Abounding Hope is the biblical counseling ministry of Union Grove Baptist Church. Biblical counseling is a one-on-one style ministry of God’s word in which spiritually mature Christians provide biblical care to troubled people through conversations aimed at navigating the complexities and difficulties of life.
Our biblical counselors are trained and certified in the meaning and use of the Bible and biblical principles for counseling through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC). We are committed to the position that Scripture provides the only authoritative guide for what we are to believe and how we are to live. We do not base our counseling knowledge on our own opinions, experience, or concepts of behavior, but will seek to apply the full range of biblical truth relevant to the struggles in your life.
The biblical counselor deals with the full range of problems and struggles that arise in living in our sin-cursed world, including broken marriages, parent-child relationships, abuse, fear, depression, alcohol and drug abuse, tension, anxiety, worry, and other problems that result in oppression, suffering, enslavement, confusion, immobility, and other inhibiting realities.
Because we desire to train and equip others in biblical counseling, there may be one or two others in the counseling room observing or participating. Confidentiality is respected but held within appropriate limitations. A case may be discussed with other counselors or other professionals, but only to the degree necessary to find further biblical solutions to the problem. All such consultation is conducted in accord with the highest standards of biblical ethics.
Our biblical counselors believe in the total health needs of the counselee. If deemed necessary, a counselor may recommend having a full or specified medical examination. If medical assistance is required, counseling will continue whenever possible.
Biblical counselors will use all their skill in applying biblical principles to help you in whatever problem deprives you of the peace and joy that God has promised in His Word. Specifically, counselors concentrate on three basic foundations from God’s Word:
Hope — Because in Jesus Christ we have a great High Priest who has been tempted in all things, yet without sin. Thus, because of Him, even though every sin common to man may be tempting you, God has promised that He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability to endure by His grace, but will provide for you the way to escape from sin so that you can endure it (1 Cor. 10:13; Heb. 4:14-16).
Change —Because in Jesus Christ we can learn how to lay aside the old selfish ways of living and put on the new ways of living in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in good work and increasing in the knowledge of God (Eph. 4:20-24; Col. 1:10).
Practice — Because we need to prove ourselves to be doers of God’s Word, lest we be merely hearers, forgetting and deluding ourselves. Only in effectual practice of the Scriptures shall we be blessed in what we do, and only then will we please the Lord (James 1:22-25).
We provide free biblical counseling to our community and church family. If you attend Union Grove Baptist Church, we can provide more flexible counseling days and times upon request.