt to changing cultural patterns in a way that reach lost people. Simply adding more
churches provides the body of Christ more launching pads to reach lost people.5
The question is how can a church that emphasizes biblical counseling reach lost
people effectively when biblical counseling seems to be a skill that targets those already in
the body of Christ? In fact, there is a common current in many biblical counseling circles,
especially those that might be described as early adopters, that you cannot use biblical
counseling with people who are not already followers of Jesus.6 Jay Adams, the pioneer of
the movement, called any work with an unbeliever pre-counseling, refusing to even call it

Sigley, Thomas E. "Evangelism Implosion: Getting To The Heart of The Issue." Journal of Biblical
Counseling 17.1 (1998): 7-14.
3

Sjogren, Steve, and Rob Lewin. Community of Kindness. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2003. 25

Moore, Ralph. Starting a New Church. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2002. 23 29

Ibid

Based on the authors experience with several of the first few hundred counselors certified by NANC
(National Association of Nouthetic Counselors), including extended personal interaction with two prominent
members of this group.
6

36

counseling of any kind.7 It is not that Adams and his counterparts believed that exactly the
same approach should be used with a different emphasis; it is that they somehow saw this as
categorically different. As a student at Faith Bible Seminary, the author experienced this
correction when a professor who would be considered a protg of Adams corrected a
paper because it described an approach of discipling an unbeliever and according to him
you cant disciple the lost.
It is always important to define terms, but it is clear that even in the Gospels the word
disciple when used as a noun did not mean that people were in a saving relationship with
Jesus. Throughout the Gospel of Luke, for example, the book highlights three groups of
people the apostles and those closely following Jesus, the crowd who seemed only
interested in what they could get from Jesus, and the disciples who wanted to learn of Jesus
but had not yet made any commitment to Him.8 Morris specifically mentions that this group
of disciples had not yet given their allegiance to Jesus but were attracted by reports of His
teaching and wanted to hear more.9 This is because the word disciple simply means
learner, and anyone who is on the path of learning who Jesus is and what He did can be

Adams, Jay E. A Theology of Christian Counseling: More than Redemption. Grand Rapids, MI:
Ministry Resource Library, 1986. 112. Print.
8

This is perhaps most evident in Luke 6, but is apparent elsewhere in Luke and in the New Testament.
In Luke 6 the twelve were called out from among the disciples in verse 12-13 showing a clear distinction
between the two groups. Verse 17 shows that not only were the disciples distinct from the multitude but that
there was great crowd of disciples present. In verse 19 the crowd of disciples and the multitude act precisely
the same and in verses 20-49 Jesus teaches the crowd of disciples and the twelve exactly the same way. There
are other times in Luke where the context makes it clear that the particular disciples Jesus was addressing were
the twelve or a few people in addition to the twelve. At the end of Luke 9, there are three people who would
have been in the crowd of disciples but were clearly not fully committed to Jesus.
Leon Morris writes of this large group that they had not yet given their allegiance to Jesus (but) were
attracted by reports of His teaching and wanted to hear more. Morris, Leon. Luke. Nottingham, England: InterVarsity, 2008. 146. Print.
9

37

called a disciple.10 Calling the training of people to follow Jesus, regardless of their current
faith commitment, discipleship does no harm to the church or its orthodoxy.
Rick Thomas clarifies the key question, Can I counsel a non-believer? If you mean,
Can you bring Gods Word to bear on his life, then it is an easy question to answer. Of
course you can. We all were unbelievers at one time and Gods Word was brought to bear on
our lives (Romans 10:17).11 Thomas point is that since the believers confidence to change
people is the Spirit of God applying the Word of God where it is needed, the counselor does
not need to make massive adjustments in his or her approach when counseling someone who
he or she suspects has not put saving faith in Jesus.
Ab Abercrombie may go even farther than Thomas when he writes
But often counseling is initiated before the counselor can assess the spiritual
status of the counselee. Other times an individual enters counseling convinced of
his/her salvation, yet lacking the capacity to hear and respond to Scripture, due to an
unregenerate heart. In situations like these, should the counselor place the counseling
on pause to initiate evangelism? Rather I suggest there are biblical mandates to both
restore the fallen (Gal 6:1-2) and evangelize the lost (Matt 28:19-20) which dictate
the counselors response and no distinction between the two activities exists. In fact,
the course and nature of the counseling can only be determined within the counseling
setting, where the Word and the Spirit direct the counselors assessment of spiritual
need.12
This is not an argument about semantics, but actually an important point in the
approach used to incorporate biblical counseling into church planting. If a church planter is

10

"Disciple - Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words - - StudyLight.org." StudyLight.org.

Accessed May 06, 2016. http://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/ved/view.cgi?n=751.
11

Thomas, Rick. "How Do You Counsel Non-Christians with God's Word? - Rick Thomas -." Rick
Thomas. April 17, 2013. Accessed April 15, 2016. http://rickthomas.net/can-you-counsel-non-christians-withgods-word/ .
12

Abercrombie, Ab. "Counseling Unbelievers..." Biblical Counseling Institute. August 08, 2013.
Accessed April 1, 2015. http://bcinstitute.com/counseling-unbelievers/.

38

required to assess the current faith commitment of a person before the planter even knows
whether counseling or pre-counseling is necessary, how can the process ever begin? It is
impossible to know in the first meeting whether a counselee is fully committed to Jesus and
struggling or if they are pretending to follow Jesus for some other reason. The better
alternative is to use the same approach Paul used when dealing with people, namely to point
them to the functional centrality of the gospel and see how they respond. The Holy Spirit is
reliable to do His work and increasingly mold those who are in Christ to His image. He can
be trusted to convict an unbeliever of sin and righteousness and judgment using the very
same Gospel presented to a Christian. Trouble waits for the counselor who invests too much
focus trying to discern whether someone is a believer and needs counseling or an
unbeliever and needs evangelism. It does not seem that either Jesus or Paul made a big deal
about that distinction. Believers need to set their hope on Christ and not on lesser things,
whereas unbelievers need to set their hope on Christ and not on lesser things. As Sjogren
points out, The kinds of people who are looking to join a church plant are the lost, the least
and the lonely.13 When a God does direct the steps of a lost person to a church planter for
Bible-based counseling, the planter should maximize the opportunities to engage them with
the Scriptures by the power of the Spirit, not cling to a self-imposed requirement to decipher
their precise spiritual state unless it is in the normal course of conversation and counsel.14

13

Sjogren, p. 41. Sjogren may be overstating the point about those looking for a church home, but he is
certainly 100% correct regarding those volunteering to be counseled because of a problem in their life.
14

Especially in the American South where Living Stones is planted, it is virtually impossible to discern
whether someone is a redeemed genuine believer suffering through life as a result of poor doctrine and shallow
community or whether someone is simply a lifelong church attender that can mimic churchy vernacular and
live a moral life. Observation over long periods of time will produce real situations that reveal the answer.

39

Counseling unbelievers biblically is challenging because in many cases they will not
have an orthodox view of the Scriptures, let alone a commitment to them. Kevin Carson
states, This counselee often comes to counseling without any commitment to a particular
system of beliefs. In fact, the counselees commitment may be to the lack of any authoritative
system of truth. This is a challenge! So how should a counselor respond? As one committed
to the truth (Rom. 10:17), you should patiently, gently, honestly, and lovingly answer the
counselees question while continually pointing back to the truths of the Scripture.15
But in terms of dramatically changing the process to somehow accommodate this
biblical illiteracy and agnosticism, Carson quickly adds I have discovered, in fact, that the
process of counseling unbelievers is no different from counseling believers. The process is
the same: you enter into conversational ministry with an individual who needs the truth of
Gods Word, the power of the Spirit, the grace of Jesus Christ, and the patience of a biblical
counselor engaged in the process with them.16 If the process is basically the same, church
planters skilled in biblical counseling can engage unbelievers boldly in familiar territory
without feeling like every conversation has to be a new thing or relevant to some
particular detail in current events or society. This is an important aspect of embedding
biblical counseling into the evangelistic strategy of a church plant because it increases the
pool of people capable of using this ministry evangelistically.

Carson, Kevin. Biblical Counseling and Evangelism. Biblical Counseling and the Church: God's
Care through God's People. Ed. Robert W. Kellemen. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015. Loc 4952 Kindle
15

16

Carson, Kevin. Biblical Counseling and Evangelism. Biblical Counseling and the Church: God's
Care through God's People. Ed. Robert W. Kellemen. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015. Loc 4874. Kindle

40

This does not mean that somehow biblical principles applied to the lives of an
unbeliever will somehow produce the same fruit as if the same faith-filled Gospel message
was applied to a believer. The Bible is clear that unbelievers are enemies of God (Rom 5:10)
and dead in their sin (Eph 2:1-2). What it does mean is that the core issue for why a saint
rebels against God in his sin and why an unsaved person rebels against God in his sin is
fundamentally the same. Each one is manifesting what is ruling his or her heart (Matt 15:1820; Luke 6:43-45), and heart change is the goal for each kind of counselee. The last chapter
showed church planter extraordinaire Paul avoided moralism and grounded all of his
arguments for change and growth in the gospel that changes hearts. Church planting
counselors cannot be deluded into thinking that somehow Christians become more like Jesus
on their own initiative and power. In the same chapter where Paul says no unbeliever can
please God or desire to, he adds that the believer puts to death the power of sin by the power
of the Spirit (Romans 8:1-13). Church planting counselors need to realize that both the
unbeliever and the believer require God to work through His Holy Spirit to make any
progress toward Christlikeness. The power and process of change is basically the same for
both redeemed and unredeemed.

Designing a Counseling Approach Likely to Draw Unbelievers

Even with the commitment to basically counsel an unbeliever and a believer in the
same manner, it makes sense to identify areas where it may be different in tone, promotion or
other secondary facets. Allowing for small differences in these less than primary matters
permits the Holy Spirit to direct the church planter to engage his particular culture creatively
without sacrificing the core commitment to the Scriptures as the source of truth.
Ralph Moore highlights one reason using biblical counseling evangelistically is a
good idea. As he reviewed the landscape of current evangelical church plants and church

41

planting strategies, he noted that creative approaches are what are most needed for the
neediest places. This is why most of todays widespread (church planting) methodology is
best fit for suburban communities. Reaching both rural and inner-city communities requires
inventive methods.17
Church planters should start with the realization that unbelievers are not afraid to seek
counseling as a fundamental fact. The professional counseling industry is robust enough to
employ over 120,000 Americans, to publish over 400 counseling theories of change and to
grow 1/5% annually.18 As church planters, it is not necessary to wonder if unbelievers are
seeking counseling. What is needed is to make biblical counseling easy to understand and
accessible for those seeking help.
Living Stones has increased accessibility to unbelievers by avoiding the term
biblical counseling altogether at least in initial conversations. While it is a phrase that
makes sense to those in and near the movement, the vast majority of people in the area would
consider it strange. This is especially true of the lower income, less educated people in the
immediate context of the church. Instead, Living Stones refers to it as simply Christian
counseling and advertises that is available for free. In its context, many people who are not
actually believers would describe themselves as Christian, so the approach invites them to
something familiar rather than something foreign. As counselors meet those who are
interested, they explain that Christian counseling is to counsel like Christ, and since He
wrote a book, the Bible is His source of truth and light. It has been a generally effective way
to increase reception of this approach with unbelievers.

17

Moore, Ralph. Starting a New Church. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2002. p. 49

18

Shallcross, Lynne. "What the Future Holds for the Counseling Profession - Counseling Today."
Counseling Today. March 01, 2012. Accessed April 18, 2016. http://ct.counseling.org/2012/03/what-the-futureholds-for-the-counseling-profession/."21-1014 Mental Health Counselors." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
March 30, 2016. Accessed April 18, 2016. http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes211014.htm.

42

One issue to consider is whether there will be any charge for counseling services.
While it might seem counterintuitive to think that in some contexts fee-based counseling is
more accessible than free counseling, it can be true. Rick Thomas opinion on this is
sometimes confusing and controversial on his blog.19 He points out that while it is biblically
permissible to charge or not charge, one advantage of charging for counseling is it can create
an environment where people are more motivated to change. They have some skin in the
game and do not want to feel as if they are wasting it. Another advantage of charging for
counseling is that the church planting counselor can be vocationally freed up and can be
more available to those wanting help. This can be extremely valuable in a church planting
mission where responsiveness to unbelievers can be the thing that creates a bond that has
lasting benefit. In some contexts, free counseling can diminish its value or create a perception
that the counseling is not very good, valuable or comes with a catch. In middle or upper class
neighborhoods, charging for counseling can be an effective part of reaching unbelievers,
especially if sessions are not completely focused on evangelism and do offer help and hope
in practical ways as they point out the ultimate hope in Christ.
Living Stones decided that it should offer free counseling because charging for
counseling would be more of a barrier to access than any of the negatives of offering free
counseling. The churchs immediate context is a poor part of a county where 25% of the
residents live at or below the poverty line. Charging for counseling would make many people
in the target community pass on the opportunity to get help. One downside of free
counseling is actually an advantage to the bi-vocational church planters because many people
expect less responsiveness from a free counselor than they would with a fee-for-service

19

Thomas, Rick. "Should Christian Counselors Charge Christians for Counseling? - Rick Thomas -."
Rick Thomas. February 04, 2012. Accessed April 11, 2016. http://rickthomas.net/should-christian-counselorscharge-christians-for-counseling /.

43

counselor. This has allowed the church to schedule counseling sessions in a way that
accommodates work and other conflicts easily.
The fact that many people are willing to seek counseling does not eliminate the reality
that many people have an aversion to it. These common obstacles must also be addressed by
the church planting biblical counselor. One college counseling center considered 10 reasons
why people avoid counseling help in their community when it should be clear that they need
it.20 Many of these apply to broader populations as well. If the people group(s) churches are
reaching associate counseling with a stigma of weakness or have concerns about
confidentiality, the church planter must design ways to circumvent these barriers. In many
areas, this will only be done as trust is demonstrated over a long period of time. Especially in
poorer areas, where residents are more secretive and less trusting of authority, church
planters need to be prepared to wait for evangelistic counseling opportunities and not rely on
them in the initial phases of the church plant.21
Other barriers to seeking counseling include the uncertainty of whether counseling
would be effective, and the inability to find a counselor with whom there was an adequate
comfort level.22 This is one way a counseling church planter has an advantage over a secular,
fee-for-service counselor. A good church planter will build relationships over long periods of

20

Godbout, Hannah. "The Top 10 Reasons People Say No to Counseling." Gustavus Adolphus
College. Accessed April 18, 2016. https://gustavus.edu/counseling/top10.php.
21

The cited would could have been multiplied by hundreds to illustrate the general lack of trust toward
authority by poor and minority communities. The point for the church planter reaching these neighborhoods to
understand is that it would be ridiculous to think that somehow this bias will go away simply because the
planter using Jesus authority (i.e. Matt 28:18-20) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3321124/,
http://www.theguardian.com/money/us-money-blog/2015/jan/09/poor-americans-are-less-likely-to-vote-andmore-likely-to-distrust-government-study-shows
22

Rudow, Heather. Collaborating with clients to remove barriers to treatment. Counseling Today.
http://ct.counseling.org/2013/10/collaborating-with-clients-to-remove-barriers-to-treatment/. The study cited in
the article also reiterated the benefit of offering counseling without charge as Financial barriers and Lack of
health insurance coverage were first and second in the list of obstacles to seeking counseling help.

44

time with those people he hopes to reach through counseling. Over time, especially in
informal settings unavailable to traditional counselors, the church planter can build a rapport
with struggling people and help them see the benefits of getting assistance. Traditional
counselors have ethical rules prohibiting the kind of socializing with clients that church
planters should covet.23
There is a potential danger in using biblical counseling in the more formal sense. In
some ways the planter does have a dual agenda whereas the counselee just wants his or her
problem solved. Misusing the comfort level that has been built with a new friend who comes
for help simply, to treat them as an evangelism project, is sinning because the counselor is
not treating them as more important than himself (Phil 2:3). It does not honor him or her as a
unique person made in the image of God who is worthy of respect.
The church planting counselor should also beware of the potential for disillusionment
among the counselees friends and family with the power of the Gospel to transform if their
loved one is not helped by working together. 24 In these cases church planters using
counseling evangelistically have a responsibility to reach out to all those involved in the
circle of sin and suffering, both as an opportunity to expand influence and to reinforce the
limitations of counseling with someone unwilling to commit to change. Explaining these
concepts to as broad a group as possible early in the process is an effective way to limit

23

Hill, Tamara. "5 Major Ethical Violations In Therapy." Caregivers Family Friends. November 5,
2013. Accessed May 06, 2016. http://blogs.psychcentral.com/caregivers/2013/11/5-major-ethical-violations-intherapy/.
24

One daughter of a sex addict who sought biblical counseling shared her frustrations and even anger
in a series of blog posts she coined an expose, which highlights how tenuous this approach can be to the
churchs reputation and that of Christ if church planting counselors are not careful to explain the root cause of
sin and the role as counselors in overcoming it. In the authors correspondence with her, it became clear that she
blamed biblical counseling (which may or may not have been done well) for her fathers unwillingness to turn
from his sin. See: Kelsey, April. "The Biblical Counseling Movement: Exposed." Revolutionary Faith.
November 29, 2014. Accessed April 18, 2016. http://revolfaith.com/2014/11/29/the-biblical-counselingmovement-exposed/.

45

negative repercussions if the unbelieving counselee does not come to faith in Christ and only
sees his or her problem(s) get worse.
Kevin Carson adds another challenge to using biblical counseling evangelistically that
has to be considered in many church planting contexts.
Another potential hindrance to the reception of the gospel is the affluent
nature of the American society. In contrast to most of world history, the typical
American counselee enjoys a life of relative ease and prosperity. Yet throughout the
Bible we see God using circumstances of poverty and persecution to help individuals
develop greater sensitivity to God and His ways. Solomon writes, It is better to go to
the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all
mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. . . . The heart of the wise is in the house of
mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth (Eccl. 7:2,4 ESV). Solomon
is suggesting that the sadness of the funeral home is good because it makes one think
through the biggest issues in life. In a similar manner, James reminds his readers that
their extreme poverty and pressure-filled circumstances are used by God to help them
think through lifes problems in relationship to God (James 1).25
The church planter at Living Stones has not experienced this as a major difficulty
since the church is reaching out to people who tend to be poorer economically. However,
even poor people can be greedy in ways that have them long for things other than God.
Additionally, there is a temptation among poorer people to compare their situation with their
neighbor. If someone in a poorer community experiences greater material success relative to
his or her neighbors, it can have the same effect as affluence has on middle and upper class
people.
The biggest barrier to effective evangelism through biblical counseling may not
actually be getting people to come but getting them to stay. This is the natural consequence
of Carsons point that truth claims compete against each other, and highlights how biblical
counseling is the antithesis of a multitude of counseling approaches from 12-step programs to

25

Carson, Kevin "Biblical Counseling and Evangelism." Biblical Counseling and the Church: God's
Care through God's People. Ed. Robert W. Kellemen. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015. Loc 4959. Kindle.

46

traditional secular counseling approaches. Counseling Today, a publication of the American

Counseling Association, advocates a client-centric model when they advocated Even
counselors who have absorbed a clients worldview may forget that it is the client who
ultimately is in charge. The client will define the goals that he or she would like to
achieve.26 People who have been told they are the center of the universe often do not like
hearing that they are not.
This has been the experience at Living Stones. The majority of unbelieving people
who have asked for formal counseling with marriages or other problems have not returned
for a second session. (This has not been the case with the informal counseling with neighbors
and friends.) People do not want to believe that there is an authority greater than their own
drive for comfort, escape, control or significance. Each time an unbeliever is counseled, the
church steps into enemy-controlled territory and can never assume it will be a cakewalk.
Competing truth claims would undermine even the opportunity to use biblical counseling
evangelistically in any formal way in certain parts of the world and in some parts of America
that are more post-Christian in their orientation.

Differences in Training Regime for Lay Counselors in this Approach

Churches around North America have been training lay counselors to provide biblical
soul care for decades, but it does not always include an emphasis on using these skills
evangelistically. Even if the counseling approach is the same, church planters should not
assume that the same training approach used to equip teams to help someone with the

Meyers, Laurie. Connecting with Clients. Counseling Today, August 18, 2014
http://ct.counseling.org/2014/08/connecting-with-clients/. Accessed November 14, 2015. The articles emphasis
is that the whole counseling relationship is about connecting with a client and embracing their worldview,
which includes their definition of the problem and the solution. The Word of God takes the precisely opposite
position and says Christians need help to take away spiritual blindness.
26

47

indwelling Spirit of God overcome depression, anger or addiction will be equally effective
when equipping people to reach unbelievers.
There are many ways in which the counseling training should be identical. Indeed,
part of the training needs to be that evangelism and biblical counseling are not altogether
different. Understanding the biblical idea of the heart and idolatry is essential in both cases.
Solid underpinnings in the doctrines of sin, sanctification and justification are important
whether the church planting counselor is helping someone cling to or initially find their hope
in Jesus. But there are differences such as using very informal conversations to highlight the
sinking sand where an unbeliever has placed his or her hope for a solution to his or her
problem. Training must be designed to help students show an unbeliever that faith in Christ is
the answer to the fundamental question of life they did not know that they had. Further, it
must include how to use language and resources that are more accessible to unbelievers
without a church background.
Thomas Sidley highlights the need to be intentional in the way church planters train
those counseling evangelistically:
But unfortunately, even Christian counselors have generally been slow to
weave evangelism into the counseling process in a deep and relevant way. A major
part of the problem is that most evangelistic models being used in the church do not
effectively confront the unbelievers sin in depth and detail. Most of the models of
evangelism dont seem to map onto a counseling context. They seem like an
imposition; they sound a false note they seem irrelevant; or they dont add anything.
A counselor would need to change gears, shifting from counseling to something
quite different, called evangelism. In contrast, the biblical model for evangelism is
inseparable from good counseling.27

A missionary and fellow MABC student highlighted this issue in a conversation with
the author about the phraseology of this paper. He asked why this paper used counseling at

27

Sigley, Thomas E. "Evangelism Implosion: Getting To The Heart of The Issue." Journal of Biblical
Counseling 17.1 (1998): p8.

48

all in an evangelistic context. His concern was not the Jay Adams position discussed earlier.
He believed that the goal of any contact in church planting is Jesus-centered conversation
without the formality that the word counseling implies. In his view, even if the approach is
basically the same, the church planting counselors language ought to reflect an everyday
application of soul care skills, not the idea of sessions. This is actually a significant
mindset shift from much biblical counseling training today. If church planting counselors are
to use biblical counseling skills evangelistically, every church member must be trained how
to adapt their core skillset to both believers and unbelievers.
Without spelling out a specific emphasis on biblical counseling and soul care, Ralph
Moore identifies how effective this approach to evangelism can be when he writes:
My understanding of the gospel and its core values causes me to want to evangelize
gay people as much as straight people. It makes me care about rich people as much as
the poor. It forces me to regard drug addicts with the same enthusiasm that I direct
toward beautiful young children. Everyone, no matter how he or she looks or acts,
needs to hear the gospel.28
There are certainly other ways to reach such a diverse group of needy people, but it would be
wrong to underestimate how God might convict such a wide swath of people with varied
presenting problems to seek out help from a biblical perspective.
If the survey results associated with this project are at all typical of church plants, this
kind of idea becomes even more important evangelistically. The survey showed church
planters are simply not making it
a priority to spend time with
unbelievers. When the author
asked 22 church planting pastors
Fig 3-1. Survey responses on how church planters spend
their time.
28

Moore, p. 65

49

where they put the highest priority for spending their time, only six (22%) said spending time
with unbelievers was either a first or second priority for them. If these church plants are ever
going to be effective in fulfilling the Great Commission and reaching a lost world for Christ,
it will have to be through the equipping and empowering of everyday Christians.
Anecdotally, if this is true of church planting pastors, how much more is it likely to be true
in established churches that have more members and member care issues to address?
In formal counseling settings, church planting counselors need to train members to
connect sin and its consequences to the gospel in a way that makes sense to unbelievers.
Especially if counselees sign some kind of consent to counsel agreement, it is imperative
that church members know how to make this case and move to the answer in Christ
seamlessly. In the authors experience, most unbelievers who come for counseling are in the
middle of a habitual and often nasty sin problem. It is not difficult to show how sin has
consequences in the here and now which remind the counselee that there are eternal
consequences for sin. This is essentially Pauls point in the first half of 1 Corinthians 10.
After telling the reader that the Old Testament pattern of sin and temporal judgment took
place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did, he goes on to list several
examples of how the punishments God issued for sin in the Old Testament are pictures of the
eternal judgment that awaits all those who love their sin more than they love Him (i.e.
idolaters). Counselees come with the expectation that their counselor will show them about
the root cause of their problems so it is important to be ready with the kind of answer the
Apostle Paul provided.
In informal settings, a church built on evangelistic soul care needs people who are
trained to listen to the metanarrative behind every unbelieving friend they have. Every person
is a worshiper, and all unbelievers will tell or show their god if church members spend any
amount of time around them. Tim Chester explains how every person can frame his or her

50

own life around the biblical metanarrative of creation, fall, redemption and consumation.29
Church planters make it easy to transition to evangelistic conversations when they train
members to listen for how unbelievers see their identity (creation), understand wrong in the
world (fall), solution to the worlds troubles (redemption) and future hopes (consummation).
Consider the example of a neighbor, Trudy. Trudy is a single lady of similar age to
a church member living in her neighborhood. She was medically disabled from the military
over ten years ago and has never sought other employment. Consequently, she has lots of
free time and is a lonely. She filled both gaps with dogs. She loves her dogs and makes
efforts and financial commitments for them that exceed what some people make for other
people. Trudy may never come to the church member and ask her for help breaking free from
her idolatrous relationship with her dogs, but as the friendship grows she may ask for help.
She cannot manage the two dogs she took in out of pity which are completely undisciplined
in all respects. The dogs behavior is causing significant problems for her relationships with
neighbors and for her financially. As Trudy and the Christian discuss these things, there is an
opportunity to help Trudy see her self-imposed identity as dog savior functioning as the
reason she will not take the measures necessary to control these animals. It provides an
opportunity to help her consider what she is treasuring and where she is placing her hope.
This is the kind of evangelism training that addresses the heart level issues in the same way
that biblical counseling does.
In practical terms, Living Stones has tried to deliver this training not in some early
Saturday morning class but during the normal Sunday gathering. Actual case studies similar
to that mentioned above are delivered interactively as opposed to monologue sermons.

29

Chester, Tim, and Steve Timmis. Everyday Church: Gospel Communications on Mission. Wheaton,
IL: Crossway, 2012. 39 - 43

51

Helping people in a church plant engage with the biblical text in the context of real
relationships has helped even middle school children be able to see these connections and
talk with their friends in a markedly different way.30

30

An example of one of the case is included studies used is in the appendix.

52

CHAPTER 4
HOW A CHURCH CULTURE BUILT ON BIBLICAL COUNSELING
AFFECTS A CHURCH PLANT
If a church plant is successful in embedding a biblical counseling mentality in the
core of their being, it will be because the culture was formed that way intentionally. While
the church is not a business, it is a corporate entity and church leaders can learn from those
who have studied organizational dynamics. When discussing how church leaders can and
should affect church culture, Andrew Herbert cites famed management consultant Peter
Drucker who once said culture eats strategy for breakfast.1 By this he meant that strategy
what people do will always lose a battle to organizational culture because culture is about
who people are and what they hold at the core.

Every Member is a Counselor in Need of Counsel

There is a sense in which building a church culture that emphasizes biblical
counseling is easier in a church plant than in an existing church. Herbert explains In order to
change the observable artifacts or behavior of a church, the values of the church (what they
care about) must be changed. But to change the values of the church, the presuppositional
underlying beliefs of the church must be changed.2 Church plants do not have to overcome

1
Herbert, Andrew. "How to Shape Your Church's Culture." Lifeway Leadership (blog), October 16,
2014. Accessed March 13, 2016. http://www.lifeway.com/churchleaders/2014/10/16/how-to-shape-yourchurchs-culture/.
2

Ibid

53

an existing church culture that is already emphasizing something that holds the attention and
affection of its members. Also, because church plants tend to be smaller, the lead planter can
have more personal ministry and example to its members than is realistic in a larger,
established church.
Public ministry of the Word of God through lessons, sermons, Sunday School, etc. is
not incidental to building a church where every member is a counselor in need of counsel. On
the contrary, the public ministry provides the opportunity for others to hear how personal
ministry benefits the people behind a pulpit as much as the people in the pews.3 Seeing a
connection between the Word of God and everyday problems during large group gatherings
can improve both the skill and confidence of every church member to counsel and receive
counsel.
Many conservative evangelical churches have formalized sermons to an extent that
can be unhelpful in this regard. Some are not only poor at making application to real life,
they actually avoid it on purpose. John MacArthur has said Its not for me to do that.
Application belongs to the Spirit of God. All Im interested in is explanation and its
implications.4 While it is good to leave room for the body of Christ to rely on the Holy
Spirit to open its eyes to areas where He is working individually as MacArthur instructs, part
of explaining what a text means is putting the implications into a relatable context through
application. Application does not need to be filled with the kind of minutia MacArthur
describes to be effective.

Carson, Kevin and Toutges, Paul. Uniting the Public Ministry of the Word and the Private Ministry
of the Word. Biblical Counseling and the Church: God's Care through God's People. Ed. Robert W.
Kellemen. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015. Loc 1393 Kindle
3

MacArthur, John. "Grace To You." Why Doesn't John MacArthur Add Much Application to His
Sermons? January 1, 2010. Accessed April 22, 2016. https://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/GTY117/Whydoesnt-John-MacArthur-add-much-application-to-his-sermons.

54

At Living Stones, lessons are interactive and take time to reinforce some of the core
topics related to every member being a counselor in need of counsel in its gathering time. In
one series, the church planter addressed topics including sin, repentance, suffering, abiding in
Christ, identity, etc. and then used short case study that was a composite of actual people
members might meet in their mission field. The design was interactive and allowed every
member to consider how he or she would specifically approach this kind of person in this
kind of situation. It also gave the pastor a chance to model how he would approach the
situation and what he would do with it. Granted, this is easier to do in a smaller context, but
the overarching point is that pastors do not have to be committed to 45 60 minute
monologues as the only public ministry of the Word.5 Church plants have a wide range of
options within the realm of biblical fidelity to use to set tone and vision for how every
member personal ministry ought to function.
This seems to me to be a key part of body life that is missing in many church plants
the author has studied. There simply is not enough interaction with real life situations
intersecting with the Word of God and with one another. Church plant pastors have the
unique ability to set the tone in all sorts of ways. As Herbert mentions, pastors are setting and
reinforcing a culture whether they are trying to or not.6 Deepak Reju amplifies the pastors
role in setting culture precisely by setting a visible, tangible example.7 He says It is also
important to consider how much a pastor knows his own church members. There is no such
thing as a pristine, clean shepherd. The shepherd smells like his sheep because his life is

It is beyond the scope of this paper to develop how the size of a church affects the ability to promote
a church culture committed to soul care but it should be obvious to the reader that the more interaction the lead
pastor has with his people the more opportunities he will have influence them.
6

Herbert, Andrew. "How to Shape Your Church's Culture."

Raju, Deepak. More than Counseling: A Vision for the Entire Church. Biblical Counseling and the
Church: God's Care through God's People. Ed. Robert W. Kellemen. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015. Loc
791. Kindle
7

55

intimately tied with theirs. The shepherd knows each sheep so personally that he is able to
call them out by name (John 10:3). The mutual knowledge of the shepherd and sheep is so
strong that Jesus compares it to the closest relationship in the entire universe, that of the
Father and His Son (cf. John 17:21-22).
Building a church with an emphasis of every member a biblical counselor makes it
easier to multiply leaders. As noted earlier, multiplying leaders early on in a church planting
effort is critical to the health and long term effectiveness of the new church. Ralph Moore,
writing more than a decade ago, highlighted that the tradition of requiring formal seminary
training for church staff is slowly being replaced by local training of future pastors. 8
Seminary education may have a place in a church plant built on biblical counseling, but the
ultimate success or failure of the Biblical counseling training and experience is a useful way
to develop a pastoral skill set in future leaders while they continue to support themselves in
the marketplace. Biblical counseling also provides a context for leaders to recruit their own
apprentices, have future leaders participate in direct observation of a key ministry skill set
and grow in ministry wisdom and skill under supervision in a way not available through most
other pastoral duties. Moore indicates these are extremely important elements to a long term
church planting strategy.9
One aspect of body life that is required in a church family that lives out biblical
counseling is simple time spent together. If biblical counseling is to be brought out of the
realm of sessions and transferred to the realm of conversations it will only happen as
often as the conversations happen. People need at bats to develop the rhythm of engaging
one another on this level. Talking for 10 minutes after the weekly meeting is simply not
enough time to build this kind of community. Garrett Higbee points out the value of using

Moore, Ralph. Starting a New Church. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2002.Moore, p. 103

Moore, p. 170

56

small groups in this way and emphasizes that small groups for the sake of small groups will
not develop the kind of relational chemistry and love that is necessary to support this kind of
personal ministry. Higbee writes it is possible to contrast the difference between a church
with a biblical counseling department and a church of biblical counselors. His main point is
that anyone who is generally inclined to care enough about others to ask questions when they
are hurting and confident enough in the Lord and His Word can be trained to provide soul
care in the context of a small group that meets together regularly and expects this kind of
care. 10 Herbert agrees on the importance of involving everyone in the idea of creating and
maintaining a cultural commitment saying A churchs culture develops only when it
develops broadly throughout the entire body. Therefore, to change the culture of your church,
you need for it to be widespread throughout the membership.11
Developing a model like this in a church plant setting can be easier than in an existing
church because the lead planter can serve as what Higbee calls the small group coach.
Whether that begins on day one if the lead planter intentionally gives the reigns of the initial
small group to another leader or whether it happens when small groups multiply, the direct
involvement of the person casting and maintaining the soul care emphasis throughout the
church will have a significant impact on the body life inside every small group.
Small groups become an important aspect of a biblical counseling culture not only
because of their size and in most cases proximity of the members, but also because of the
level of autonomy the groups have in personal ministry to one another and to the lost around
them. Properly done, small groups are more like an infantry squad on D-Day than they are
another church program. Yes, they have their general orders to take a hill, but they are not

10

Higbee, Garrett. "3 Functions of the Small Group Coach in Uncommon Community." Biblical
Counseling Coalition Blogs. 30 Mar. 2015. and Higbee, Garrett. "Are You Competent to Counsel?" Biblical
Counseling Coalition. 20 Mar. 2014
11

Herbert, Andrew. "How to Shape Your Church's Culture."

57

dependent on step by step instructions on how to get it done. The organic nature of small
groups (sometimes called Gospel Communities or Missional Communities in church plants
using them evangelistically) ministry benefits both the members and the community they are
trying to reach for Christ.
After pointing out the many benefits of small groups that are more organic
expressions of the church with large amounts of autonomy, Ralph Moore asks a key
question: How do you balance spontaneity with strategic purpose?12 This is potentially a very
real problem that is highly mitigated by investing in biblical counseling as part of the
churchs DNA since it is a ministry approach and skill set that affords massive flexibility in
and adaptability to many contexts. Church planting pastors should reject the idea of
balance entirely as if these two aspects of ministry were necessarily competitors. They
should embrace the idea of blending an emphasis on soul care into small groups and
everything else not because a church strategy document says so but because it is what
members actually want to do. This is essentially what Steve Viars and Rob Green describe at
Faith Church in Layfayette, Indiana when in discussing community outreach they say:
What does this have to do with biblical counseling, you might ask? The
principles that govern our interactions with others are taught in our biblical
counseling classes, and they impact the way we do each ministry. The pool is used by
a group that serves children in our community who have special needs. The gyms
hosted basketball and volleyball leagues where hundreds of people from the
community participate. The fields outside have been the site of over 1,000 people
gathering to watch five-year olds play soccer. The preschool serves nearly 100
families, many of whom are not connected to a church. The community center and
our associated community ministries have been a bridge to our community. Through
the center, we introduce our community to people who care, and, more importantly,
to a God who cares.13

12

Moore, p. 169
Viars, Steve and Green, Rob. "Biblical Counseling, the Church, and Community Outreach." Biblical
Counseling and the Church: God's Care through God's People. Ed. Robert W. Kellemen. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2015. Loc 5298. Kindle.
13

58

Like many things, saying you will plant a church where every member is counselor in
need of counsel and actually building it are two different things. There have been
considerable struggles maintaining this at Living Stones. One root cause is that while it is
trendy and enticing to claim the desire to live in an authentic, life on life manner, it is
actually pretty hard to get people to do it. Ironically, some newer people are more engaged in
trying to live out this culture than some of the people who started on the church planting
team.
For example, one husband and his wife had a disagreement about missional strategy
during a leader team meeting. Another couple on the leadership team basically shut down
from that point in the meeting onward, only weeks later to explain that they were shocked to
have witnessed a marital fight. While some of this can be attributed to perception, if indeed
they believed it was a real fight, the biblical counseling culture would have required some
kind of relatively prompt follow up. Instead, this couple ignored their responsibility to follow
up, apparently unaware of the fact that they themselves were acting more distant during the
period. It was a learning opportunity for both couples, but it is one of several concrete
examples that it can be challenging to find people who are both interested in church planting
and in biblical counseling. In retrospect, Living Stones would have been better served if
these kinds of situations were included in the vetting process because conflict among team
members in a church plant is virtually unavoidable.
Even in of team related disappointments where discouragement could easily set in
and turn a church planter into a regretful mess, the commitment to biblical counseling has an
enormous impact. Because both the planter and his wife were trained, committed biblical
counselors, they were able to encourage one another when other team members did not even
realize it was necessary. Where a commitment to and a skill for soul care is broadly held, it

59

mitigates the risk that anyone who is discouraged will be overlooked as church planting
teams encounter struggles and opposition.

The Welcoming Impact of Emphasizing Biblical Counseling

One reason it is so important for all members of a church plant emphasizing biblical
counseling and soul care from the start to be living it out daily is the practical benefit of
reminding ourselves and each other how desperately each Christian needs the grace and
power of Jesus. Helping others lead Gospel-centered lives and overcome fortified sins also
reminds church planters that they too need help in the fight. The value of good self-counsel
in a church plant cannot be overstated.
This is because those on a church planting team are more likely to encounter
unbelievers who have overt and troublesome sin patterns. This is not a problem but the
byproduct of church planting the way it has been defined by J.D. Payne. The point of a
church plant is not to start a new church but to reach lost people who have thus far evaded
the Gospel, and that mission oftentimes takes church planters into communities and
neighborhoods dominated by stubborn and particularly visible sin patterns.
Evangelistically, those committed to helping others solve deep seeded problems
biblically are just less likely to be shocked by some of the sin struggles unbelievers on the
mission field may exhibit. There is something about hearing about the impact of the fall up
close and personal over the years that helps the reality of the fall sink in more clearly. Sadly,
many Christians who love Jesus but live insulated lives are easily offended by the sin of
unbelievers who are simply doing what their nature demands (Rom 8:5-8). Mark Smith, one
of the pastors of City Church Dublin puts it this way:
Jesus was unshockable. Why? Because the manifestations of sin in our lives
are a logical consequence of our fall. Paradise is lost and decay is its replacement. If
we have an understanding of the Doctrine of the Fall this shouldnt be big news to us
either. The shocking truth about Christians is that we should be unshockable! Yet
60

Christians can sometimes stand slack-jawed when confronted with the horror of sin in
peoples lives. The result is we look naive and people tend not to be truly honest
because they think we wont understand or that well faint like some Victorian
debutante. Jesus knew the ravages of sin in peoples lives and met them head on.14

This is not to say that believers in Jesus Christ should be flippant about sin in people
they meet. Sin is cosmic treason against the most beautiful, loving, wonderful person in the
universe. It simply is to say that biblical counseling experience helps Christians to be soberminded about the power of sin and the misery it brings. Once someone exhibits a particular
sin struggle or shares how sin has brought so much grief into his or her life, he or she has the
experience necessary to take this sad state of affairs and help a lost one find victory and hope
in Jesus.
This is actually quite unusual an experience for an unbelieving person to be around
those who concur with their own conscience that sin is destroying them but is not afraid to
love them and befriend them anyway. Building relationship with unbelievers could be the
single most dominant activity for church planting teams, and as Rosario Butterfield says
while commenting about reaching those stuck in homosexuality, How can you possibly
have strong words without strong relationships? And how can you possibly have strong
relationships without taking the risk of being rejected? If you want to put the hand of the lost
into the hand of the Savior, you have to get close enough to get hurt. That may be a new idea
for many Christians, but its the ground rules of the new game.15
But evangelistic courage is not the only byproduct of a church plant filled with people
committed to and experienced in biblical counseling. What happens when these people with

14

Smith, Mark. "The Shocking Truth about Christians | City Church Dublin." City Church Dublin.
December 2, 2013. Accessed March 14, 2016. http://www.citychurchdublin.ie/the-shocking-truth-aboutchristians/.
15

Butterfield, Rosaria. "'We Are All Messy': Rosaria Butterfield on Loving Our Gay and Lesbian
Friends." The Gospel Coalition, 17 Feb. 2015. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.

61

significant sin struggles respond to the Gospel message and come to Christ? Those who best
understand how to break free of sins that have habitually entangled Christians are best
positioned to disciple babes in Christ coming from a background of addiction, sexual
immorality, extreme irresponsibility, etc. Rather than these people being welcomed into the
kingdom of God and then shown seats in the shadows, as is the experience of many new
believers with shady backgrounds, a church committed to biblical counseling has seen many
times over how God makes beauty out of ashes and restores the years the locusts have eaten.
This seems to be especially true in church plants focused on hard places where
poverty, drugs, crime, low literacy, etc. has taken root. Andy Constable, one of the leaders in
the 20 Schemes church planting ministry among low income housing schemes in Scotland,
had this to say about the struggles of personal ministry to these cases in church plants in hard
places:
And although the work is exciting and ground breaking, the stress in these
areas is immense. We are working with people with mental health issues, long term
drug abuse histories, the sexually abused and people with chaotic lives. On top of that
you are preparing sermons, dealing with pastoral issues and running a team. This is
people focused ministry and people are tiring. Many ministers with no experience, but
with good intentions, go into schemes to plant and collapse under the work load. They
burn out because they didnt get any support. They didnt know where to focus their
attentions.16

Church planters who do not have a commitment to soul care and have not seen Gods
faithfulness in difficult counseling situations will not have the necessary reservoir of Gospel
hope in the future grace available to these new brothers and sisters. When faced with
overwhelming odds, David remembered that it was God who helped him strike down both

16

Constable, Andy. "The Importance of Training Leaders." Niddrie Community Church. 04 Nov.
2011. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.

62

lions and bears and he used that experience to justify his hope and confidence in the Lord to
give victory over Goliath. It is no different when discipling in extremely challenging cases.

Barriers to Maintaining a Biblical Counseling Culture as

a Church Plant Grows and Changes
Just because a church plant begins with a culture of emphasizing biblical counseling
in every facet of its ministry does not mean it will inevitably always remain that way. As
people without an anchor in biblical counseling come to Christ or join the church from other
places there is a risk that this emphasis can be diluted by other priorities or lost altogether.
Maintaining any culture, especially a culture that competes so starkly with the
surrounding culture, is difficult. Dr. Tom Cocklereece found in speaking with people
implementing a culture shift inside churches that short term gains did not always result in
long term change.
A few churches using the Simple Discipleship process were successful at implementing
but within a couple of years they were struggling to maintain momentum. In some cases
the resistance to the new process came from some who refused to allow the church to
change. Many church leaders have the ability to implement a process but few of them
have the patience and determination to solidify the process to maintain a disciple-making
culture. In the book I said, Many leaders are surprised at the speed at which changes are
reversed when the champions of tradition regain a footing. 17

Maintaining a culture through times of growth is not limited to churches. One

business owner whose company grew from 40 people to 150 people quickly noted that unless
they took four specific steps to feed their initial culture, they would quickly lose it as growth

17

Cocklereece, Tom. Simple Discipleship: How to Make Disciples in the 21st Century. St. Charles, IL:
Church Smart Resources, 2009. p173.

63

rings separated those who started with the company from those who followed.18 The early
church experienced this as well as Gentiles started joining a predominantly Jewish church
and Jewish Christians failed to live out the gospel culture that drew them to Christ in the first
place.19
This is why, once membership is established, new members should be integrated into
the fabric of personal ministry quickly. Even before membership, those investigating the
church or new believers saved through the churchs witness should be well acquainted with
what it looks and feels like to be a giver and a receiver of biblical counsel. This should
include the idea that the church is not as interested in fancy insights into the Scriptures or
even internal sin patterns as it is in actual change in mindsets and conduct to be more like
Jesus.20
In many ways, maintaining a culture of personal ministry is similar to maintaining a
culture of evangelism. As will be seen in the next chapter, biblical counseling and
evangelism are not distant cousins but close friends and the church can learn much about
maintaining the culture of one by what is important with maintaining the culture of the other.
Mike McKinley says The gospel message is the fuel that feeds an evangelistic
culture in a church.21 When people understand the full Gospel and their utter unworthiness

18

Adika, Dan. "4 Tips to Maintain Company Culture While Experiencing Rapid Growth." Inc.com.
August 14, 2015. Accessed April 27, 2016. http://www.inc.com/young-entrepreneur-council/4-tips-to-maintaincompany-culture-while-experiencing-rapid-growth.html .
19

A vivid example of this is seen in Galatians 2 where Paul confronts Peter for his hypocrisy in dealing
with Gentile believers, and Paul discusses it further in Acts 15, Romans 15, Galatians 3, etc.
20

Tripp, Paul David. Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People
in Need of Change. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Pub., 2002. p 242-43
21

McKinley, Mike. "Three Ingredients for an Evangelistic Church Culture." 9Marks September 9,
2013. Accessed March 14, 2016. https://9marks.org/article/journalthree-ingredients-evangelistic-churchculture/. McKinley is the pastor of a church revitalization effort in a poor, diverse area of Virginia outside
Washington DC.

64

of it, it will automatically produce an evangelistic culture. People talk about things that excite
them without any prodding. This underscores Mike Bullmores point that embedding the
functional centrality of the gospel into the culture of the local church has many positive
outcomes.
A church-wide commitment to personal ministry is also like that. When everyday
church members have had a front row seat to the glory of God in the rescue of sinners from
habitual sin or painful suffering, it is exciting. They talk about it without programs and
prompting. They recruit others into the mission. They grow in their confidence that God
really is working and does have a game plan to make even the most messed up Christian look
more like Jesus. They get a glimpse of what a promise keeping God means when Paul says of
Him that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus
Christ. (Phil 1:6). When it comes to maintaining a culture like this, there is simply no
substitute for putting members in a position to see God working.
McKinley goes on to reinforce Deepak Rajus point. He says modeling behavior is
the most important training any pastor can give his people. He advises other pastors to take
young believers along when scheduled to give an evangelistic message, to model how to
speak to unbelievers during sermons and emphasizing resources for members that help them
remain committed to and skilled in personal ministry to one another. Certainly the biblical
counseling world has come a great distance in making materials accessible for everyday
Christians and many landmark books covering soul care are eminently readable by everyday
church members (e.g. Instruments in the Redeemers Hands, How People Change,
Respectable Sins, Trusting God, etc.)
Dustin Willis offered seven suggestions to maintain a church culture that values
something countercultural and several of these apply to keeping soul care prominent in

65

churches. 22 Willis says it is critical to embed the core principle into everything done at the
church. Separating out a main thing on special events or weekends actually dilutes its
influence in the church. When a core cultural value is brought into the everyday life of the
church there are multiple entry points into the hearts and minds of church members.
Willis also thinks it is important to tell it and celebrate it, meaning pastors should
frequently remind people of the importance of the culture and celebrate those who live it out
in everyday life. Ed Stetzer agrees that churches tend to become what they celebrate, adding
that it is important to celebrate the best things not only good things. In his example, he cited
the difference between celebrating giving to mission, a good thing, and actually living on
mission, the best thing.23
Conclusion
Creating and maintaining a culture where every church members first inclination is
to consider those around them as primarily people in need of soul care is one of the most
important missions of a church planter that desires to plant a church built around biblical
counseling. A core commitment to soul care by a broad segment of the church is required to
execute on both evangelistic opportunities based on soul care and internal help for one
another. Every church has some kind of culture, but only churches that invest a culture
committed to soul care will have one.

Willis, Dustin. Life in Community: Building Churches that Display the Gospel. Lecture,
McDonough, GA, February 18, 2016. Dustin Willis is the General Editor of the Send Network of the North
American Mission Board.
22

23

Stetzer, Ed. "What You Celebrate, You Become." The Exchange. June 2, 2015. Accessed April 27,
2016. http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2015/june/what-you-celebrate-you-become.html.

66

CHAPTER 5
SPECIFIC TACTICS OF A BIBLICAL COUNSELING CHURCH PLANT

Church planting teams desiring to emphasize biblical counseling and soul care should
expect different kinds of challenges and opportunities than a traditional church plant.
Without considering these in advance, the church plant will face unnecessary difficulties.

Marriage Counseling When One Spouse is an Unbeliever

Marriage and family counseling is always emotional and often challenging, even
when both spouses are professing believers and committed to Jesus. When one spouse is an
unbeliever it adds considerable complexity both to the marriage and to the parenting of any
children. As detailed in Chapter 2, church planting is primarily a missionary activity, this
represents a type of counseling that church planting counselors should embrace.
Counseling the believing spouse
Being married to an unbeliever is hard. There are no two ways about it. Counseling
the believing spouse in these cases requires compassion and patience, especially when there
are children in the home. The believing spouse often comes to counseling with a mixture of

67

skepticism, fear and uncertainty. Since the majority (but not all) of these cases seem to be
believing wives of unbelieving husbands, the paper will this motif.1
The primary focus in these cases must be to encourage the believing spouse to keep
her eyes fixed on Jesus and not circumstances. This is especially in cases where the marriage
has been difficult for a long period of time or when abuse or adultery has taken place. She
needs to know and experience the faithfulness of Jesus in the midst of daunting
circumstances.
Since it is hard to remain fixed o Jesus during severe marriage trials, the most
important aspect of marriage counseling for her is her personal devotional life. The counselor
needs to pay special attention to helping her walk in the light and keep her hope on Jesus t
during counseling sessions or in side interactions. He is the hope of every Christian (Titus
2:13), and close communion with Him will be necessary for her to do all that she is called to
do as a wife, mom and Christian. A key passage for teaching and meditation could be John
15 because it shows her that her strength, vitality and purpose comes from Jesus and not from
her marriage. Cultivating the relationship with the Vine will include support from believing
friends in her local church coupled with a ruthless determination to root out heart level sins
such as discontent with her circumstances, insubordination toward her husband and envy of
others in better marriage situations. Her willingness to seek her husbands forgiveness
when she sins against him (Matt 5:23-24, James 5:16), forgive him when he asks and have a
forgiving attitude when he does not (Eph 4:32), follow his lead (Eph 5:22-24), and pray for

This has been the authors clear experience and confirmed by Rick Thomas, a prominent biblical
counseling expert who has trained and manages a network of dozens of counselors.
1

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him when he is unlovely (1 Tim 2:1-3, Matt 5:44) are all important aspects of her faith in
action.2
This focus will show itself in her prayer life, both in frequency and type of request.
Counselors need to help believing wives to keep their prayer life clinging to those things that
God loves and desires. Practically this helps the wife by placing her in the realm of Gods
peace (Isa 26:3) and reminds her that God has not left her to her own devices. Frequent God
centered prayer can also help her take every thought captive to the obedience that Christ
demands (2 Cor 10:5) which will channel her affection toward God and the husband He gave
her. Prayers of thanksgiving glorify God by helping her to see all that He has done and fight
against the common temptation toward bitterness or resentment.
Another key issue to observe is the degree to which the wifes hope has shifted from
Jesus to getting her husband saved. Many times a wife in this situation can begin thinking
that if only her husband was saved her marriage problems would be solved.3 Not only is
this a form of idolatry because it puts her faith in something other than God, but it also sets
her up for certain failure. She volunteers for disappointment after disappointment by defining
his salvation as the only possible way to see God at work. Her own progress toward
godliness in the midst of severe trial is also a miracle. She will likely be disappointed even if
her husband does repent and come to Christ by expecting him to be transformed to a

Turner, Marci. "Unequally Yoked: What to Do When Your Husband Is an Unbeliever | Christ Church
Welcomes You." Christ Church Welcomes You. February 09, 2013. Accessed May 08, 2016.
http://christchurchreformed.com/unequally-yoked-what-to-do-when-your-husband-is-an-unbeliever/ .
3

Carr, Steve. "Living With Your Non-Christian Spouse." Living With Your Non-Christian Spouse.
Accessed May 08, 2016. http://www.covenantkeepers.org/online-articles/42-conflict-resolution/322-livingwith-your-non-christian-spouse. Carr offers other helpful points including fighting the temptation to look for a
way out and remembering the point of marriage.

69

husband that only exists in her imagination. Godly husbands and happy marriages are created
things and in competition of the fullest affection which belongs to God alone (Rom 1:25).
A Christian married to an unbeliever should live a life that pleases God and serves her
husband, but words also matter. Sam Crabtree reminds Christians that there is a fruit to be
harvested as a consequence of how Christians speak and that reaping follows planting.4 Much
of the relational conflict in a marriage can be traced back to words spoken in haste or anger,
but perhaps more conflict is caused when sacrificial, excellent or charitable living goes
without commendation.5 Since even an unbeliever is made in the image of God, it is possible
for a wife to witness and commend loving actions of her husband, and it is important for her
to do so. Counselors need to remind both spouses of this, but it is especially important for the
believing spouse to model Gods kindness in this way because it acknowledges God as the
source of everything to be affirmed in creation.
Living a God-centered life while married to an unbelieving husband is difficult, but a
Christian wife can find comfort and endurance from considering that Jesus endured even
extreme hostility and endured great pain for the joy that his Father has stored up for Him
(Heb 12:2-3). Not only did He do so perfectly in her place providing justification for her
failures, but He gives her His strength to follow in His footsteps because His suffering was a
gateway to glory (Rom 8:15). It can also be helpful to remind wives that God knows that they
are married to unbelieving husbands and that their life can be a powerful force to win them to
the Savior (1 Pet 3:1-6).

Crabtree, Sam. Practicing Affirmation: God-centered Praise of Those Who Are Not God. Wheaton,
IL: Crossway, 2011.
5

Ibid

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Counseling the unbelieving spouse

Chapter three addressed the possibility of using biblical counseling evangelistically
with an unbeliever. The primary focus in cases where it is clear one spouse in unbelieving
must be to bring the Scriptures to him in a way that challenges his self-rule and self-love in
his life and his marriage. While some progress toward peace can be made by counseling in a
utilitarian way, this approach is likely to lack any fuel for sustainable improvement and can
be counterproductive. Focusing on pragmatism appeals to the self-centered motives of the
unbeliever rather than a God-centered view that provides both a new direction and a new
motivation for change. It is essential that the counselor hold up Gods standard for good
(which for a husband is the perfect Husband, Jesus) early and often to help the unbelieving
spouse see the impossibility of meeting it on his own.
Many times the unbelieving spouse actually believes he is a Christian, despite fruit
revealing otherwise. In these cases the Scriptures to use are those that reveal the
inconsistency between his life and how the Bible describes the life of the Christian. A useful
passage is John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey
the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him because it highlights the fact
that the kind of faith that saves is the kind of faith that produces obedience. This truth can be
convicting as the Spirit reveals the contradiction between his profession and his actual walk.
Other passages that reinforce this point might include John 14:21-23 or Hebrews 5:9. Of
these two, John 14 may be preferable as a secondary passage because it allows the counselee
to keep reading the Gospel of John which is a common homework assignment for
unbelievers.

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If he is under no impression that he is a Christian, there are still opportunities to bring

the Word of God to bear in redemptive ways. For example, the Scriptures can be used to
highlight the root cause of why the couple sees issues differently. When there is a difference
in how the family spends its Sundays, allocates its finances or develops friendships all of
which will inevitably happen in a marriage of a believer and an unbeliever the counselor
can highlight the Christian basis for these things and draw out the unbelievers basis for his
position. Each of these is an opportunity to expose him to the majesty of God from different
perspectives and paint the picture of a God who tenderly cares for His people and exudes
majesty at the same time.
The fact that he is willing to submit to a counseling approach that holds the Bible as
final authority may in itself be a sign that God is already working. Counselors are responsible
to steward the opportunity to the highest degree possible. This can include wise pragmatism
even if it does not overtly move conversations toward the Gospel. For example, working to
understand how conflicts arise and the normal pattern for resolving them provides
opportunities to work toward a more peaceful home. Since an unbeliever will not experience
Spirit induced restraint, they can be more volatile in conflicts presenting a greater physical
and emotional danger to weaker members of the family. Even behavioristic coaching here
can cultivate soil for redemptive conflict resolution that can showcase the Gospel in the
believing spouse. These discussions can also provide teaching moments where a greater
knowledge of Gods Word may serve as a restraining grace on conduct that is especially
hurtful or painful to the believing spouse and children. In His mercy, God does restrain
wickedness and exposure to His Word is sometimes the instrumentation for this mercy.

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These types of conversation also provide background information on the unbeliever that can
help the counselor pinpoint the application of Gods Word better.
Perhaps the most important consideration for the counselor himself in counseling a
family with an unbelieving husband is the nature of the relationship itself. People in America
are remarkably lonely and often have very few friends.6 A (male) counselor who genuinely
cares for an unbelieving husband, takes an interest in his life and challenges and even spends
time with him outside of the counseling context if possible sends a strong message about the
reality of the faith. One of the greatest advantages of biblical counseling is the freedom of the
counselor to engage the people he or she is helping in this way, and it is nowhere more
important than when counseling an unbeliever. Each of these contacts provides additional
opportunities to bring the truth into conversations other than their marriage and demonstrate
the attractiveness of the Gospel. Jesus Himself is the example of this approach to spending
time with unbelievers but always counseling them with truth appropriate for different
settings.
Special parenting issues with a married beliver and unbeliever

Do biblical counselors believe that God will use the instrumentation of one
unbelieving parent to influence the faith of children of a believing parent? Does faith in
Christ of one parent nullify the right of the unbelieving spouse to direct and influence the

Shaw Crouse, Janice. "The Loneliness of American Society." The American Spectator. May 18,
2014. Accessed May 08, 2016. http://spectator.org/articles/59230/loneliness-american-society.

73

couples children? The answer to these questions will drive much of the approach to
counseling a couple regarding parenting issues.
While a believing parent should be focused on heart level issues of his or her children
(Prov 4:23, Luke 6:43-45), unbelieving spouses are more likely to address behavior
exclusively. This can create conflict in the marriage and inconsistency in parenting and
relational problems between children and parents. This issue is a serious, long term matter
that can be worked on during marriage counseling. If the couple will commit to reading God
centered parenting books such as Shepherding a Childs Heart, Gospel Centered Parenting or
Age of Opportunity together it can expose both husband and wife to concepts that will enrich
their parenting, their marriage and their personal relationship with Christ. As these topics are
discussed in relation to the children, it provides a natural bridge for the counselor to discuss
them in relationship to the unbelieving spouse as well.
If one or more children are professing believers, this creates more opportunities for
conflict and problems, because the believing spouse can be tempted to confide
inappropriately in the child rather than her unbelieving spouse. In cases where this occurs,
the unbelieving spouse can often feel ganged up on or further isolated inside his home.
Believing children are an extreme blessing from God, they are not an acceptable interruption
in the one flesh relationship God meant for a married couple. The counselor should
determine if this this situation is present in the home, and make efforts to mitigate the risk.
Left alone, this situation could turn the child against the unbelieving parent, even if
unintentionally so, and increase the level of difficultly for the child to honor his or her parent
properly. Certainly believing family members ought to have freedom to help and pray for

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unbelievers in their family, but confidences need to remain within their God ordained
boundaries.
A third important parenting aspect when counseling a believer and an unbeliever is
managing extended family relationships. This is especially true if the unbelieving spouses
extended family is generally also unbelieving. The believing spouse will have to spend time
considering how her in-laws parenting practices could spill over into their conduct as
grandparents and other roles. A fundamental building block to this strategy must be
evaluating trends rather than isolated incidents. It should filter out those activities that are
simply annoying or not to her preference. In fact, letting go of personal preferences, such as
holiday traditions or frequency of family communication, are ways a believing spouse can
demonstrate the attractiveness of the Gospel as she prefers others in love out of the overflow
of the love of Christ in her. This is not to say there will never be conflict, but the opposite.
Since conflict regarding extended family is inevitable, she will want to pick her battles
carefully and do as much as is in her power to live at peace with all men (Rom 12:18).

When not to do marriage counseling between a believer and an unbeliever

Even with the great hope of the Holy Spirit saving an unbelieving spouse,
transforming marriages and building up families, there are times when it is unwise to counsel
a couple in this situation. Counselors will need to rely on the Holy Spirit to provide the
discernment necessary to know when either offering individual counseling or suspending
counseling is the wise choice.

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The clearest case to avoid marriage counseling is when there is an active allegation of
abuse. Unless part of a multifaceted approach with the judicial system, marriage counseling
can give abusers more excuses to maintain access to their victims by showing a fake
commitment to change and can confuse victims by making it seem like an expert believes
the situation warrants more time. Any credible abuse allegation should be reported to
government authorities in addition to any services the church may provide to address the
victims suffering and shame. After appropriate investigations are completed, marriage
counseling may begin.
Another case where marriage counseling should be suspended is when one party is
not committed to the counseling progress. Any time there appears to be a lack of
commitment to the counseling process it is critical that the counselor take time to understand
the root cause rather than make a quick judgment. Is the structure of the counseling sessions
a barrier? Could homework assignments be more practical or easier to understand? Is the
counseling giving hope in the midst of difficulty? There are many considerations beyond a
hard-hearted counselee that should be evaluated prior to suspending counseling. Once
suspended, the counselor should make it clear what conditions are necessary to resume
counseling sessions.
Counseling one party who is willing to cooperate in the counseling process is always
an option when marriage counseling is suspended. If this path is chosen, some effort should
be made to demonstrate to the unresponsive spouse that counseling sessions are not filled
with gossip and that he or she is welcome to resume meeting together once the basic
commitment to the process is embraced again.

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Serving the Community Broadly

Tim Keller has been one of evangelical Christianitys loudest voices on the idea of
churches and especially church planters serving the city where God has placed them.7 After
explaining Gods plan for cities, he writes, God invented the city, so we dont abandon it
we build it. Proverbs 11:1011 says, Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted.
Church planting counselors have opportunities to deploy specialized skills to bless the
community in ways churches built with different emphases do not. While these areas are true
of all churches, church plants have more freedom toward ministry development, meeting
space location and resource allocation, and can focus on them more heavily.

At risk children
All communities have children who are at risk of going in the wrong direction. A
church plant that emphasizes biblical counseling and soul care is more likely to recognize
that every person is, in varying degrees, going in the wrong direction. This perspective
removes many of the common barriers to caring for young people that are not well behaved,
repel others with sinful habits, or struggle to meet academic or other goals.

This theme is prevalent throughout Kellers work on ecclesiology and church planting. For example,
see "God Loves Cities and Christians Should Too, Says Tim Keller. October 21, 2010. Accessed May 08,
2016.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/god.loves.cities.and.christians.should.too.says.tim.keller/26938.htm .
7

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Maurice Elias suggests four ways to bless these types of young people, and church
plants filled with counseling members can perform all of them.8 Church planters that
emphasize caring for souls can commit to caring, sustained relationships among young
people in their neighborhoods better than almost anyone. This is especially true if there is a
peer group among the church planting families, but it is not exclusive to peers. At risk youth
need hope and realistic goals that biblical counselors have experience providing. They need
support without judgment that those committed to soul care have practiced over time.
Many at risk youth do not have intact families.9 In fact, this is often what places them
at high risk. According to the National Center on Fathering, fatherlessness is a prime cause of
poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, poor physical and emotional health, educational
achievement, juvenile delinquency and teenage sexual activity and pregnancy.10 Church
plants committed to soul care are well equipped to serve local families without fathers
because they routinely help people overcome habitual sin struggles and are ready to intervene
in the lives of those trapped in these behaviors.

Maurice Elias, The Four Keys to Helping At-Risk Kids, Edutopia, January 22, 2009, http: blab la
(accessed May 09, 2016).
8

Thirty five percent of children in America are in single parent homes. The percentage of fatherless
homes in cities is significantly higher than in suburban and rural areas and so church plants can make more of
an impact in more urban areas. For example 75% of children Cleveland are in single parent homes. In
Washington D.C. it is 53%. In Detroit, 71% of children are fatherless. "Children in Single-parent Families |
KIDS COUNT Data Center." Children in Single-parent Families | KIDS COUNT Data Center. October 2015.
Accessed May 09, 2016. http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/106-children-in-single-parentfamilies#detailed/1/any/false/869,36,868,867,133/any/429,430
The Consequences of Fatherlessness, National Center for Fathering, Accessed May 09, 2016,
http://www.fathers.com/statistics-and-research/the-consequences-of-fatherlessness/.
10

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Living Stones interacts with many teen and pre-teen boys, most of whom have little
or no connection to either their fathers or their community. These children move frequently
and are often unsupervised by mothers who work multiple jobs to make ends meet. Because
of its orientation toward soul care, church families welcome these boys into their homes and
lives. They discuss life struggles, help the boys understand issues such as integrity and
commitment, and set an example of what a father could be. In doing so, the gospel of
inclusion is put on display in a way that is not present during a one hour Sunday meeting.
Another reason church plants with an emphasis on soul care are well positioned for
this kind of ministry is because it is hard. Unsupervised young people arrive announced at
church members homes with expectations of immediate attention. They exhaust the patience
of church members trying to minister to them. They drain resources in ways that other people
do not. A church plant committed to soul care is able to come alongside its members to help
them not grow weary in doing good in ways churches uncommitted to soul care cannot. 11

Homeless
Homeless people, particularly homeless men, often contributed to that condition
because of choices they have made that affected their family or employment relationships.12

11

Galatians 6:9 (ESV)

12

While societal and environmental conditions certainly contribute to homelessness, many homeless
men report alcohol use problems, drug abuse, chronic health conditions related to personal choices such as
smoking, refusal to work, criminal convictions, poor relational and job skills and other self-inflicted problems.
The fact that homeless people contribute to their own homelessness does not give any Christian permission to
withhold mercy from them. Some aspects of homelessness, such as domestic abuse, almost always affect
women and children. See "Facts and Figures: The Homeless." PBS. June 26, 2009. Accessed May 17, 2016.
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/526/homeless-facts.html., "Working at Cross Purposes." Democracy in America
(blog), June 25, 2010. Accessed May 17, 2016.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2010/06/unemployment_and_homelessness. Why Are

79

Even when a primary responsibility rests on the homeless person, there are almost always
contributing factors from external forces that should generate compassion in the heart of the
church planter.13
Church planting counselors are perfectly positioned to interact with homeless seeking
to transition into mainstream society because they have an acute understanding of the
consequences of sin and have developed empathy for the suffering. Biblical counselors are
often called on to help someone who is simultaneously experiences pain from their own sin
and impacts from being sinned against. The skills used to help a middle class person fight
habitual sin transfer immediately to working with a homeless person whose habitual sin
resulted in the loss of his or her home. The commitment to soul care reminds the biblical
counselor that every person, regardless of where he or she lives, is made in the image of God
and deserves to be honored as such.
There is overlap between problems common to homeless people and the expertise of
biblical counselors. Biblical counselors are experienced in helping others deal with and
overcome issues such as joblessness, domestic turbulence/violence, depression, addictions,
relationship problems and chronic disease. Each of these struggles, whether self-imposed or
not, provides a church plant the opportunity to help a struggling sinner turn his or her gaze
from the immediate problem to the Savior.

People Homeless?" National Coalition for the Homeless. July 2009. Accessed May 09, 2016.
http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/why.html. "Causes Of Homelessness." Canadian Observatory on
Homelessness. 2015. Accessed May 09, 2016. http://homelesshub.ca/about-homelessness/homelessness101/causes-homelessness
13

Long, Russ. "Chapter 6 Urban Problems." Del Mar College. January 11, 2015. Accessed May 09,
2016. http://dmc122011.delmar.edu/socsci/rlong/problems/chap-06.htm.

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Assisting local governments

Working with at risk youth and the homeless is not the only area where a church plant
committed to soul care can impact its community. Over the next decade, local governments
will be actively seeking community involvement in key initiatives.14 As a church plant begins
to counsel members of the community, it will begin to learn key struggles and opportunities
facing its neighbors. Church plants committed to their neighborhood and to soul care will be
a benefit to local governments trying to address not only the symptoms but the root causes of
these difficulties.
For example, the aging US population combined with longer life spans presents a
considerable challenge to local and state governments.15 By 2030, nearly one in five
Americans will be 65 years old or older. Neither the social safety net nor modern family
structures are adequate to provide care and companionship to the ever increasing number of
elderly in North American cities. Church plants committed to soul care can serve their cities
well by locating near high concentrations of elderly residents that need more practical
support and soul care. Elderly populations can have significant struggles with health,
finances, and grief. Church planting counselors can assist in practical needs while using these
struggles as an entry gate to help the elderly fix their ultimate hope on Jesus.
In 2011, urban growth outpaced suburban growth in America for the first time and
this trend is expected to continue over the next decade.16 Urbanization presents its own set of

14

Megele, Claudia. "Local Government in 2020: Challenges and Opportunities." The Guardian. April
11, 2012. Accessed May 09, 2016. http://www.theguardian.com/local-government-network/2012/apr/11/localgovernment-2020-challenges-opportunities .
15

"Addressing the Challenges of an Aging Population." Mission and Voice, June 2008. Accessed May
9, 2016. http://iod.unh.edu/visionvoice/summer08/aging.html.
16

Wirth, Anthony and Rasmussen, Marc, "US Urbanization Trends." CBRE Global Investors
Newsletter, January 2015

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challenges that many urban dwellers have never faced. Church plants emphasizing biblical
counseling and soul care can work to manage conflicts that arise in their neighborhood with
the changes toward urbanization. Some urbanization trends, such as gentrification, create
significant conflict in communities. Whether this is in a formal capacity in partnership with
local governments or independently, putting a biblical counselors conflict resolution and
reconciliation skills to work in this context is a practical way to grow the Kingdom.

Managing Side Effects of a Disproportionately High Number of

People with Serious Problems Joining the Church

A practical reality of a church plant emphasizing soul care is that its members are
more likely to have some kind of life dominating problem that needs diligent soul care.
Church planting teams that use the evangelistic strategy promoted in Chapter 3 are almost
guaranteed this result. Church plants desiring to emphasize soul care should be aware of
certain considerations such as resource drain, safety issues and church instability.

Resource drain
Caring for needy people at the level of their souls is hard, time consuming work.
Church plants committed to biblical counseling and soul care should understand the level of
effort required to be successful and develop a strategy to avoid wearing out its leadership
team. This is particularly true if the church plant is seeking to use this emphasis in a
multicultural setting where additional, often unfamiliar, factors must be considered in

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shepherding souls.17 Even secular counselors, whose livelihoods depend on needy people
coming to them for help, recognize the danger of overloading counselors.18 Burnout in
secular counselors is real even with the additional barriers they use to keep distance from
counseling clients. Thomas Skovholt writes, The key is to not become too deeply enmeshed.
A good counselor firmly separates the clients personal life from his or her own.19 This is
precisely the opposite approach of a church planter who follows the model of the Apostle
Paul and desires to spend and be spent in caring for souls (2 Cor 12:15). How much more at
risk is the church planting counselor?
Living Stones did not realize this risk initially. Because the church was eager to reach
as many people as possible, it scheduled counseling appointments whenever a counselee,
especially an unbelieving counselee, was able to meet. This quickly resulted in counseling
multiple evenings each week on top of the other responsibilities the bi-vocational church
planting team has. Eventually, the church leadership determined that it would schedule four
sessions each week split between one weekday evening and Saturday morning. This limited
the exposure to some counselees that legitimately needed help, but it preserved the mission to
reach hurting people by preventing counseling opportunities from stealing time and energy
from other aspects of the church plant.

17

Ellen, Nicolas. "The Blessing of Serving in Multiethnic Ministry." Biblical Counseling Coalitian,
May 6, 2016. Accessed May 9, 2016. http://biblicalcounselingcoalition.org/2016/05/06/the-blessing-of-servingin-multiethnic-ministry/.
18

Skovholt, Thomas. "Avoiding Counselor BurnoutCounselor Licensing. Accessed May 09, 2016.
http://www.counselor-license.com/articles/avoiding-burnout-skovholt.html#context/api/listings/prefilter.
19

ibid

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Safety issues
Sometimes the sin and suffering in a counselees past brings with it potential dangers
to the church plant. These dangers need to be understood and addressed rather than hidden in
a misguided effort to make church members feel comfortable.
Normal safety precautions recommended for all churches are only the beginning point
for churches with an influx of people struggling with serious life dominating sins. For
example, safety precautions for childrens ministry and nursery areas are well publicized.20
This includes choosing workers wisely, performing background checks, staffing properly,
and regular inspections. Additional precautions should be taken if God uses a church planting
counselor to bring a sexual addict or predator to Christ. This might include restricting access
for the person, communicating the situation to select childrens ministry workers, and a
specific, pre-determined action plan if there is any evidence the rules have been broken.
Ministry to counselees outside corporate gatherings is still possible even if the church must
ban him or her from the premises following violations. Taking serious preventative steps is
not only a way to protect those most vulnerable, but also to enlist the full support of the
church to minister to people with serious sin habits in their past.
Church plants active in evangelism to those struggling with serious sin could also
encounter drug and alcohol abusers on the property while under the influence. While the
visceral reaction may be to require that they leave the property immediately, instructing an
intoxicated person to operate a motor vehicle could place the church or its members in legal

20

See for example "Nursery Safety: Choose Volunteers Carefully." Brotherhood Mutual. Accessed
May 10, 2016. http://www.brotherhoodmutual.com/index.cfm/resources/ministry-safety/article/nursery-safety/
or Model Policies for the Protection of Children and Youth from Abuse. Issue brief. New York, NY: Church
Pension Group, 2004.

84

jeopardy.21 Churches should anticipate this problems and work out a plan whereby
individuals suspected of being under the influence can be evaluated by a trained person in a
private area. If the suspicion is confirmed, the church should require that two members
transport the counselee to his or her home and make arrangements to return his or her vehicle
at a later time. If the counselee is unwilling to abide by this arrangement, the church has to be
prepared to notify the authorities of the potentially intoxicated driver before removing him or
her from the property.
A third risk church plants emphasizing biblical counseling and soul care face is that
of violence, especially domestic violence, on the property. It is not uncommon for biblical
counselors to engage with families that have faced domestic violence in their past. Often the
abuser refuses to participate in counseling so the church has no working relationship with
him or her to help mitigate tense situations. Situations where a domestic violence abuser
brings his or her violence to a church, school or workplace are so common they have their
own classification, domestic spillover. It is the second leading cause of violence on church
properties following robbery.22 Churches that suspect that a counselee has been a victim of
domestic violence should develop at least a basic plan to respond to a verbally or physically
violent situation. If the abuser is not also participating in counseling, this should include
securing and posting a recent picture of the abuser visible to ushers/greeters, training to those
who may answer the church phone to never provide the whereabouts of the counselee and

21

Wickert, Gary. "Liability for Allowing Drunk Driving: The Death of Personal Responsibility?"
Claims Journal News. January 02, 2014. Accessed May 10, 2016.
http://www.claimsjournal.com/news/national/2014/01/02/242115.htm.
22

McGinity, Brian. "Tag Archives: Church Security." Investigations Security Bureau. Accessed May
10, 2016. http://flisb.com/isb/tag/church-security/.

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reserving parking near the door and/or providing escorts for the counselee following meeting
times.
These are important considerations in church plants because unlike established
churches, church plants often lack the personnel or structures to facilitate these risk
management tactics. Only when they are considered in advance and built into the culture of
the church plant will they be sufficiently addressed.

Church instability
In many cases, counselees benefitting from biblical counseling remain very loyal to
the local church that helped them. However, one irony of being committed to caring for those
who need considerable help is that once successful, the counselee can often take advantage of
opportunities that lead him or her away from the church. This can be a serious problem in a
church plant trying to grow its membership in order to expand ministry opportunities.
It would be unwise and unloving to tether counselees to the church plant for an
extended period of time against their will, but there are things a church plant can do to
minimize the level of instability arising from graduated counselees leaving the church.
These ideas closely resemble those used to assimilate members whose initial exposure to the
church is through something other than biblical counseling.23
Counselees who are treated as members first and counselees second are more likely to
remain active members of the church after their formal counseling is completed. This is
because their primary identity in the church is not attached to the counseling relationship.
Church planters should place counselees with a genuine profession of faith into ministry
roles in the body as soon as practicable not because of concerns around retention but because

23

Ranier, Thom, "Four Principles to Membership Retention," Leadership Journal, July 2007,
http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2007/july-online-only/012705.html. (Accessed May 10, 2016)

86

it is how God ordered the local body to function (i.e.1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12). Raniers
research shows that plugging members into small groups where relationships are built and
one another ministry is performed is very helpful to improve retention and reduce
instability.24
Counselees leaving the church after formal counseling is complete are not the only
source of instability. Oftentimes, instability increases when they stay. This is because while
the formal counseling effort is completed, the counselees struggle with past sins and
consequences of those sins remains. Church plants, which are almost always smaller than
established churches, need to plan ahead to provide the kind resource needs to care for those
with habitual, life-dominating sins in their past. It is not uncommon for someone who has
struggled with depression, self-harm or anger in a life dominating way to continue to revert
to old patters during times of increased stress. Proper soul care will match these struggling
brothers and sisters with lifelong friends in the church who are trained and ready to assist
them in a daily walk and help sustain victory over these sinful patterns.

Conclusion

There is no shortage of hurting people in the world and a church planting approach
that emphasizes biblical counseling will be designed to draw them in. The undesirable side
effects of this high concentration of people with significant challenges are all managed by the
superintending hand of a loving God who promised to build His church. Nevertheless, they
will differ across mission fields and must be anticipated if they will be addressed with
wisdom, tact and grace.

24

Ibid

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CHAPTER 6
THESIS CONCLUSION

This paper demonstrates that while the term biblical counseling has become
popularized in the last 50 years, the idea of biblical counseling was originated by the Apostle
Paul in his church planting program. Paul knew that the way for brand new Christians to
grow up in their faith, find victory over sin, and promote an effective witness to unbelievers
around them was to show them how to apply gospel truth to their lives in practical ways. He
followed the same approach with churches where he spent much time such as Ephesus, those
where he spent little time (Thessalonica), and those he never visited at all (Rome and
Colossae). The current generation of church planters should follow suit.
This paper highlights how an emphasis on biblical counseling and soul care can
mitigate the most common problems church planters face. Research by Ed Stetzer and others
makes a compelling case that certain problems are typical of church plants and church
planters. Emphasizing biblical counseling and soul care early in the life of a church plant
lessens these risks by creating a culture that fosters transparency, expedites conflict
resolution, and develops leaders. While there is no one silver bullet to remove all the
common struggles of church planters, the survey included with this project reinforced the
notion that churches with a connection to biblical counseling and soul care were not as
affected by them as the general population of church plants Stetzer studied.
All facets of church planting are affected by placing an emphasis on biblical
counseling and soul care. When considering the ministry of the church to its own members,
emphasizing soul care equips them to better respond to the often rocky and unpredictable
nature of the church planting experience. A church plant that emphasizes soul care is the best
support for a church planter because it combats the popular notion of church planter as
celebrity and provides a critical spiritual foundation for the leader of the effort. While there
88

are obstacles to maintaining a culture of soul care in a church plant, church members that live
the vision daily are most likely to maintain it for the long term.
Biblically speaking, church planting is forming a new church from those who have
become Christians due to the church planting teams witness. Emphasizing biblical
counseling also helps this evangelistic mission by equipping every member to engage
unbelievers at the level of their hope. Showing concern for those who are hurting, depressed,
confused, angry, or in conflict provides ample opportunity to build bridges to the gospel and
point people to the One who delivers them from all their troubles both now and for eternity.
There are two key takeaways from this paper related to the selection and sending of
church planters. First, biblical counseling and soul care should be integrated into as many
church planting models as possible. The survey data demonstrates that both pioneer church
plants and mother/daughter church plants can incorporate biblical counseling and soul care
into their approaches. It also demonstrates that church plants that are committed to this
emphasis experience fewer internal problems and are more focused on the mission field
before them. This means that many church planters who have previously not had any training
in biblical counseling need to be equipped and the biblical counseling movement has the
responsibility to develop and deliver that kind of training.
The second implication is that many men who would not see themselves as
contemporary church planters, because they are less extroverted or inspirational for instance,
could actually be excellent church planters using this approach. As North America continues
to decline spiritually and many more church planters are needed, this news is a welcome
balm to church planting organizations eager to find additional workers. Churches are not
monolithic and the kind of church plants led by committed biblical counselors without prior
experience in church planting are just as necessary to reach a diverse and growing group of
unbelievers as those planted by church planters with other backgrounds.

89

APPENDIX 1
SAMPLE MINI CASE STUDE USED
IN SOUL CARE SERIES

90

APPENDIX 2
SURVEY DATA
Seq
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22

Denomination
None of Above
Harvest
None of Above
Harvest
Harvest
Harvest
None of Above
Harvest
Harvest
None of Above
Southern Baptist
Harvest
Southern Baptist
Southern Baptist
SOMA
SOMA
SOMA
Southern Baptist
Harvest
None of Above
SOMA
Harvest

Age of
church
24
57
>7
57
<2
24
0
24
24
<2
24
24
<2
24
>7
24
<2
57
57
57
57
24

Type of
Plant
offshoot
offshoot
offshoot
pioneer
offshoot
pioneer
offshoot
offshoot
offshoot
pioneer
pioneer
offshoot
pioneer
offshoot
offshoot
pioneer
pioneer
pioneer
offshoot
pioneer
pioneer
pioneer

Size of
church
51 100
> 400
201 - 400
> 400
100 200
100 200
< 20
51 100
51 100
< 20
100 200
100 200
100 200
20 - 50
100 200
51 100
< 20
51 100
> 400
201 - 400
100 200
20 - 50

Paid Staff
2 FT
> 2 FT
> 2 FT
> 2 FT
2 FT
> 2 FT
2 FT
2 FT
2 FT
0
> 2 FT
> 2 FT
> 2 FT
1 FT
2 FT
1 FT
1 FT
PT Only
> 2 FT
> 2 FT
1 FT
1 FT

Denomination:
Harvest
SOMA
Southern Baptist
None of Above

9
4
4
5

Age of Church:
conception
< 2 yrs
2-4 yrs
5-7 yrs
> 7 yrs

1
4
9
6
2

Type of Plant:
offshoot
pioneer

11
11

91

Size of Church:
< 20
20-50
51-100
100-200
201-400
> 400

3
2
5
7
2
3

Paid Staff:
none
PT only
1 FT
2 FT
> 2 FT

1
1
5
6
9

What would you say are the top three challenges facing your church plant? (Select Three)
Total:

Seq
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22

Loneliness/
isolation
1

Character
issues
(leaders)
1
1

Pursuing
unified
vision
1
1
1
1

11

Practical
logistics

Recruiting
believers

Getting/
keeping
funding

1
1

1
1

1
1

1
1

Developing
non-paid
Reaching
staff
unbelievers

Developing paid
staff

1
1
1

1
1
1
1

1
1

1
1
1
1
1

1
1
1

1
1
1

1
1

14

1
1

12

1
1

1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

1
1

1
1

92

1
1

Where is Time with Others Spent?

Raw Data

Seq
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22

Denomination
None of Above
Harvest
None of Above
Harvest
Harvest
Harvest
None of Above
Harvest
Harvest
None of Above
Southern Baptist
Harvest
Southern Baptist
Southern Baptist
SOMA
SOMA
SOMA
Southern Baptist
Harvest
None of Above
SOMA
Harvest

Age of church Type of Plant

24
offshoot
57
offshoot
>7
offshoot
57
pioneer
<2
offshoot
24
pioneer
0
offshoot
24
offshoot
24
offshoot
<2
pioneer
24
pioneer
24
offshoot
<2
pioneer
24
offshoot
>7
offshoot
24
pioneer
<2
pioneer
57
pioneer
57
offshoot
57
pioneer
57
pioneer
24
pioneer

Size of plant
51 100
> 400
201 - 400
> 400
100 200
100 200
< 20
51 100
51 100
< 20
100 200
100 200
100 200
20 - 50
100 200
51 100
< 20
51 100
> 400
201 - 400
100 200
20 - 50

Paid Staff
2 FT
> 2 FT
> 2 FT
> 2 FT
2 FT
> 2 FT
2 FT
2 FT
2 FT
0
> 2 FT
> 2 FT
> 2 FT
1 FT
2 FT
1 FT
1 FT
PT Only
> 2 FT
> 2 FT
1 FT
1 FT

Time w/ Paid
Staff
1
1
2
3
1
1
3
1
3
5
2
1
3
5
2
5
5
5
1
5
5
5

3
4
2
7
7
2

4
0
5
0
9
8

Lowest Priority
8
2
0
2
10

Summary Results:
Time w/ Paid Staff
Time w/ Volunt Staff
Time w/ Members
Time w/ Unbelievers- church
Time w/ Unbelievers- general

Top Priority
7
4
10
0
1

2
3
9
5
4
1

93

Time w/
Time w/
Volunt Staff Members
5
2
4
2
1
3
2
1
2
3
2
3
1
2
5
2
4
1
2
3
1
3
2
3
2
1
2
1
1
3
4
1
4
1
2
1
3
2
4
1
3
1
2
1

Time w/
Unbelieverschurch
3
3
4
5
4
4
5
3
2
4
4
4
4
3
4
3
2
3
4
2
2
3

Time w/
Unbelieversgeneral
4
5
5
4
5
5
4
4
5
1
5
5
5
4
5
2
3
4
5
3
4
4

Who can concisely describe the church's mission-vision-values?

Few or None
> 25%
> 50%
> 75%
Almost All

1
2
14
4
1

Biggest Barriers to Accomplishing the Mission?

Time
Interest
Money
Christians not reading their Bibles
Disunity
Lack of Gospel Fluency
Moving to a different state, transitions overall
Multiplication of Mission in Newer Attenders
Our flesh - lack of love for lost
Staff hiring setbacks
The Devil
Understanding of "being the church"
Volunteer Recruit
N/A
No response to question

5
3
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

94

Which Discipleship Styles Best Train/Mature the Flock?

Seq
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22

Denomination
None of Above
Harvest
None of Above
Harvest
Harvest
Harvest
None of Above
Harvest
Harvest
None of Above
Southern Baptist
Harvest
Southern Baptist
Southern Baptist
SOMA
SOMA
SOMA
Southern Baptist
Harvest
None of Above
SOMA
Harvest

Age of
church
24
57
>7
57
<2
24
0
24
24
<2
24
24
<2
24
>7
24
<2
57
57
57
57
24

Type of
Plant
offshoot
offshoot
offshoot
pioneer
offshoot
pioneer
offshoot
offshoot
offshoot
pioneer
pioneer
offshoot
pioneer
offshoot
offshoot
pioneer
pioneer
pioneer
offshoot
pioneer
pioneer
pioneer

Size of plant
51 100
> 400
201 - 400
> 400
100 200
100 200
< 20
51 100
51 100
< 20
100 200
100 200
100 200
20 - 50
100 200
51 100
< 20
51 100
> 400
201 - 400
100 200
20 - 50

Paid Staff
2 FT
> 2 FT
> 2 FT
> 2 FT
2 FT
> 2 FT
2 FT
2 FT
2 FT
0
> 2 FT
> 2 FT
> 2 FT
1 FT
2 FT
1 FT
1 FT
PT Only
> 2 FT
> 2 FT
1 FT
1 FT

Essential

Important

Useful

Not
Emphasized

Importance of
Sermons
Essential
Essential
Essential
Not Emphasized
Important
Essential
Essential
Essential
Essential
Not Emphasized
Essential
Essential
Essential
Essential
Essential
Essential
Essential
Essential
Essential
Essential
Essential
Essential

Summary:

Sermons

19

Small Groups

18

Staff Counseling

Volunteer Counseling

10

1:1 Discipleship

13

Special Events

12

95

Importance of
Small Groups
Essential
Essential
Essential
Essential
Essential
Essential
Important
Essential
Essential
Useful
Essential
Essential
Important
Essential
Essential
Essential
Not
Emphasized
Essential
Essential
Essential
Essential
Essential

Importance of
Staff Counseling
Not Emphasized
Not Emphasized
Essential
Important
Important
Important
Important
Essential
Important
Useful
Essential
Essential
Not Emphasized
Essential
Essential
Essential
Useful
Not Emphasized
Useful
Important
Important
Not Emphasized

Importance of
Volunteer
Counseling
Useful
Important
Essential
Essential
Important
Important
Important
Essential
Important
Important
Useful
Important
Not Emphasized
Important
Essential
Essential
Essential
Important
Useful
Important
Not Emphasized
Not Emphasized

Importance
of 1:1
Discipleship
Essential
Essential
Essential
Essential
Essential
Important
Important
Essential
Important
Important
Essential
Important
Essential
Essential
Not
Emphasized
Essential
Useful
Important
Essential
Essential
Essential
Important

Importance of
Special Events
Useful
Useful
Essential
Not Emphasized
Not Emphasized
Useful
Useful
Important
Not Emphasized
Useful
Useful
Useful
Useful
Not Emphasized
Important
Important
Useful
Important
Useful
Useful
Not Emphasized
Useful

Discipleship Training Style

Seq
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22

Denomination
None of Above
Harvest
None of Above
Harvest
Harvest
Harvest
None of Above
Harvest
Harvest
None of Above
Southern Baptist
Harvest
Southern Baptist
Southern Baptist
SOMA
SOMA
SOMA
Southern Baptist
Harvest
None of Above
SOMA
Harvest

Age of
church
24
57
>7
57
<2
24
0
24
24
<2
24
24
<2
24
>7
24
<2
57
57
57
57
24

Type of
Plant
offshoot
offshoot
offshoot
pioneer
offshoot
pioneer
offshoot
offshoot
offshoot
pioneer
pioneer
offshoot
pioneer
offshoot
offshoot
pioneer
pioneer
pioneer
offshoot
pioneer
pioneer
pioneer

Size of
plant
51 100
> 400
201 - 400
> 400
100 200
100 200
< 20
51 100
51 100
< 20
100 200
100 200
100 200
20 - 50
100 200
51 100
< 20
51 100
> 400
201 - 400
100 200
20 - 50

Paid Staff
2 FT
> 2 FT
> 2 FT
> 2 FT
2 FT
> 2 FT
2 FT
2 FT
2 FT
0
> 2 FT
> 2 FT
> 2 FT
1 FT
2 FT
1 FT
1 FT
PT Only
> 2 FT
> 2 FT
1 FT
1 FT

Discipleship Style
Informal Training
Some structured
Some structured
Some structured
Some structured
Informal Training
Outside Resources
Informal Training
Some structured
Informal Training
Some structured
Some structured
Informal Training
Some structured
Some structured
Some structured
Some structured
Outside Resources
Informal Training
Some structured
Informal Training
Informal Training

Summary
Discipleship Style
Informal Training
Some Structured
Outside Resources

8
12
2

Training Hours Required

None
3rd Party
< 10
> 10

3
1
2
16

Prerequisites for Effective Discipleship

Connect w/ Members
Connect w/ Pastor
Community Service Opps
No Response Given

18
2
1
1

96

Training Hrs
required to Counsel
> 10
> 10
> 10
> 10
> 10
3rd party
< 10
> 10
> 10
None
< 10
> 10
> 10
> 10
> 10
> 10
> 10
None
None
> 10
> 10
> 10

Prereqs for Effective

Discipleship
Connect w/ Members
Connect w/ Members
Connect w/ Members
Connect w/ Members
Connect w/ Members
Connect w/ Members
Connect w/ Members
Connect w/ Members
Connect w/ Members
Community Service
Connect w/ Pastor
Connect w/ Members
Connect w/ Members
Connect w/ Pastor
Connect w/ Members
Connect w/ Members
Connect w/ Members
Connect w/
Connect w/
Connect w/
Connect w/

Members
Members
Members
Members

Priorities for Working with New Christians (1st Year)

Seq
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22

Denomination
None of Above
Harvest
None of Above
Harvest
Harvest
Harvest
None of Above
Harvest
Harvest
None of Above
Southern Baptist
Harvest
Southern Baptist
Southern Baptist
SOMA
SOMA
SOMA
Southern Baptist
Harvest
None of Above
SOMA
Harvest

Age of
church
24
57
>7
57
<2
24
0
24
24
<2
24
24
<2
24
>7
24
<2
57
57
57
57
24

Type of
Plant
offshoot
offshoot
offshoot
pioneer
offshoot
pioneer
offshoot
offshoot
offshoot
pioneer
pioneer
offshoot
pioneer
offshoot
offshoot
pioneer
pioneer
pioneer
offshoot
pioneer
pioneer
pioneer

Size of
plant
51 100
> 400
201 - 400
> 400
100 200
100 200
< 20
51 100
51 100
< 20
100 200
100 200
100 200
20 - 50
100 200
51 100
< 20
51 100
> 400
201 - 400
100 200
20 - 50

Priority
Top
9
9
4
0

2
6
5
11
0

3
7
8
7
0

Spiritual
Sin
Paid Staff Disciplines Theology Avoidance
2 FT
1
2
3
> 2 FT
2
3
1
> 2 FT
3
2
1
> 2 FT
1
2
3
2 FT
1
3
2
> 2 FT
2
1
3
2 FT
1
3
2
2 FT
1
2
3
2 FT
1
3
2
0
3
2
1
> 2 FT
2
1
3
> 2 FT
1
3
2
> 2 FT
2
1
3
1 FT
3
1
2
2 FT
1
3
2
1 FT
3
1
2
1 FT
2
3
1
PT Only
3
1
2
> 2 FT
3
1
2
> 2 FT
3
1
2
1 FT
2
1
3
1 FT
1
3
2

Other
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4

Summary of Data

Spiritual Disciplines
Theology
Sin Avoidance
Other

Sermon Preparation Time (hrs):

Lowest
0
0
0
22

97

1-2
3-4
>5

6
4
12

Sermon
Prep Time
(hrs/wk)
>5
>5
>5
>5
>5
1 -2
3-4
>5
1 -2
1 -2
3-4
1 -2
>5
3-4
1 -2
>5
>5
1 -2
>5
3-4
>5
>5

One-another Commands Expected

Total (21 responses):

Seq
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22

Denomination
None of Above
Harvest
None of Above
Harvest
Harvest
Harvest
None of Above
Harvest
Harvest
None of Above
Southern Baptist
Harvest
Southern Baptist
Southern Baptist
SOMA
SOMA
SOMA
Southern Baptist
Harvest
None of Above
SOMA
Harvest

Age of
church
24
57
>7
57
<2
24
0
24
24
<2
24
24
<2
24
>7
24
<2
57
57
57
57
24

Type of
Plant
offshoot
offshoot
offshoot
pioneer
offshoot
pioneer
offshoot
offshoot
offshoot
pioneer
pioneer
offshoot
pioneer
offshoot
offshoot
pioneer
pioneer
pioneer
offshoot
pioneer
pioneer
pioneer

Size of
plant
51 100
> 400
201 - 400
> 400
100 200
100 200
< 20
51 100
51 100
< 20
100 200
100 200
100 200
20 - 50
100 200
51 100
< 20
51 100
> 400
201 - 400
100 200
20 - 50

18

Total "One Bear one

Paid
Anothers" anothers
Staff
Selected burdens
2 FT
14
1
> 2 FT
14
1
> 2 FT
14
1
> 2 FT
14
1
2 FT
14
1
> 2 FT
14
1
2 FT
14
1
2 FT
14
1
2 FT
14
1
0
4
> 2 FT
8
> 2 FT
5
1
> 2 FT
12
1
1 FT
13
1
2 FT
14
1
1 FT
14
1
1 FT
14
1
PT Only
14
1
> 2 FT
0
> 2 FT
1
1 FT
7
1
1 FT
9
1

20

Love one
another
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

1
1

18
Regard others
more important
than self
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

14
16
18
19
15
16
19
17
18
16
17
Confess
Clothe
Be hospitable
Be at
Forgive one another
Be subject Admonish Build up your sin to Stimulate one yourselves with to one another peace with Be devoted to Give preference (considering serious
to one
one
one
one
another to love humility toward
without
one
one another in to one another
sins not small
another
another
another
another and good deeds
one another
complaint
another brotherly love
in honor
slights)
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

1
1

98

1
1
1

1
1

1
1

Various Biblical Counseling - related Issues

Seq

Denomination

None of Above

Harvest

None of Above

Age of
church

2 4

5 7

Type of
Plant

offshoot

offshoot

Size of
plant

51 100

> 400

Paid
Staff

2 FT

> 2 FT

How Handle Sin

Confession?

Utilize Biblical
Counseling?

How BC
introduced?

BC Integrated?

How Handle Sin Confession?

Utilize Biblical
Counseling?

No

Would refer if lpc is credible; otherwise

would handle ourselves with help from
competent counselor friends who live
elsewhere

Yes, we provide this kind

of counseling to our
church family

How BC
introduced?
As soon as our
church plant
had people
requiring
counseling

Yes - everyone

With church
plant

Yes, without
training

We are confident we could perform

biblical counseling ourselves on this kind
of problem

Yes, we provide this kind

of counseling to both our
church family and the
community around us

At the onset of
our church
plant

After resources
existed

Yes, without
training

We are confident we could perform

biblical counseling ourselves on this kind
of problem

Yes, we provide this kind

of counseling to both our
church family and the
community around us

As soon as our
church plant
had sufficient
resources

Need at church
Combination of options Yes - members only plant

In-house BC

> 7

offshoot

201 - 400

> 2 FT

In-house BC

Yes - everyone

Harvest

5 7

pioneer

> 400

> 2 FT

In-house BC

With church
Yes - members only plant

Yes, without
training

We are confident we could perform

biblical counseling ourselves on this kind
of problem

Yes, we provide this kind

of counseling to our
church family

Harvest

< 2

offshoot

100 200

2 FT

In-house BC

Need at church
Yes - members only plant

Yes, without
training

We are confident we could perform

biblical counseling ourselves on this kind
of problem

Yes, we provide this kind

of counseling to our
church family

At the onset of
our church
plant
As soon as our
church plant
had people
requiring
counseling

Harvest

2 4

pioneer

100 200

> 2 FT

In-house BC

After resources
Yes - members only existed

Yes, without
training

We are confident we could perform

biblical counseling ourselves on this kind
of problem

Yes, we provide this kind

of counseling to our
church family

As soon as our
church plant
had sufficient
resources

None of Above

offshoot

< 20

2 FT

BC w/ outside help

With church
Yes - members only plant

Yes, without
training

Yes, we provide this kind

of counseling to our
church family

At the onset of
our church
plant

Harvest

2 4

offshoot

51 100

2 FT

In-house BC + outside
BC (if necess)

Yes - everyone

With church
plant

Yes, without
training

We would perform the biblical

counseling ourselves but would need
help from someone with experience in
this area
We would do it ourselves, unless the
person needed a more highly structured
environment for a time and then we
would refer to a biblically based recovery
program

Harvest

2 4

offshoot

51 100

2 FT

In-house BC + secular
(if necess)

Yes - everyone

Need at church
plant

Yes, without
training

We would begin the counseling. If they

required residential treatment that we
couldn't provide, we would refer them to
a residential treatment facility.

Yes, we provide this kind

of counseling to both our
church family and the
community around us

At the onset of
our church
plant
As soon as our
church plant
had people
requiring
counseling

In-house BC

Yes - everyone

With church
plant

Yes, without
training

We are confident we could perform

biblical counseling ourselves on this kind
of problem

Yes, we provide this kind

of counseling to both our
church family and the
community around us

At the onset of
our church
plant

Outside BC

After resources
Yes - members only existed

Yes, without
training

We would refer to a church that is

experienced in biblical counseling

Yes, we provide this kind

of counseling to our
church family

As soon as our
church plant
had sufficient
resources

Yes, without
training

We are confident we could perform

biblical counseling ourselves on this kind
of problem

Yes, we provide this kind

of counseling to both our
church family and the
community around us

Yes, without
training

We would perform the biblical

counseling ourselves but would need
help from someone with experience in
this area

Yes, we provide this kind

of counseling to our
church family

At the onset of
our church
plant
As soon as our
church plant
had people
requiring
counseling
At the onset of
our church
plant

10

11

None of Above

Southern Baptist

< 2

2 4

pioneer

pioneer

< 20

100 200

> 2 FT

With church
plant

Yes, we provide this kind

of counseling to both our
church family and the
community around us

2 4

offshoot

100 200

> 2 FT

In-house BC

Yes - everyone

Southern Baptist

< 2

pioneer

100 200

> 2 FT

BC w/ outside help

Need at church
Yes - members only plant

14

Southern Baptist

2 4

offshoot

20 - 50

1 FT

In-house BC

Yes - everyone

With church
plant

Yes, without
training

We are confident we could perform

biblical counseling ourselves on this kind
of problem

Yes, we provide this kind

of counseling to both our
church family and the
community around us

15

SOMA

> 7

offshoot

100 200

2 FT

BC w/ outside help

With church
Yes - members only plant

Yes, without
training

We would perform the biblical

counseling ourselves but would need
help from someone with experience in
this area

Yes, we provide this kind

of counseling to our
church family

16

SOMA

2 4

pioneer

51 100

1 FT

BC w/ outside help

Need at church
Yes - members only plant

Yes, without
training

We would perform the biblical

counseling ourselves but would need
help from someone with experience in
this area

Yes, we provide this kind

of counseling to our
church family

17

SOMA

< 2

pioneer

< 20

1 FT

In-house BC

No

With church
plant

Yes, with training

We are confident we could perform

biblical counseling ourselves on this kind
of problem

No, and we have no

intention of this

BC w/ outside help

Not yet

Need at church
plant

No

We would perform the biblical

counseling ourselves but would need
help from someone with experience in
this area

No, but we would like to

do this

We are confident we could perform

biblical counseling ourselves on this kind
of problem

Yes, we provide this kind

of counseling to our
church family

12

Harvest

13

At the onset of
our church
plant
As soon as our
church plant
had people
requiring
counseling
At the onset of
our church
plant
As soon as our
church plant
had people
requiring
counseling

18

Southern Baptist

5 7

pioneer

51 100

PT Only

19

Harvest

5 7

offshoot

> 400

> 2 FT

In-house BC

Yes - members only

Yes, without
training

Opt #4, but would refer

to specialist

After resources
Yes - members only existed

Yes, without
training

4th option but would refer to specialist.

Yes, we provide this kind

of counseling to our
church family

BC w/ outside help

Yes - everyone

No

We would perform the biblical

counseling ourselves but would need
help from someone with experience in
this area

Yes, we provide this kind

of counseling to both our
church family and the
community around us

As soon as our
church plant
had sufficient
resources
As soon as our
church plant
had people
requiring
counseling

BC w/ outside help

With church
Yes - members only plant

Yes, without
training

We would perform the biblical

counseling ourselves but would need
help from someone with experience in
this area

Yes, we provide this kind

of counseling to our
church family

At the onset of
our church
plant

20

None of Above

5 7

pioneer

201 - 400

> 2 FT

21

SOMA

5 7

pioneer

100 200

1 FT

22

Harvest

2 4

pioneer

20 - 50

1 FT

Need at church
plant

99

BC Integrated?
We have embraced biblical
counseling, but we consider
it different than our normal
discipleship
We make efforts to
integrate biblical counseling
throughout our church
through purposeful
interactions with ministry
We make efforts to
integrate biblical counseling
throughout our church
through purposeful
interactions with ministry
We make efforts to
integrate biblical counseling
throughout our church
through purposeful
interactions with ministry
We make efforts to
integrate biblical counseling
throughout our church
through purposeful
interactions with ministry
We make efforts to
integrate biblical counseling
throughout our church
through purposeful
interactions with ministry
We make efforts to
integrate biblical counseling
throughout our church
through purposeful
interactions with ministry
We make efforts to
integrate biblical counseling
throughout our church
through purposeful
interactions with ministry
We make efforts to
integrate biblical counseling
throughout our church
through purposeful
interactions with ministry
We make efforts to
integrate biblical counseling
throughout our church
through purposeful
interactions with ministry
We make efforts to
integrate biblical counseling
throughout our church
through purposeful
interactions with ministry
We make efforts to
integrate biblical counseling
throughout our church
through purposeful
interactions with ministry
We make efforts to
integrate biblical counseling
throughout our church
through purposeful
interactions with ministry
We make efforts to
integrate biblical counseling
throughout our church
through purposeful
interactions with ministry
We make efforts to
integrate biblical counseling
throughout our church
through purposeful
interactions with ministry
We make efforts to
integrate biblical counseling
throughout our church
through purposeful
interactions with ministry
We are training every
member to be competent to
counsel in the gospel
We have embraced biblical
counseling, but we consider
it different than our normal
discipleship
We make efforts to
integrate biblical counseling
throughout our church
through purposeful
interactions with ministry
We make efforts to
integrate biblical counseling
throughout our church
through purposeful
interactions with ministry
We have embraced biblical
counseling, but we consider
it different than our normal
discipleship
We make efforts to
integrate biblical counseling
throughout our church
through purposeful
interactions with ministry

APPENDIX 3
COMMENTARY ON SURVEY RESULTS

The survey participants were all church planters and it is not a surprise that the most
common challenge cited was reaching unbelievers (14 votes). The irony in the results was
that survey respondents ranked spending time with unbelievers as generally the lowest
priority on their calendars. Spending time with unbelievers was the lowest priority among
one denomination, and more common in larger and older church plants. This corresponded
with the trend that the older and larger a church plant was, the more concerned they were
with money and logistics. Not a single church over 200 members indicated reaching
unbelievers was one of its top three challenges. Every church planter in that group listed
spending time with unbelievers dead last in their list of priorities. From the small sample,
either more established churches were not concerned with reaching lost people because they
felt they were already successful, or their focus had shifted from reaching the lost to internal
issues as size and complexity required.
In terms of church plant origin, the survey was split between pioneer and sponsored
church planters. Pioneer planters were more likely to consider the sermon less important,
Overall, sermons were considered essential to the discipleship process by 19 of the 22
respondents, and small groups were considered essential by 18. Only nine respondents
indicated staff or volunteer counseling to be essential. Four indicated both were essential,
three indicated staff but not volunteer counseling was essential and two indicated volunteer
counseling was essential. The churches that indicated counseling in some form was essential

100

had a 21% increase in church members could explain the mission, vision and values of the
church.
Survey results based on size of church plant
Five church planters in the survey were from churches under two years old. These
churches tended to see the sermon as less important to the discipleship process, believed
helping new believers with spiritual disciplines and sin avoidance were more important than
teaching theology, were more likely to make spending time with unbelievers in the
community a priority, and saw pursuing a unified vision and reaching unbelievers as core
challenges.
Nine church planters were from churches of medium age, between two and four years
old. Medium age church plants were less likely to consider finances, a unified vision,
practical issues or character issues among leaders to be serious challenges. They were most
likely to prioritize time with paid staff and least likely to prioritize time with volunteer staff.
They were widely split on the single biggest barrier to accomplishing the churchs mission.
The remainder of the planters
came from churches over four years

Spiritual
Disciplines Theology
1.8
2.4
1.67
1.9
2.25
1.75

Sin
Avoidance
1.8
2.4
2

in this category, and they tended to

Young
Medium
Old

have the most staff. None of these

Churches of different ages disagreed on priorities for

discipling new Christians during their first year

old. Most of the largest churches were

churches cited loneliness/isolation as a

challenge but they were more likely to see recruiting believers to be a problem. These
planters were least focused on spending time with unbelievers and most focused on spending
time with their members.
There were several areas of broad agreement across all sizes and ages of churches.
Almost all respondents believed sermons and small groups were either essential or important
in the discipleship process for their members. Eighteen of the 22 respondents believed that a
101

connection between members was the prerequisite for effective discipleship. Nearly everyone
agreed that members should love one another, confess their sins to one another, bear one
anothers burdens, regard others as more important than themselves, be devoted to one
another in brother affection and build up one another. All but three church planters believed
at least 50% of their members could succinctly explain the churchs mission, vision and
values.
Pioneer versus mother/daughter church plants
The survey respondents were evenly split between the pioneer and mother/daughter
models. This created an opportunity to compare equal sample sizes peer to peer that was not
available in church size. In some cases the data showed a clear difference but in many areas
there was no difference in the responses based on how the church plant was founded.
One of the largest differences was in the way these church planters spent their time.
Pioneer planters were much more likely to make spending time with unbelievers a high
priority, and slightly they were also more likely to make spending time with their members a
priority. Mother/daughter church planters spent more time with paid staff than any other
group. It is difficult to draw
conclusions precisely but it would
be worth further study to evaluate
why spending time with
unbelievers, arguably the whole
purpose of a church plant, was not a
priority for mother/daughter church

Where is Time with Others Spent?

Mother/
Daughter Pioneer
avg:
avg:
Time w/ Paid Staff
1.91
4.00
Time w/ Volunt Staff 2.73
2.55
Time w/ Members 2.18
1.55
Time w/ Unbelievers-church 3.55
3.27
Time w/ Unbelievers- general 4.64
3.64
Low numbers indicate higher priorities

Avg all:
2.95
2.64
1.86
3.41
4.14

planters.
In the overall numbers, priorities for discipleship of new believers were split evenly
with nine first place votes each for emphasizing theology and spiritual disciplines.
Mother/daughter planters were far more likely to make spiritual disciplines their priority and
102

pioneer planters were much more likely to make theology their priority. Mother/daughter
churches placed theology as their lowest priority for new believers and pioneer churches split
almost evenly between spiritual disciplines and sin avoidance as their lowest priority.
Almost all of the survey respondents were committed to some kind of biblical
counseling and soul care. Only three of the twenty two respondents stated they would not
rely on biblical counseling to help a church member struggling with drug or alcohol
addiction. Mother/daughter planters indicated they would be most likely to provide this
ministry in house while pioneer planters were more likely to admit to needing outside
assistance. This corresponds to the increased likelihood that a mother/daughter church had
the emphasized and equipped biblical counseling from the onset of the church plant.
There was a fairly strong difference in the number of one another commands the
church planters expected their members to perform without direct intervention from church
leaders. Mother/daughter church planters expected, on average, their members to perform
thirteen of the listed one another commands; however pioneer planters expected only ten to
be obeyed without help. The largest gaps were in the commands admonish one another and
stimulate one another to love and good deeds. Ironically, there were two one another
commands where more pioneer planters expected their members to obey without direction:
confess your sin to one another and be hospitable to one another without complaint.

103

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