Helping People is a Divine Call

Newly structured: 33 to 41 credits, 100% online or residential. Also, advanced modules, evening flex class, and livestream class options are available. (Those with an undergraduate biblical counseling degree will have advanced standing.)

Includes student counseling sessions evaluated by certified counselors and qualifies you for an advanced ABC (Association of Biblical Counselors) certification. BJU Seminary is also a Partner with the Biblical Counseling Coalition.

Overview

In this program you will receive a comprehensive overview of what the Bible teaches along with research into its theological grounding. If the Bible is sufficient to address every human need, then we must begin with the Scriptures. Skilled biblical counselors build a counseling framework upon this foundation, tackling a variety of life’s challenges. The counseling taught is truly biblical, Christ-focused, gospel-saturated, and grounded in the sufficiency of the Scriptures and the doctrine of salvation.

This is a rigorous Master of Arts degree that includes supervised counseling and prepares you for the following:

Biblical counseling centers
Social work
Addiction ministries
Urban ministry
Orphanage Director

WHY?

A friend comes to you urgently for advice. She has just discovered that her teenage son has been stealing prescription drugs from her medicine cabinet. She wonders what else he has done. She knows that if she does not approach him with biblical wisdom, she may lose the opportunity to provide the help that he needs. She wants to confront him, but she has no idea where to begin. What would you tell her?

Life is filled with painful situations like this one, reminding us that we live in a broken world ravaged by sin. Yet, the Word of God offers answers to life’s most perplexing questions and problems. Essential to answering these questions, therefore, is a robust theology and practice of counseling that are grounded in the doctrines of progressive sanctification and Scripture’s sufficiency. BJU’s Master of Arts program in Biblical Counseling provides just that. Maybe you are a pastor or a pastor’s wife, or you’d just like to serve the church in the area of counseling but you feel inadequate in your counseling ministry. In the Biblical Counseling MA, you will receive rigorous instruction from professors who not only have high academic credentials, but who also counsel people from Scripture on a regular basis in their own counseling ministries.

Program

Our Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling program gives you a broad look at counseling and psychology from a thoroughly biblical perspective. You will study the theological truths of God’s Word in a way that will teach you to evaluate secular and Christian psychological theories objectively. You will gain a clear understanding of the sufficiency-of-Scripture model of counseling. You will study important counseling topics such as finances, marriage and children, overcoming addictions, and managing the grief from a major loss in life. Most importantly, you will learn how to offer hope to those who are perplexed, lost, and hurting, through the eternal truths found in the Bible.

Biblical counselors know that, even for those who have been redeemed from sin by the saving work of Christ, living in a fallen world as fallen human beings introduces great suffering and challenge. Biblical counselors also recognize that some problems can be very complex, that they can, in fact, be caused by a genuine physical component and not by personal sin. Where a physical component is suspected, biblical counselors wisely invite competent medical professionals to diagnose and treat genuine organic etiology (for example, brain trauma, endocrine malfunction, tumor, disease, and infection).

Biblical counselors further recognize that when responding to the hardships of life, people are tempted to forsake the wisdom of the Scriptures and the help of the body of Christ, relying upon their own understanding and upon the wisdom of man, thus compounding their difficulties. So, biblical counselors affirm that in the midst of pressing trials, God’s pathway to lasting joy and peace is found only in the believer’s growth in the Gospel. This growth is centered upon a genuine relationship with Christ, a relationship marked by commitment, dependence, and imitation, answering every spiritual challenge that a believer will face. Furthermore, biblical counselors recognize that they participate in some of the same spiritual struggles faced by those whom they counsel. They therefore see themselves as fellow-disciples of Jesus Christ who come alongside hurting believers. Through the enabling ministry of the Holy Spirit and the sufficiency of God’s Word, biblical counselors compassionately assist other believers in their progressive sanctification toward greater Christlikeness in the midst of their trials for the glory of God.

Program Coordinator

Greg Mazak
Division of Graduate Studies

COURSES (33-41 Credits)

Required:

OBJECTIVES

Each student will be able to:

Articulate and defend Christian doctrine in an organized fashion.
Apply the theological framework of progressive sanctification and sufficiency of Scripture as applied to specific biblical counseling problems and cases.
Employ a biblical methodology that facilitates change and growth in individuals to the glory of God.
Apply biblical solutions to multiple counseling situations ranging from anxiety to sexual abuse and trauma.
Apply biblical, ethical and legal responsibilities in the counseling context.
Critique integrationist counseling theories and methodologies from a biblical counseling perspective.
Utilize biblical and community resources to assist the individual in change and growth to the glory of God.

Biblical Counseling, MA