Equipping Members of Community of Grace Baptist Church in Aberdeen, Mississippi to Engage in a Personal Ministry of Counseling God’s Word

Abstract

EQUIPPING MEMBERS OF COMMUNITY OF GRACE BAPTIST

CHURCH IN ABERDEEN, MISSISSIPPI, TO ENGAGE IN A

PERSONAL MINISTRY OF COUNSELING GOD’S WORD

Mark Raybon Thornton, D.Min.

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2015

Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Scott

This project sought to equip members of Community of Grace Baptist Church

to engage in a personal ministry of counseling others using the Bible. Chapter 1 describes the need for the project and examines context and details of the project.

Chapter 2 establishes a biblical basis for the project by examining four

passages that teach the necessity of equipping members of the church to apply the principles of biblical counseling in their relationships with one another. A study of these truths provides an understanding of God’s design for ministering the Word within the church.

Chapter 3 examines the contemporary practice of divorcing theology from

counseling. The chapter examines how the biblical counseling movement has sought to recover the connection between counseling and theology and then argues that in addition to conducting biblical counseling themselves, pastors need to equip others in the church to counsel God’s Word.

Chapter 4 explains the implementation of the project. The research instrument, schedule of the training, and the curriculum are stated and explained.

Chapter 5 is an evaluation of the impact of the project on those trained. The

strengths and weaknesses of the project are discussed.