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SUPPORT MINISTRIES
CHRISTIAN COUNSELING
Personal biblical counseling, prayer and training for those in need of spiritual guidance and degree and certificate programs for counselor training.
OVERVIEW
Isaiah prophesied the year of the Lord’s favor to bring good news to the afflicted, bind up the wounded of heart, bring liberty to those in bondage, freedom to addicts, comfort to those who mourn, restoration to the rejected and outcast, and a garment of splendor instead of a drooping spirit. Those words remain relevant today as a world of hurting people are searching for help and healing. Faith Fellowship’s counseling ministry was created for such a time as this.
Through therapeutic, Bible-based counseling, the staff of certified Christian counselors not only assists troubled individuals, but also trains others to become certified and licensed counselors through the Faith Fellowship Ministries School of Christian Counseling (FFMSCC).
But before there was a staff or school, there was Pastor Demola handling all the church’s counseling needs. Dr. Leo Natale took over the task in 1983, and began to train the church’s ministers to perform counseling duties. The counseling was strictly spiritual—they hadn’t tapped into the emotional and psychological aspects yet. However, in the early 1990s, Dr. Natale received material from the National Christian Counselors Association about Creation Therapy, a counseling method developed by Dr. Richard Arno that implements psychological factors based on biblical principles. Through research, the church embraced the methodology and Dr. Natale received extensive training, acquiring doctorate degrees from Cornerstone University and Honolulu University. Before long, Dr. Natale trained other ministers, and the church opened its School of Christian Counseling in 1998 with 160 students in the inaugural class.
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Dr. Leo Natale
Director of Counseling Ministry and School
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School of Christian Counseling (FFMSCC)
Counseling & Certification Network, Inc. (CCNI)
The goal of FFMSCC is to provide adequate training for pastors and Christians who feel the call of God to counsel. Once trained, counselors are provided with credentials through the National Christian Counselors Association, which allows them to counsel in a faith-based organization. The school’s teaching is founded on and directed by the Word of God.
The Creation Therapy method, also known as Temperament Therapy, is based on the principle that each individual is uniquely created in the image of God, “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14), and therefore will respond to circumstances in different ways. Everyone has a God-given temperament, which is the inborn part of man that determines how he reacts to people, places and things. The Bible refers to the temperament as the soul, which is man’s intellect, emotions and will. By evaluating individuals through Temperate Analysis Profiles (TAP), counselors can target the source of the person’s problem and help them properly.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Dr. Leo Natale , counseling@ffmwoc.org
Director of Counseling Ministry and School
(732) 727-9500 Extension 4142
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