MUTUAL MINISTRY & COUNSELLING
The pastor also needs assistance from capable and reliable Christian counsellors to cope with his increasing counseling activities. In this instance, there may be need to train more counsellors who can handle minor issues and lighten his burden, while he attends to certain peculiar cases and other aspects of pastoral activities and leadership demands in church.
The pastor counselor should take his time during the counseling process to:
- Know the physical/spiritual condition
- Know the state of the mind of the counselee
- Patiently discover the root cause of the problem
- Gain an insight into the person’s past and present life in order to be able to project a hopeful future for the counselee.
- All counseling skills must be brought to bear in order to successfully unearth hidden facts through reasonable and relevant questioning; filtering of ideas, adequate listening and responding activities; while he ends up instructing and teaching the counselee.
- Give take home scriptural assignments, (memory verses, reading portions and prayers) all bothering on the steps to overcoming the issue at hand, through the right application of God’s word.
- It also includes mentoring the counselee to wholistic growth in Christ.
The whole idea of pastoral counseling is to ensure that a counselee is fully restored to his or her original state through regular and consistent counselling sessions and follow-up. The client or counselee is led out of trouble; offered solution and direction where there was none; but is now established and God is glorified.
Every Pastor Counselor should ensure that the counselee leaves in a better condition than they came in.
Pastor (Mrs.) Bisi Ayanfeolu
