What About Our Name?
by Joe Leavell
Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels
Whether our name is new to you or whether you have partnered with us for many years, we are happy to always share the non-profit ministry of Biblical Counseling of Arizona. Our name is intentionally worded and communicates to you who we are and our hearts for helping those in need.
Through the six short years of our existence, we have loved to be a part of what God is doing here in Arizona in the lives of the people. The response to the need for a ministry like ours has been incredible and God has continued to only expand our scope as the need only continues to grow! While we ask pointed questions and respond with the loving and transforming truth of God’s Word into people’s lives, we completely recognize that anything good that has happened in and through our ministry has been because of His work and not us. We are simply tools in His toolbox for Him to use.
But why us? Why do we counsel in Arizona? Why are we counseling at all in general? More specifically, what does the term “biblical counseling” mean to us?
We originally answered these questions with our very first blog post in 2015. So much has grown in our ministry, but our hearts remain the same. Hopefully this article will help you understand the heartbeat behind our ministry. If you would like to talk further about BCA or would like to become a supporting partner to help provide scholarships for those with a financial need, please reach out to us by writing to us at info@biblicalcounselingaz.org.
Why Arizona?
Beyond the presence of very diverse climates and beautiful landscapes, Arizona has something that we at BCA find very valuable: people. Phoenix itself continues to be a booming metropolis that is home to over 4 million people. Each one of these individuals represents something: a life that matters to God and to us. In our state, marriages and families are struggling.
In our ministry, we are seeing a real foster care and adoption crisis continue to grow because of the breakdown of the family. Through our ministry’s existence, we have seen a state that is full of people who are overcome with anxiety, stress, anger, or depression. Our counselors have walked the hurting through real sorrow over lost loved ones. We have seen people struggling to just pay their bills. We have witnessed men and women who struggle with identity and purpose. People come to us who are longing for hope and purpose to their lives who have tried to find it in all the wrong places like drugs, sex, or some other addiction.
While each one of these millions of people has their own unique challenges and struggles, we see that all people share one basic thing in common: we all share the basic need to be loved by someone who truly cares about us.
“Arizona is the community that God has placed us in. We simply cannot just sit back, shake our heads, and tell one another that somebody someday needs to do something to help those around us who are struggling. ”
We cannot passively watch as hurting people go on in their struggles with no hope and no purpose. It is our desire through this counseling center to give real, tangible, affordable help to people. Most importantly, we desire to share the good news that Jesus Christ is the answer to our most fundamental need for love and care, and He came and did something to fulfill that need!
Since BCA began, God has used the gift of technology to be able to counsel those outside of Arizona as well. Through video counseling we have been able to counsel people in many different states as well as in foreign countries where access to biblical counseling is difficult. So even though our primary focus is on our community, if you are not in Arizona, you can still reach out to us for help!
Why Biblical Counseling?
Biblical counseling recognizes the basic truth that we as counselors are not the Great Physician; Jesus is! In this way, our approach to counseling is different than what you may be used to. While we have skilled counselors who are highly educated, we humbly recognize that our human wisdom and understanding is nothing in comparison to the One who made us. Our aim is not to have you leave an appointment in awe of our knowledge and skilled words. We desire that you leave in wonder of our great and merciful God who loves us enough to rescue us and give our lives real purpose and hope.
The Apostle Paul, who probably had the equivalent education of two earned doctorates, said it best when he reflected in the opening verses of First Corinthians chapter 2. He said it this way, “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified….so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”
The married, the employed, those struggling with anxiety and depression, people who are addicted to pornography, the suicidal, the many who are lonely, people who think money will make everything better, parents struggling with rebellious teens, and every other scenario you can possibly imagine, need to hear from the wisdom that only comes from God. Honestly, we are yet to find a single situation that the Gospel of Jesus Christ does not speak into in some critical way, giving purpose, understanding, and direction to our situations and struggles.
Our Goal
For this reason, we aspire to build ongoing relationships with our families where we can reflect to you the same love and care that Christ has given to us. His immeasurable love for us leads us to deeply care for each family and individual that comes under our influence. Not only do we desire to help you through your immediate struggles, our goal is to stay connected with each person to make sure he or she is in a healthy body of believers who continue to show them ongoing care.
Lastly, we also seek to partner with local churches by helping individuals and families who may already be learning through their church family. They may be hearing their pastor teach them God’s Word and show them God’s desires for their lives, but they struggle with obeying or just knowing what obedience looks like. For example, what does it practically look like in your marriage for a husband to love his wife or a wife to show respect to her husband? How does the Gospel inform how to deal with deep depression or addictions?
In this way, we not only want to point you to Jesus, we also desire to tangibly walk you through how God’s Word relates your own situation and help walk you through.
Friends, we are humbled that God would use us to continue being involved in your lives. We look forward to seeing what God will do in the days ahead and would be honored to partner with you for your joy and for the sake of the Gospel!
