MEET THE MINISTRY | MBCC

“Personal ministry is not about always knowing what to say. It is not about fixing everything in sight that is broken. Personal ministry is about connecting people with Christ so that they are able to think as he would have them think, desire what he says is best, and do what he calls them to do even if their circumstances never get ‘fixed’. It involves exposing hurt, lost, and confused people to God's glory, so that they give up their pursuit of their own glory and live for his.” – Paul David Tripp

The team at Michiana Biblical Counseling Center (MBCC) is passionate about this work of “connecting” people with Christ, and equipping believers to do the same. True hope, transformation, and healing is found in Christ alone, and because of that, the counselors at MBCC witness entire family trajectories changed by encountering and following Him in the midst of a broken world.

Deanna Doctor has enjoyed a front-row seat to this amazing work over her last six years serving as MBCC’s Counseling Director. “Sitting down with ‘my people’ (my counselees) and hearing what they have learned about God as they have studied His word that week is precious,” Deanna shared. “Praying with them and problem-solving with them, based upon the sufficient character of God, is life-giving to me! (And the fact that I get to do this alongside our fantastic team of men and women who love people passionately is icing on the cake!)”

Proverbs 20:5 tells us that ,

“The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.”

We’ve “met” some ministries over the past several weeks that meet needs through a coordinated effort to pool and distribute physical resources. Others are uniquely qualified to partner with individuals navigating unplanned pregnancy, addiction, or cancer. MBCC’s ministry is invested in diving deep into the “deep waters” of the heart, the kind of needs that people don’t typically wear on their sleeves. This is patient work, trust-building work, uncomfortable work, hard work, Spirit-enabled work, and 100% “worth-it” work.

Deanna told us about the joy she’s experiencing in this season as she counsels: “Several of my people, this week, confessed sin to God right in the session as soon as God convicted them! I love it when they are moved to action immediately upon being convicted! That sensitivity to the Spirit is something I want to pattern!”

We would probably all agree that it’s nearly impossible to be involved in ministry without being changed ourselves. This has been Deanna’s experience: “I have grown spiritually, relationally, and emotionally over my 23 years of counseling and I don’t have words to express how grateful I am to God for doing that work in my life! God’s faithfulness to use the specific women, families, couples, and teens I meet with to sharpen my faith, and really every aspect of who I am, will never get old to me! I am truly living the dream and am so grateful!”

This is the design of our Father: people indwelt by His Spirit, helping other people to become more like Him, one degree at a time. Paul David Tripp reminds us:

“Embedded in the larger story of redemption is a principle we must not miss: God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things in the lives of others.”

The ministry here is boundless: One truth shared in a counseling session might lead to one decision in someone’s life that might break off generational patterns of sin and change a family’s legacy for ages to come. Testimonies of crumbling marriages that are restored speak to other relationships in crisis that healing is possible. Freedom from the grip of a lifetime of anxiety declares that peace is not only a possibility but promised in Jesus’ name. Transformation and renewal are sparked horizontally over an endless network of influence and vertically down the generations to come, and it all started in the counseling room.

Ripple-effects don’t get better than this.  

“Pray that God continues to provide passionate counselors to meet the needs of those requesting counseling,” Deanna asked. “Pray that our team stays stirred up in our affection for Jesus and passionate about helping hurting people. Pray that each of us counselors would be humble and teachable to the Spirit in our own lives.”