Biblical Counseling Certification & Training for the Local Church

Grow in wise, Christ-centered care for hurting people. This biblical counseling certification course, in partnership with the Association of Biblical Counselors, equips pastors, ministry leaders, and lay people to walk with others through life’s hardest struggles.

Registration for the current cohort is closed, but you can join the interest list to be notified when the next class opens.

Who This Biblical Counseling Certification Is For

This course is designed for ordinary believers and ministry leaders who long to offer more than quick fixes or vague encouragement. If you want to help bear the burdens of others through God’s Word, you are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity.

Pastors and elders who want to build a culture of soul care in the local church.
Small group leaders and disciplers who regularly walk with struggling believers.
Counselors-in-training pursuing Level 1 biblical counseling certification with the Association of Biblical Counselors.
Lay people who simply want to be more faithful, wise, and prepared to help others with Scripture.
Churches considering biblical counseling training for key leaders or future counselors.

Two Pathways to Grow: Certification or Audit

Certification Track
– ABC Level 1

A Vision for Counseling – Why biblical counseling belongs in the local church.
Counseling Foundations – A biblical worldview for understanding people and problems.
God and His Word – Seeing every person’s story inside God’s bigger story.
The Gospel – How the finished work of Christ shapes every counseling conversation.
Understanding People – Suffering, the heart, depression, and joy.
Counseling Methods – How to love, listen, discern, exhort, and walk with people over time.
Addiction & Anxiety – Understanding and counseling people in fear, worry, and addictive struggles.
Anger & Depression – Biblical care for angry and despairing hearts.
Sexual Purity & Sexual Sin – God’s design, temptation, and wise care for those wrestling with sexual sin.

Audit Track
– Full Training, No Exams

Access to all teaching and core resources without the formal ABC certification requirements.
No exams, supervised counseling hours, or membership obligations —just rich equipping.
Ideal for pastors, elders, and ministry leaders who want training more than credentials.
Perfect if you want to start with equipping now and consider certification later.

If you begin in the audit track, you may upgrade to the certification track within the first month of the course.

What You’ll Learn in This Biblical Counseling Course

A Vision for Counseling

Learn why biblical counseling belongs at the heart of the local church and how God invites ordinary believers to walk with others in truth and love. This module helps you see counseling not as a specialized activity, but as a natural expression of faithful discipleship.

Counseling Foundations

Build a biblical framework for understanding people, their struggles, and the hope Christ offers. This module gives you the theological footing you need so your care for others rests on God’s wisdom—not guesswork or sentimentality.

God and His Word

Discover how Scripture speaks into the deepest places of human experience with clarity, compassion, and authority. This module helps you learn to bring God’s Word into conversations in ways that are gentle, timely, and genuinely helpful.

The Gospel

See how the finished work of Christ shapes the entire counseling process—from the questions we ask to the comfort we offer. This module will help you anchor every conversation in the grace and power of Jesus, not in self-improvement or performance.

Understanding People

Learn to thoughtfully discern the dynamics of suffering, the desires of the heart, and the complexity of human emotions. This module equips you to listen well, see beneath the surface, and care for people with Christlike patience and compassion.

Counseling Methods

Grow in practical skills such as wise listening, asking thoughtful questions, offering biblical encouragement, and guiding someone over time. This module helps you move from theory to practice with confidence and humility.

Addiction and Anxiety

Explore biblical wisdom for two of the most common and painful struggles people face today. This module helps you understand these issues carefully and walk with individuals gently, offering hope, patience, and a path forward rooted in Christ.

Anger and Depression

Learn to navigate the heavy realities of anger and despair with grace and biblical clarity. This module equips you to meet hurting people with compassion, truth, and a deeper understanding of how God brings comfort in dark seasons.

Sexual Purity and Sexual Sin

Understand God’s design for purity and the challenges people face in a world that distorts his good gifts. This module helps you approach deeply personal struggles with humility, tenderness, and gospel-shaped hope.

How the Course Works

Format & Pace

The course unfolds over approximately 30 weeks with a thoughtful blend of reading, videos, and guided teaching sessions. It’s structured enough to keep you moving forward, yet flexible enough to fit real life.

Note: The 30-week structure is suggested. You have a year to finish the self-paced program.

Time Commitment

Expect about five hours of study and engagement each week as you learn, reflect, and participate. Certification students have up to one full year to complete all requirements at a sustainable pace.

Note: Time commitment may vary depending on the course’s self-paced nature.

Community & Support

You won’t walk through this alone. You’ll learn alongside a cohort, receive encouragement from your instructor, and participate in live discussions where questions and real-life situations are welcomed.

Course Investment & What’s Included

We’ve structured the pricing to cover required resources and ABC fees—not to generate profit. Biblical Help and Hope Ministries does not receive profit from this training.

Audit Track – TBD

Certification Track – TBD

If finances are a concern, please reach out. We never want cost to be the only reason someone forgoes training.

Meet Your Instructor

Ryan Thomason is a seminary-trained biblical counselor (M.Div., Biblical Counseling) and founder of Biblical Help and Hope Ministries. He has served as a teacher, counselor, and worship leader, walking with individuals, couples, and churches through seasons of suffering. Ryan’s heart in this course is not simply to pass along information, but to help you grow as a wise, humble, Christ-centered shepherd in your own context.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to be a pastor to take this course?

No. While many pastors and elders participate, this biblical counseling certification course is also designed for lay leaders, small group leaders, and believers who simply want to grow in wise, Christ-centered care.

What if I can’t keep up with the weekly schedule?

The syllabus is designed around roughly 30 weeks of content, but the course is self-paced, and certification students have up to a year from the start date to complete requirements.

Is this the same as professional clinical counseling?

No. Biblical Help and Hope Ministries practices solely biblical counseling and does not provide professional clinical or mental health services. We counsel from Scripture as our ultimate authority and do not practice under the Tennessee Board for Professional Counselors.

What if I start as an auditor and later want certification?

You may upgrade from the audit track to the certification track within the first month of the course. We’ll help you make that transition and explain any additional requirements.

Can churches send a group?

Yes. Many churches send multiple participants so they can build a shared language and approach to soul care.

Take the Next Step in Biblical Counseling Training

If the Lord has been stirring your heart toward biblical counseling—or simply toward deeper, wiser care for people—this course is one way to respond. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You just need a desire to grow, a love for God’s Word, and a willingness to walk with people in their need.