Why the Church Needs More Pastoral Counselors — and How You Can Become One

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“I’m just not sure who to talk to,” Addison said. “I want to go to counseling, but Pastor Joseph is too busy. It would be nice to talk to someone who knew how to help me and teach me skills from a faith-based perspective.”

Addison is right. Fewer senior pastors have the time or training to address their parishioners’ counseling needs, yet the need for pastoral counseling support in local congregations continues to grow. While licensed counselors can be helpful, they cost money, and insurance doesn’t always cover the cost.[1] 

As with other needs, when people can’t afford counseling services, they often choose to turn to the church. Indeed, as Kok and Jongsma (1998/2024) highlight, “troubled people often turn first to their spiritual advisors for counseling. … research has shown that nearly fifty percent of the population … asked for help from their religious leaders before anyone else. (p.1). In fact, in a ChurchPulseWeekly episode shared by Barna, Pete Scazzero and Carey Nieuwhof conversed about the church and mental health. Sharing data acquired from 2,007 U.S. adults, responses revealed:

• About 50% of practicing Christians don’t see the church caring about their overall well-being. 
• 44% of Americans say that counseling/mental health services are needed in their communities and that churches or parachurch organizations should provide them.
• 74% of non-practicing Christians, 62% of all adults, and 33% of religious-unaffiliated (including atheists and agnostics) said they’d be interested in attending a church that offered preaching and programs on mental health.

While the Barna sample is small, the above examples support the idea that the Church is uniquely qualified to address the brokenness that exists both within the Church and in Church communities. And yet, Lifeway Research (2025) found that, over the past decade, pastors have become less engaged with counseling resources and more isolated in their own struggles. McConnell goes on to state, “We are seeing a simultaneous decline in pastors developing their counseling skills, having lay counseling ministries, and being ready to refer people to counselors they trust.” And when Aten and Annon (2023) speak about being in the middle of a mental health crisis, they found that:

More than ever, people turn to the church for spiritual and emotional care. But most churches aren’t equipped to care for mental health concerns. Without the proper training and resources, you and other leaders in your church will likely not know what to say, not know what to do, miss the signs of trauma, mistake everything for trauma, or experience burnout.

Scripture is full of advice on wise counsel. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 speaks to the idea that two people are better than one, helping each other succeed. It is also vital to remember that teachers [which extrapolates to counselors] are held to a higher standard (James 3:1). There are programs and education available to prepare one to meet the higher standards in providing counseling services. In the remaining space, I would like to discuss the specific need for Pastoral Counseling in the church and how Crown’s Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling might be right for you.

Learn more about the program here!

Pastoral Counselors

David Benner, the author of Strategic Pastoral Counseling, mentions that pastoral counseling includes pastoral care, spiritual direction, and pastoral counseling. Most of our churches cannot afford to have a licensed Christian Counselor on staff; therefore, when a member of the church reaches out to us in need, the pastoral staff must be equipped to perform counseling tasks. Pastoral counseling has most often been taught as one or two classes in the pastor’s educational journey, where, in fact, specialized education and a degree are more appropriate. A pastoral counselor is not licensed by the state, and in this author’s state of Ohio, is not under the mandate and control of the state’s counseling board. A pastoral counselor practices under the auspices of their church or denomination. 

McMinn (2011) shares that those in a position to provide the most help are not necessarily those well-versed in every counseling theory and technique, but those who truly reflect Christ-like character in every part of their lives (p. 14). Pastoral counselors are unique in that they can be a bridge between secular mental health and Christian spiritual direction. Pastoral counselors do not diagnose, do not design a formal treatment plan, and are not eligible for insurance reimbursement. 

The pros of being a pastoral counselor are the ability to nurture both spiritual and emotional health while helping individuals to align their lives with their faith. Pastoral counselors are needed in churches, faith communities, hospices, and missionary deployment and reintegration, just to name a few. In the Crown College MA in Pastoral Counseling, individuals also graduate certified in Prepare and Enrich for premarital and marital counseling, as well as certification in Level 1 Peace Making. The cons are that pastoral counselors are often pastors who perform counseling, which increases their expected workload. Additionally, unless the pastoral counselor is on staff with the church or organization, their services are a ministry and are not billed.

While it is a pro that the pastoral counselor doesn’t have the time-consuming task of billing paperwork and therefore can spend more time on pastoral care, a worker is worth their wages. It is suggested that churches establish a position to cover a pastoral counselor’s salary. Churches may also want to recognize the depth of resources in the congregation—pastoral spouses could be great candidates for the pastoral counseling ministry. Also, associate pastors or pastors for seniors could be good targets for pastoral counselor training.

Pastoral counseling is most often time-limited and runs a higher risk of dual relationships. The Crown College Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling teaches you the ethics of forming counseling relationships and how to avoid dual relationships—which are more likely for a counselor at a local church—but also prepares the student with a robust Christian ministry education. 

Based on research and experience, this author’s opinion is that all churches and faith communities should provide access to counseling. This can be accomplished by denominations including counseling training expectations in their ordination requirements. And while larger churches would be most likely to have a pastoral counselor on staff, smaller churches, perhaps from the same denomination or sister churches, could pool resources and share a pastoral counselor. The majority of churches require some type of premarital counseling; therefore, training would be appropriate. Counseling [Sheparding] our flock is a biblical mandate. 

Learn more about the program here!

References

• Aten, Jamie & Annan, Kent. (2023, Sept 28). “The church can’t ignore mental health any longer.” Lifeway research. The Church Can’t Ignore Mental Health Any Longer - Lifeway Research
• Barna Group, The. (2021, March 24). “ChurchPulse Weekly conversations: Rick Warren on leading amidst grief.” https://www.barna.com/research/cpw-rick-warren/
• Barna Group, The. (2021, May 19). “ChurchPulse weekly conversations: Pete Scazzero on emotional health & developing leaders.” https://www.barna.com/research/cpw-scazzero-2/Links to an external site.
• Barna Group, The. (2022, May 4). “ChurchPulse Weekly Conversations: Dr. Thema Bryant on Trauma & Healing.” https://www.barna.com/research/cpw-bryant/
• Benner, David. (2003). Strategic pastoral counseling: A short-term structured model (2^nd Ed.). Baker Academic.
• Earls, Aaron. (2025). “Pastors have increasingly complicated relationship with counseling.” Lifeway research. Pastors Have Increasingly Complicated Relationship With Counseling - Lifeway Research
• Kok, J. R. & Jongsma, A. E., Jr. (1998). The pastoral counseling treatment planner (2^nd 
• Ed.). Wiley.
• McMinn. Mark. (2011). Psychology, theology, and spirituality in Christian counseling. (Revised and updated). Tyndale House Publishing.
• Zhu, J. M., Huntington, A., Haeder, S., Wolk, C., & McConnell, K. J. (2024). Insurance acceptance and cash pay rates for psychotherapy in the US. Health affairs scholar, 2(9), qxae110. https://doi.org/10.1093/haschl/qxae110.

Note:
[1] Zhu, et.al., (2024) found that “Low insurance acceptance across a broad swath of mental health provider types means that access to care is disproportionately reliant on patients’ ability to afford out-of-pocket payments even when covered by insurance.”

Article photo Credit:©GettyImages/fizkes

Dr. Elaine Bednar is Core Faculty in the Graduate School of Ministry at Crown College. She earned her B.A. at The Ohio State University, a MA in Clinical Pastoral Counseling and a Doctor of Ministry Degree from Ashland Theological Seminary. Living in the state of Ohio, she is a licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and a licensed Addiction Counselor.