Equipping the local church for biblical counseling and evangelism — through training, certification, resources, and partnerships rooted in the sufficiency of Scripture.
We serve through training programs, conferences, and seminars; written and audio-visual resources; affiliation with other biblical counseling organizations; and certification.
Three-phase training, regional symposiums, and church-based equipping in the foundations, process, and theology of biblical counseling.
Explore training →Articles, lectures, podcasts, roundtable discussions, pamphlets, worksheets, and a curated reading list for every member.
Browse resources →A three-phase path — learning, training, and supervised counseling — for those called to serve as certified biblical counselors.
See the path →God’s Word distinguishes between physiological problems and spiritual problems — there is no third category generally called “psychological.” Who better to teach us about the soul than God Himself, in His Word?
Read more about our philosophyThis commitment distinguishes us from secular counseling, the medical model, and Christian counseling that integrates psychology into its approach. In the Scriptures, we have everything we need for life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3).
Biblical counseling is the discipline of bringing about change in persons through the application of the Scriptures to their lives. The Bible is the basis for counseling because the Bible is about change in every area of life: behavior, attitudes, relationships, beliefs, and values.
Counseling is the work of the Holy Spirit. He gives hope, and He brings real, lasting change.
Whenever someone comes to us with their problems or shares something going on in their lives, our primary goal is to point them to Christ. Unbelievers need to be evangelized; believers need to be taught to obey everything the Lord has commanded (Matt. 28:18-20).
We obey by replacing sinful conduct with godly conduct through the renewing of our minds with the Word by the Spirit (Eph. 4:20-32). That’s evangelism and discipleship rolled into one. That’s biblical counseling.
The Bible tells us that all believers are competent to counsel (Rom. 15:14). Giving biblical advice to others is something we should all be doing — whether you see yourself as a certified counselor or someone who wants to give godly counsel to family and friends.
We want you to be confident to counsel in those everyday conversations we all have, wherever we encounter people who need a word from God.
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We come from every walk of life and share hearts for God and His people. While we each have different callings, we have all been called to minister the Word to one another.
“Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish… one another.”
— Romans 15:14
Whether you’re seeking certification, looking to host training in your church, or wanting to grow personally as a counselor of God’s people — we’re here to serve you.
The Baptist Initiative works alongside training centers and biblical counseling organizations across the country.
