the care and cure of souls  We believe that the care and cure of souls belongs to the church of Jesus Christ. The shepherding of souls, based as it is on Jesus' own description of Himself as the Good Shepherd, must offer words of redemption. This is the business of the church - the called-out ones of God - with whom we at Journey Counseling Ministries align ourselves. We believe that Journey Counseling Ministries, acting upon the principles found in 1 Corinthians 12, presents a unique opportunity to reclaim psychology, which is a tool for the care of souls, from its secular orientation. Our role is to understand and to minister from a biblical perspective to souls, both saved and lost. Our ministry is to serve God and be His witness in the world.

purpose  We purpose to glorify God in our ministry of counseling, consulting and mediation by attempting to bring every thought captive to Christ. We believe the Bible and psychology complement each other; both are descriptive of the human condition and behavior, while the Bible is prescriptive, holding the true answers to human problems.

Journey Counseling Ministries is a not-for-profit evangelical, reformed, charitable and educational organization dedicated to promoting healthy personal relationships by helping individuals, families and groups learn to use Christ as their role model as they develop better team building skills, which will enable them to realize their full potential as individuals, parents, spouses, friends, and employers or employees. To this end, Journey Counseling Ministries will provide individual and family counseling by professional, Christian counselors. Journey Counseling Ministries will also conduct group seminars, training sessions and workshops.

Our goal is to be an extension of the body of Christ - the church. We want to actively work with pastors as they refer members of their flock, relying on the parishoners' church home to provide their primary support system while our counselors assist them. For those clients who come to us without church involvement, we intend to offer a witness and a welcome to the Christian theology through our biblically-based counseling. To make our services as affordable as possible, we will offer financial assistance in the form of grants for those whose family income is less than $36,000 who do not have health insurance. We also desire to provide scholarship funds for those in Christian service who can not afford higher education.

Our overarching goal in our work with our clients is to help them to grow in their love for themselves, their love for others, and their love for God. We believe that growth in these three kinds of love is essential to a person's emotional, mental and spiritual health and wellbeing.

A healthy love for self is neither indulgent, nor is it harsh. Rather it is the ability and willingness to walk into the scary places inside ourselves in order that we might redeem and transform those parts of ourselves that so often cause us pain. It is the ability to delight in who we are and in how God has made us, even as we honestly face our frailties, quirks and limitations.

A healthy love for others does not give in to demands, nor does it demand of others. Instead it stands firm in the face of conflict, valuing oneself and the other equally, loving the other for who they are with all their weaknesses and strengths, and valuing the relationship enough to hold the other accountable for their part in relational pain, as we acknowledge our own part.

A healthy love for God is not a mindless devotion nor an emotionless routine. In actuality it is an ongoing whole-person relationship with the Creator of the universe. It is an entering into the joy of being delighted in and accepted by One much greater than ourselves, who sees us and knows us fully and loves us all the same. A healthy love for God springs up out of our learning to take the risks of receiving the good things that He offers us, first in the eternal redemption He offers through His Son, and second in the day to day relational security that comes from growing in receiving His love.

All three of these loves - love for self, love for others, and love for God - are interrelated and interconnected. If we have not received love, it is difficult to love oneself. In the places that we struggle to love ourselves we also likely encounter difficulty in loving others. In the places where we have difficulty in receiving God's love it is hard to have love for ourselves, love for others, or love for Him. If we have not experienced love from other human beings it can be difficult and puzzling to make sense out of, accept and receive God's love. Because the process of learning to receive and give love is so organic and so relational it is impossible to boil it down to a formula: we need others alongside us and in relationship with us to help us grow in receiving and giving love.

authority of Scripture  The revealed word of God is only found in the Bible. We hold to Scripture alone, which is infallible and authoritative as binding upon our conscience. All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness.

the Trinity  We believe in one God and that there are three persons within the Godhead: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These persons are one God, and are the same in substance and equal in power and glory.

creation of man  We believe in a literal Adam and Eve. God created man, male and female, in His own image to rule over the other creatures.

the fall of mankind  All mankind sinned in Adam's first disobedience, causing man to fall into a condition of sin and misery and leading to the corruption of man's whole nature.

Jesus Christ  Jesus is the second person of the Trinity; He is fully God and fully man. He is the redeemer of God's people, who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary. He is sinless. He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings; He was raised from the dead after dying on a cross. He is coming again to judge the world.

justification  Justification is an act of God's free grace by which He pardons all of our sins and accepts us as righteous in His sight. He counts the righteousness of Christ as ours - this is received by faith alone.

Truth  The Bible teaches that there is absolute truth. This is what makes value judgments about right and wrong possible and gives purpose and direction in life.

the Law  We believe the moral law is summarized in the Ten Commandments, the essence of which is to love God with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind, and to love others as ourselves.