Biblical Counselor: Part-time

Biblical Counselor Job Summary (note: the Bible does not make a distinction between counseling and discipleship, so these terms and their meanings are used interchangeably with counseling being understood as formal meetings/appointments for the counselor/disciple to address specific issues brought to them by the counselee/the one seeking discipleship with these issues):

The Biblical counselor will be responsible for helping people in the Calvary Church New Mexico (hereafter referred to as CCNM) church family become independently dependent on the resources of Jesus Christ and His church, with a long-term goal of each person eventually benefitting and benefitting from the vitality of the Body of Christ as a whole. The counselor will listen to congregants, mostly individuals but sometimes couples/more than one person and ask questions to help them as a counselor understand their situations and problems and develop Biblical strategies for the counselee's development and maturity in Christ. The counselor will work to identify, address, and disciple congregants to employ Biblical strategies. The counselor will monitor and provide accountability for each congregant's progress.

Biblical Counselor Duties and Responsibilities

• Counseling mostly individual congregants, but sometimes couples or more than one congregant, with the goal of helping them become independently dependent on the resources of Jesus Christ and His church
• All appointments are to be in person and in designated spaces/offices on an approved CCNM church campus
• Counseling only those Christians who are a part of the CCNM church family, unless the person not yet a Christian or does not currently have a home church
• Counseling for a maximum of three 1-hour appointments, unless the overseeing pastor approves requests for additional appointments to address unique or complicated circumstances or needs
• Evaluating each counselee through conversations, interviews, and observations to determine the best starting point and approach to discipling them through their situation and developing a Biblical strategy and setting goals for addressing their situation
• Helping congregants healthily and biblically discuss their experiences, difficulties, challenges, and emotions
• Encouraging, supporting, and listening to counselees
• Because church leadership believes strongly in the ministry of the weekly main services pulpit, as a part of their counseling the counselor must incorporate the weekly CCNM church services sermons into their counseling/discipling of congregants, helping them to connect the dots of their life with the Word of God from the pulpit
• All counsel must be consistent with the theology and application that is taught from CCNM's main pulpit; all substantive deviations will be addressed and not allowed to continue
• Discipling congregants through difficult life changes and challenges
• Educating congregants on Biblical strategies and coping skills
• Biblically advising congregants through difficult decisions
• Helping congregants with a variety of issues such as life dominating sins, bullying, anger management, depression, relationships, stress, suicide, etc.
• Recognizing when there might be mental and emotional disorders that require care from outside the church environment and recommending such, as needed
• If needed, recommending congregants consider looking into CCNM-approved resources like psychiatrists, psychotherapists, treatment facilities, or community services that might better or also address their needs
• Maintaining good working relationships with church leadership (particularly our CCNM pastoral leadership), CCNM church ministries and departments, support networks in the community (as needed), government resources (as needed), and community resources (as needed)

Counselor Requirements and Qualifications

• Must be a member of Calvary Church New Mexico at the time of applying for this position and must continue with CCNM as their home church while employed by the church
• Ideally, this role would be held by someone who is a Deacon or Deaconess at CCNM, or who is qualified (as determined by the CCNM pastoral team) and willing to become one within the first 3 months of employment
• Willing to work between 10 to 20 hours a week during weekday business hours and/or Saturday mornings and/or afternoons, taking between 8 to 18 1-hour in-person counseling sessions with CCNM congregants (these appointments are not for counseling Christians who attend or are a part of other churches in or outside of Albuquerque)
• Possesses pastorally recognized qualities of spiritually gifted written and spoken communication skills
• Strong interpersonal skills with church leadership, congregants, colleagues, and community resources
• Compassionate and caring towards congregants
• Strong time management skills; organized and able to prioritize
• Comfortable in a fast-paced environment with multiple counselees
• Able to organize and manage files, schedules, dates, and information
• Calm and cool-headed with a positive attitude
• Self-directed and self-motivated
• Comfortable with building personal relationships and dedicated to helping others
• Empathetic and supportive with discipleship/mentorship and leadership skills
• CCNM approved Education and Training in Biblical Counseling (completion of CCNM's Biblical Discipleship Life Course 1 and 2, or certification from an approved Biblical counseling body/authority, or a commitment to and strong working knowledge of the

Bible coupled with Bachelor's degree in related field; Bachelor's or Master's degree in psychology, clinical mental health counseling, marriage, and family therapy, or a related mental health field, from an accredited school

• Because church leadership has experienced the benefits of both pastoral and chaplain approaches to counseling ministry, the counselor must be willing to complete the baseline International Fellowship of Chaplains (IFOC) chaplaincy training class within six months of hire (CCNM will pay for this training when done in the Albuquerque metropolitan area, and the counselor will be paid for their time during the class)
• Proficient computer skills, including Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, and Excel)
• Good interpersonal skills and communication skills

COMMENTS
Above statements are intended to describe the general nature of this job and the level of work performed by employees in this position.

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties required by their supervisor.

This document does not create an employment contract, implied or otherwise, other than an "at will" employment relationship.

---