Tools for equipping caregivers
Since opening its doors in 1990 Redeemer Counseling Services (RCS) has had the unique privilege of participating in both Redeemer’s growth as a church and in the dynamic expansion of the gospel movement in NYC.
As an extension of Redeemer’s pastoral care, RCS has grown exponentially in order to meet the counseling needs of both our congregation and those of network churches. Forty-three counselors now offer care to over 1500 clients a year, and more than 25 churches in the city regularly refer their congregants to us. Over 15% of our clients indicate that they do not belong to a church.
RCS has been challenged not only to grow in scale but also to refine a brand of counseling that reflects Redeemer’s core values.
First, this means that we approach counseling from a solid, gospel-centered theological foundation. Our team is unified in our understanding of human nature, the underlying reason behind our problems, and what will ultimately bring about healing and change.
Second, we seek to contextualize the gospel to those we counsel. Contextualization involves meeting every person where they’re at and providing a safe space for people to bring their deepest struggles and honest questions, no matter where they are in their faith journey and in the healing process.
Over the years counselors and ministry leaders have sought to learn our model of gospel-centered counseling. Alongside Redeemer’s gospel movement to New York City and the world, as highlighted in its recent Rise campaign, we believe that RCS will experience an even greater demand to provide direct counseling care and, in accord with our mission statement, “... equip others to counsel through the redemptive power of the gospel.” As Redeemer envisions growing gospel-centered churches to 15% by 2026, we hope to offer guidance and share our resources with other caregivers to participate in the health and flourishing of the city.
For this purpose, RCS is launching a monthly newsletter that will focus on offering key tools for counselors, both pastoral and professional. We invite you to subscribe to this update that can be accessed at redeemer.com/rcsupdate.
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