As someone who has spent over 20 years in biblical counseling, I’ve seen firsthand the power of God’s Word to transform hearts and lives. What began as a movement focused on bringing the Word back into the pastoral counseling office is now evolving into something much more expansive—a holistic approach that seeks to equip every believer for the work of ministry, with a preventative, heart-focused approach at its core.
I believe this shift is more than just a refinement of methods; it’s a return to a biblical mandate rooted in the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Biblical counsel, as we once thought of it, is no longer the exclusive domain of pastors or those certified by para-church ministries. It is a responsibility and privilege shared by the entire body of Christ, equipping each member to minister God’s grace, truth, and love to one another. I began to promote this broader view of biblical counseling at Twelve Stones Ministries (twelvestones.org) in the early 2000’s. The annual Biblical Counseling Training Conference at Faith Church in Lafayette often highlighted the need “not to be a church with biblical counseling but of biblical counselors.” This inspired me to think hard about what we needed to do to develop training at every level of care.
By 2014, our soul care team had partnered with our small group ministry in our church to equip the whole body to practice soul care from mutual one-another ministry to community-oriented crisis care. It was there that we trademarked the name “Biblical Soul Care” to emphasize the full continuum of care from intentional to intensive discipleship. Biblical Soul Care® was only one ministry that helped to expand the reach of biblical counseling to every believer. In the last five years, more and more biblical counseling leaders have been writing on this subject and developing methods to support it. If the first wave was a call back to the sufficiency of God’s Word in the private ministry of counseling, the second wave might best be described as developing a robust theology of the heart and ways to exhort the sinner but also to help the sufferer. Leaders like Jay Adams and David Powlison were instrumental in these developments, and we are deeply indebted to them. What I believe is the third wave of this movement brings a growing appreciation for prevention and counseling in the context of community. I’d like to explore this transformation and the implications for how we implement biblical counseling skills and tools differently in the future.
The Priesthood of All Believers: An All but Forgotten Mandate
The idea that every Christian is a priest is not new—it’s foundational to our faith. 1 Peter 2:9 declares that we are “a royal priesthood” called to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Yet, for much of church history, the practical implications of this truth have been neglected. Too often, we’ve delegated the “heavy lifting” of ministry, including counseling, to pastors and elders or, more recently, referred it out to “trained professionals.” Kingdom responsibilities were meant to be shouldered by the whole congregation (Eph. 4:11-16). Healthy churches are equipping churches. Effective counselors counsel to equip.
This “third wave” of biblical counseling has brought a renewed focus on the role of the entire church in the ministry of soul care. This doesn’t negate the importance of trained counselors but underscores the necessity of every believer being equipped for one-another ministry. Ephesians 4:12 says that leaders in the church are given to “equip the saints for the work of ministry.” The work of ministry is not confined to preaching or teaching from a pulpit; it happens in everyday conversations, in small group settings, and in the quiet moments when a friend opens up about their struggles.
I love that biblical counseling has begun to embrace this fuller picture of ministry! A much needed alternative to secular therapy was yet a somewhat professional model of counsel. In the last decade we have begun to see more advocates (godly friends) join counseling sessions, and care teams wrap around hurting families. We are seeing more and more churches equipping their people to be active in the care of one another’s souls, addressing both sin and suffering with the truth of Scripture on the frontlines. This informal soul care could be in a small group setting or in a coffee shop between friends. This shift reflects a growing understanding that God’s design for Biblical Soul Care® involves the entire community of believers, not just a select few.
From Crisis Intervention to Preventative Care
More community based counsel has increased the impact of biblical counseling in the deep discipleship of believers. Another important development in biblical counseling is the growing emphasis on prevention rather than just intervention. In the early years of the movement, much of the focus was on helping people in the midst of serious crises—whether it was marriage struggles, addiction, or deep emotional wounds. While these are still crucial areas where biblical counseling needs to focus, many have come to realize that waiting until people are in full-blown crisis is not God’s best plan for His people or for leaders in ministry (Prov. 6:4-5). It leads to an atrophied body and burnt out leaders. What if, instead of 20% of the same people serving 80% of the church, it was 80% of the church serving the 20% who weren’t yet equipped. Imagine the ways that would create margin, decrease waiting lists, and help grow the saints!
Scripture teaches a proactive approach to life and faith. In Proverbs 4:23, we are told to “guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” This implies ongoing attention to the state of our hearts, not just in times of crisis, but continually. Preventative care means walking with people before their marriages are on the brink of collapse, before they are deep into addiction, or before their emotional health is in shambles. The same goes for leadership. In 1 Timothy 4:16 leaders are told to “watch their life and doctrine closely,” implying a consistent and intentional focus on prevention of poor biblical leadership or ministry burnout.
This shift toward prevention has led to a greater emphasis on heart transforming discipleship and mentoring within the church (Heb. 3:12-14). Biblical counseling is now understood as a part of the larger process of spiritual growth and sanctification. By addressing issues early—through intentional relationships, biblical teaching, and accountability—churches can prevent the kinds of crises that often require intensive counseling. This is the power of “one-anothering” at its finest (John 13:34-35). It may seem costly to build guard rails at the tops of the mountain curves but in the end, it costs less in every way then a trauma hospital at the bottom. Helping churches to see this and do the work of equipping and enlisting the saints is so rewarding.
Equipping the Church for Preventative Care
It is clear that if the church is going to embrace the priesthood of all believers in the realm of discipleship and care, it must be intentional about equipping people for this task (2 Tim. 2:2). This equipping doesn’t mean every believer must become a trained formal counselor, but it does mean that every believer should be trained to walk alongside others with biblical wisdom, compassion, and truth. In working with churches wanting to implement this model, we had to learn how to contextualize and refine specific training at each level of care.
A preventative approach to biblical counseling requires equipping at different levels and in differing roles:
- Mutual Ministry – friendship and advocacy that is heart-targeting and deep in giving biblical advice, encouragement, and care (Prov. 17:17).
- Intentional Discipleship – Creating systems where mature believers mentor others, helping them grow spiritually and address issues early on (Heb. 3:12-14).
- Directive Discipleship – Encouraging transparency and accountability in small group settings where people can consider how to apply God’s Word, confess sin, share struggles, and pray for one another regularly (Acts 2:42).
- Corrective Discipleship – When training lay counselors in a model emphasizing prevention, we must also teach them to be consultants and coaches. This allows them to be highly collaborative and help all other leaders in the church address shepherding issues in their ministry areas. More experienced counselors still offer biblical counsel with more complex discipleship issues, but they also coach and consult regularly. It is easy to create a silo ministry that deals with messy people and employs only “certified biblical counseling,” but this continuum of care emphasizes cultivating a culture of care as a counselor (Exod. 18: 14-26; Gal. 6:1-2).
- Crisis Counsel – Training your best counselors to provide regular teaching on topics like marriage conflict, abuse, addiction, conflict resolution, and other high-risk issues from a biblical perspective. If your ministry leaders can detect and provide early intervention, as well as learn to biblically triage these issues, you will often avoid escalating crises (1 Thess. 5:14).
A Hopeful Future for Biblical Counseling
As I reflect on where we’ve been and where we’re going, I am hopeful for the future of biblical counseling. The evolution of the movement to include a broader swath of the church in counseling ministry is not a new fade but is historically biblical. You only have to look as far as the one another commands in Scripture to see that. It reflects God’s heart for His people to be active participants in one another’s spiritual growth rather than passive recipients of professional care (Heb. 3:12-14; 12:15, 1 Thess. 5:15).
Moreover, the move toward preventative care aligns with the wisdom of Scripture (Prov. 22:3; 27:9; Eph. 6:11). God has given us the means to not only address crises but to help one another avoid them altogether by living lives grounded in His truth, in loving relationships, and in intentional community.
I believe that as we continue to empower the priesthood of all believers and focus on preventative care, we will see healthier, more resilient churches—communities where people and leaders are not just surviving but thriving in their walk with the Lord.
Let’s continue to equip the saints for this important work, remembering that biblical counseling is not just for the experts—it’s for all of us. We are called to bear one another’s burdens, to speak the truth in love, and to help each other grow in Christlikeness. In doing so, we reflect the heart of our Good Shepherd, who cares for His flock with tenderness and truth.
Questions for Reflection
- How could a preventative mindset help your church in caring for souls?
- How could we better equip counselors to collaborate with other ministries in the church?
- If this is the third wave of biblical counseling, what resources still need to be developed to help equip the saints?
