Welcome to the Biblical Counseling Ministry of River City Church. We desire to be used by God to “speak His truth in love.” We know that the path to maturity is often steep and rough, and at times filled with pain and confusion. However, we believe there are answers. We believe that the Bible is God’s all-sufficient guide for relational living. There is a route to life. Our Lord is that way. Christ is the truth who frees us to love. He is the life who satisfies the deepest thirsts of our soul.

MINISTRIES OFFERED >
As a ministry of River City Church, our services are free. As a discipleship ministry of a local church, we offer to you:

• Individual biblical counseling regarding spiritual and personal issues
• Pre-marital biblical counseling
• Marital biblical counseling
• Family/parental biblical counseling (with children under the age of thirteen, we work primarily with the parents and/or with the parents and children)
• Adolescent biblical counseling: with parental consent and involvement
• Small group discipleship (see our brochure on our various groups)
• A referral network

CONFIDENTIALITY >
Confidentiality is an important aspect of the biblical counseling relationship, and we will carefully guard the information you entrust to us. All communications between you and our RCC Biblical Counseling Ministry offices will be held in strict confidence, unless you (or a parent in the case of a minor) give authorization to release this information.

The exceptions to this would be:

1. if a person expresses intent to harm himself/herself or someone else;
2. if there is evidence or reasonable suspicion of abuse against a minor child, elder person, or dependent adult;
3. if a subpoena or other court order is received directing the disclosure of information;
4. if/when RCC biblical counselors consult with their supervision;
5. or if a person persistently refuses to renounce a particular sin (habitual unrepentant rebellion against the Word of God) and it becomes necessary to seek the assistance of others in the church to encourage repentance, restoration, and reconciliation (see Matt. 18:15–20 and the Membership Guidelines in Section 3.0.4 of our bylaws). Please be assured that our counselors strongly prefer not to disclose personal information to others, and that they will make every effort to help you find ways to resolve a problem as privately as possible.

APPOINTMENTS >
Our biblical counselors work by scheduled appointments. Of course, in emergencies, exceptions are made. We need your prompt and consistent participation in your scheduled meetings. Your first appointment can be made by contacting River City Church’s office: (208)743-7101. After your initial appointment, please contact your biblical counselor 24 hours in advance if you must cancel an appointment. This will allow them to schedule another individual during this time.

During your initial meeting, you will determine the goals you would like to work toward. After five sessions, you and your biblical counselor will evaluate your progress toward those goals and together determine what further action needs to be taken.

WHAT IS BIBLICAL COUNSELING?
Biblical counselors are spiritual friends who commit to the historic roles of soul care and spiritual direction through:

• Sustaining: Empathizing with your suffering, helping you to understand that “It’s normal to hurt.”
• Healing: Encouraging you to see life from a biblical perspective, helping you to know that “It’s possible to hope.”
• Reconciling: Examining and exposing your current responses to life and suggesting new ways of handling problems, helping you to see that “It’s horrible to sin, but wonderful to be forgiven.”
• Guiding: Exploring how and empowering you to mature through Christ, helping you to grasp that “It’s supernatural to mature.” Because we care about you, our desire is for you to be drawn closer to Christ and to become more like Christ, which we see as your inner life increasingly reflecting the inner life of Christ.
• Relational Maturity: Loving God wholeheartedly and loving others sacrificially.
• Rational Maturity: Wisely living according to the truth of Christ’s gospel of grace.
• Volitional Maturity: Courageously choosing to pursue God’s purposes in your life through the Spirit’s power.
• Emotional Maturity: Deeply and honestly experiencing life with integrity, fully open to God while managing your moods for God’s glory and with a ministry focus.

COMMITMENT >

Commitments to Christ, to Yourself, and to Us in Biblical Counseling
We ask that you commit to:

• Sharing your hurts and struggles honestly and openly.
• Evaluating your own emotions, actions, motivations, beliefs, and relationships.
• Actively participating in the growth of renewed emotions, actions, convictions, and affections.
• Coming to each meeting prepared to review your progress throughout the last week (including the completion of personalized “homework” assignments) and prepared to share your goals for the present meeting.

Because the Scriptures teach that growth in Christ requires all the resources of the body of Christ (not only biblical counseling, but also discipleship, worship, fellowship, stewardship, and ambassadorship), we believe that it is essential that those seeking biblical counseling at our church commit themselves to the following:

• Regular church attendance is integral to your continual growth as a Christian and as a son/daughter of God.
• Active participation in River City Life Group (will help you build biblical relationships and build a community around you to support you in your growth).
• Participation in at least one small group (we’ll discuss the appropriate group for you).

BIBLICAL COUNSELING MINISTRY CONSENT

We ask that you sign below to indicate your understanding of, agreement with, and commitment to our Biblical Counseling Ministry focus as described above.

BIBLICAL COUNSELING MINISTRY ADULT CONSENT FORM:

I have been informed that the spiritual care I will be receiving from a Biblical Counselor at River City Church is Christian and biblical in nature. I have also been informed that the biblical counselor assigned to me is an encourager and discipler trained at River City Church as a biblical counselor and spiritual friend in the church’s Biblical Counseling Ministry. Under supervision from one of the Biblical Counseling leaders, the biblical counselor assigned to me offers to provide biblical encouragement and discipleship on personal and relational matters from a spiritual perspective guided by biblical principles. He/she is not trained, authorized, or licensed to provide professional counseling, psychological treatment, or psychological diagnosis. I understand that if and when I desire and request professional counseling, then I will be encouraged to seek such outside assistance. I give my consent to the biblical counselor assigned to me to discuss any and all of the information that I talk about in our meetings with his/her supervisor(s) in the Biblical Counseling Ministry.

BIBLICAL COUNSELING MINISTRY CONSENT TO MINISTER TO A MINOR CHILD CONSENT FORM:

I have been informed that the spiritual care my child will be receiving from a Biblical Counselor at River City Church is Christian and biblical in nature. I have also been informed that the biblical counselor assigned to my child is an encourager and discipler trained at River City Church as a biblical counselor and spiritual friend in the church’s Biblical Counseling Ministry. Under supervision from one of the Biblical Counseling leaders, the biblical counselor assigned to me offers to provide biblical encouragement and discipleship on personal and relational matters from a spiritual perspective guided by biblical principles. He/she is not trained, authorized, or licensed to provide professional counseling, psychological treatment, or psychological diagnosis. I understand that if and when I desire and request professional counseling for my child, then I will be encouraged to seek such outside assistance for my child. I give my consent to the biblical counselor assigned to my child to discuss any and all of the information that my child talks about in his/her meetings with his/her supervisor(s) in the Biblical Counseling Ministry.