Counseling course offered

    Do you find that friends and family often come to you for help with their problems?
    Do you have a desire to help people, care for them and provide encouragement in their time of need?
    Do you wish you had a better understanding of the issues facing people today?
     Transformations, a local ministry providing Christian counseling, education and ministry support services is pleased to offer a Certified Lay Counselor Training program which will be available beginning Jan. 27.
    This timely training program will integrate curriculum from Transformations and the AACC (American Association of Christian Counselors) with practical application. All teachings and methodologies will be based on Biblical principles and will provide enhanced training opportunities for members of local ministry teams. Sessions will be held one Saturday per month from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Presque Isle and/or Houlton (depending on the needs of participants). Attendance at sessions 1-30 is required for certification as a lay counselor. Trainings will be offered on a monthly basis with program completion in 15 months. This training is offered on an open basis – participants may attend one or all sessions in the series. Certificates for contact hours will be provided upon request. Registration is $45 per person, per seven- hour training.
    Completion of this training program does not guarantee participants a ministry role in any church setting. Upon request, Transformations will assist local church leadership in developing and implementing an individualized Lay Counseling Program designed to meet your specific ministry needs.
    Whether you are actively involved in a ministry role in your local church, are a stay-at-home mom ministering to friends and family over the phone or a cup of coffee, or are a professional caregiver helping hurting individuals and families, this program might just be for you. It is the goal of Transformations to educate and equip a group of helpers within the local faith-based community to offer Biblical truth, acceptance, hope and wisdom to hurting people. Throughout this training participants will be supervised by Christian professionals and have regular educational opportunities in the area of people helping. This training is designed to equip lay persons to provide distinctive Christian one-to-one care to members of their local congregation and the community at large. Participants will gain a Biblical perspective of people and the problems we all face. In addition, participants will also receive training in a variety of specialized topics designed to sharpen and enhance their knowledge and skills in helping people deal with common life issues.
    The first training will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 27 at The Wesleyan Church in  Presque Isle.  Topics to be discussed include “An introduction to Lay/Biblical Counseling” and “The Use of Spiritual Gifts in Lay Counseling.” To register, or for more information regarding this series of training programs, contact Nancy Nichols at 488-4904, Lois Flewelling at 532-9906, or log on to www.transformmegod.com.