A Word from Bob 

At my Facebook Group—Gospel-Centered Biblical Counseling and Equipping—we consistently have requests for information about national and international organizations that provide equipping in biblical counseling. So, I decided to collate this summary list—with links to more information, and with brief introductory descriptions from each ministry website.

Note: This list is not focused on higher educational institutions like colleges, seminaries, and graduate schools. This list is focused on certification-level organizations. For higher ed institutions in the US, see: 20 US Schools with Biblical Counseling with Biblical Counseling Degree Programs. For higher ed institutions outside the US, see: 17 International Schools with Biblical Counseling Degree Programs.

For a comprehensive, step-by-step manual on how to launch and lead a biblical counseling training ministry in your church, see Equipping Biblical Counselors: A Guide to Discipling Believers for One-Another Ministry. The link will take you to over two dozen free resources related to the training manual.

Association of Biblical Counselors (ABC)

ABC offers three different levels for certifying biblical counselors. Our process consists of training, reading, writing, exams, collaboration and supervision. A student can receive training through our online process or through one of our U.S. or Canadian training centers.

Level 1: Develop a biblical philosophy in the work of counseling and discipleship, gain an understanding of biblical counseling and acquire a basic understanding of the general and specific methods.

Level 2: Gain a deeper understanding of theology and dependency on the Holy Spirit. Develop practical and advanced skills in biblical counseling as you minister to others in your apprenticeship.

Level 3 Specializations: Coming soon we will offer in-depth certifications such as; Marriage & Family, Addictions and Domestic Abuse.

Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC)

ACBC exists to equip you to minister the Bible faithfully to those all around you who are in need of God’s truth. Our biblically grounded certification process is made up of three phases: learning, exams and evaluations, and supervision.

Phase 1: Learning: Fundamentals training course, counseling observations, and outside reading.

Phase 2: Exams & Evaluations: Complete your theology and counseling exams.

Phase 3: Supervision: Complete 50 sessions of supervised counseling with an ACBC Fellow.

Biblical Counseling Center

We offer convenient biblical counseling training to help you: develop your ability to care like Christ, to learn to address common struggles, and to have a greater impact. Our training includes:

Women’s Counseling Course: This live online course will help you care for others through biblical counseling. Taught by and created for women, this cohort will give you the necessary tools to grow in your ability to provide hope, help, and biblical truths to women in need.

Foundations of Biblical Counseling: This online course will teach you the fundamentals of biblical counseling. Foundations is the starting point for learning more about Biblical counseling. This introductory course is designed to provide practical training and tools that you could use immediately with those around you.

Lay Counseling Certificate Program: This online program will help you become an effective biblical counselor. The certificate program includes 3 courses that prepare you to help with the most common counseling struggles. You’ll also receive live interaction and support from experienced teachers.

ACBC Certification Program: This online program will help you complete all the steps of the ACBC certification process. We’ll guide you through Basic Training, Observations, and writing your Exams. This rigorous process prepares students for the Supervision phase. (We can provide supervision, too!)

Launch Partnership for Churches: This partnership will help you start a counseling ministry in your church. We provide training, resources, and guidance on best practices. After the planning and implementation process, you’ll receive the ongoing support that your church needs.

Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF)

The CCEF School of Biblical Counseling offers online courses and certificates of completion.

Online Course: Online courses are carefully designed to challenge students to think biblically and to begin applying what you are learning in real-life situations.

Certificates of Completion: The certificates include the Formation Certificate and the Essentials of Biblical Counseling Certificate.

Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries (FBCM)

Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries provides excellent training to help equip others to counsel those in their churches and communities. Our training includes:

In-Person Training: Join us in Lafayette, Indiana for in-person training from ministry professionals who have a wealth of expertise in fields related to biblical counseling, training, and ministry. Join 2,000+ attendees in Lafayette at our premier annual conference, or join us for one of our eleven-week Monday Foundational Training Class sessions.

Instructor-Guided Online Training: During one week in February, or on one weekend for three consecutive months, a certified biblical counseling trainer who is actively counseling others in a local church setting will guide the learners through the lectures. During that time, you can interact with the instructor online and participate in real-time Q&A sessions.

Self-Guided On-Demand Training: To begin your biblical counseling journey, you can take Track 1 in a self-guided virtual format in either English or Spanish on-demand at any time you wish.

Institute for Biblical Counseling & Discipleship (IBCD)

The Care & Discipleship Course is designed as a entry-level biblical counseling program. Many churches and individuals use it as a standalone course for equipping in one-another care. Through the course, participants can expect to learn basic methodology and fundamentals of biblical counseling, as well as biblical strategies for dealing with common difficulties, like anxiety, depression, marriage conflicts, and more. The course is also approved as an ACBC Fundamentals Training Course and can be used to fulfill the requirements for ACBC Certification.

Level 1 Basic: Level 1 teaches people how the sufficiency of Scripture shapes the way we view all of life’s struggles. It begins by laying the foundation of general principles involved in biblical counseling and then applies these principles to situations involving anger, conflict, depression, fear, worry, temptation and trial. 

Level 2 Intermediate: Level 2 continues with a wealth of practical wisdom for helping people seek true gospel change in the areas of marriage and family, parenting and biblical decision-making. Participants will explore the interplay of body and soul in relation to medicine and mental disorders. Anyone with a heart for discipleship or leadership will find these materials a valuable tool.

Level 3 Observation and Reading: This final level of the course is aimed at the integration and development of all that has been covered in Levels 1 & 2. Applicants are required to observe 10 hours of counseling with an ACBC Certified biblical counselor. While we believe that live observation is best, we also understand that this can be difficult for many people to complete. That’s why we’ve created IBCD Observation Videos to satisfy this requirement. Some required reading of essential counseling texts are the final part of this training process. 

Institute for Nouthetic Studies (INS) 

Students who complete all 11 online courses will be issued a Biblical Counseling Fundamentals Training Certificate which will indicate completion of the course of study with us. For those interested in certification with the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC), earning this Certificate does count for the “Fundamentals” requirement in Phase 1 of the ACBC certification process.  

International Association of Biblical Counselors (IABC) 

The International Association of Biblical Counselors (IABC) is open to pastors, elders, counselors and lay people across the world who want to help fellow believers deal with their problems by understanding and applying God’s Word. You do not have to be a “professional” counselor to join IABC , but you must have an unswerving commitment to the sufficiency of Scriptures as the essential means for the healing of the inner man.

Overseas Instruction in Counseling (OIC)

There is a worldwide need for training pastors and Christian leaders who desire to counsel biblically. Overseas Instruction in Counseling exists to provide quality training in biblical counseling so that international leaders are equipped to faithfully carry on the practice of training believers to be compassionate, humble, and wise biblical counselors. In training biblical counseling trainers, we provide the following options.

Intro: These are two options available for one-day seminars for all Christians who are interested in biblical discipleship ministry for the strengthening and building of their local churches. The seminars provide an overview of biblical sufficiency-based personal ministry, including what is biblical counseling and how do you do it.

CLT: We offer Church Leadership Training (CLT) programs in Biblical Counseling to benefit and protect the churches we serve. Our target audience is pastors and/or elders. Other church leaders – deacons, teachers, ministry leaders, leaders-in-training – are welcome to attend with their pastor or with their pastor’s endorsement.

Join the Conversation

Of course, the list above is not an exhaustive list of every biblical counseling training center. Instead, I sought to collate major centers with a significant impact and lengthy history of equipping others in biblical counseling. If you have additional biblical counseling training centers that you’d recommend, please feel free to post information about them in the comments section for this blog.