A Personal Update: A New Counseling Ministry

One of the surprises of the past decade is how much I’ve come to love the ministry of one-on-one counseling.

I entered pastoral ministry with a passion for preaching (which I still love), but counseling initially intimidated me. During my tenure as Associate Pastor at Grand Avenue Baptist Church, however, that began to change. I discovered how deeply I enjoyed pastoral counseling — and, more importantly, how people were helped through it. That growing love for counseling helped motivate my decision to become the Pastoral Ministry Director for the Baptist Convention of Iowa, where I continue to provide pastoral care for pastors across our state.

In 2021, I began pursuing a Master of Arts in Christian Marital, Family, and Individual Counseling at Southeastern Seminary to gain more skill and wisdom in this work. (Lord willing, I’ll graduate next May!)

Though the clinical program prepared me for licensure, I eventually discerned that licensure wasn’t the best fit for me at this time. Instead, I pursued and received a Certificate in Biblical Counseling through the Association of Biblical Counselors, under the supervision of Jason Kovacs at Gospel Care Collective.

This month, I’m excited (and a little nervous) to begin taking clients through the Gospel Care Collective. If I can be of service to you or someone you know, I’d be honored to help.

Note: My availability is limited due to my other ministry responsibilities, but my schedule is generally flexible. The best way to set up an appointment is to contact me directly. You can visit my counseling bio page for details 👉 gospelcarecollective.com/counseling/eric-schumacher/