This is a great way to start one! SoulCare Groups™ were designed with you in mind. Our mission is “Making Biblical Care and Counsel Accessible to Every Church.” So, SoulCare Groups™ are our way of doing that. In fact, this is how we grew the counseling ministry at our church, just one or two leaders with the heart to care for the souls in their midst is all you need.

Though there are other models of groups-based biblical counseling, we feel SoulCare Groups™ are a wise choice for the following reasons:

• They are easy to implement. Everything you need is built into the model. They are a turnkey solution for your church or ministry.

• You don’t have to be an expert to lead SoulCare Groups™. The workbooks guide you each week with a format that is easy to follow and encourages deep growth for you and the participants.

• You don’t need extensive training. There is a Note for Group Leaders in every workbook. Reflect on these guidelines and you are good to go!

• You can start groups rather easily. If you have one or two leaders and a few participants, simply choose a day to meet and launch your group. No lengthy ministry ramp up or program development.

• SoulCare Groups™ grow your ministry wider and your people deeper in their faith. They have thrived as a highly visible component of our soul care ministry with regular recruitment periods and launch of seasonal groups having blessed more than half our adult congregants over the past four years.

There are many benefits to this group model:

1. There will always be more people who need help than there are helpers. So, groups simply make sense.

2. SoulCare Groups™ will unburden the pastoral and counseling staff. In the course of a SoulCare Group™, the majority of acute and minor counseling issues are typically resolved and the need for pastor/elder care diminished.

3. Together, participants find the help and hope they need from the sufficiency of scripture and mutual care in the context of deep community and focused study.

4. People who wouldn’t otherwise seek individual care and counsel are coming forward to find the care they need in the SoulCare Group™ setting.

5. SoulCare Groups™ create inherent accountability and transparency in relationships.

6. It is the body of Christ sharing one another’s burdens and struggles (Gal 6:1-5).

7. This is a proven model for groups-based Biblical Counseling, having been tested nationally and internationally, as well as in our own church since 2022.

8. The community and relationships forged in these groups gathering around similar struggles helps believers to realize they are not alone in the ways they struggle.

9. SoulCare Groups™ are an easy on-ramp and kickstarter for soul care ministry in your church!

10. They are a blessing to the body of Christ!

Be sure to visit our endorsements page and review what people are saying about SoulCare Groups™.

SoulCare Groups™ are incredibly unique in that they are topical self-counseling studies done in community. It’s a rhythm of Read-Journal-Pray-Share that makes them distinct.  Participants read, journal, and pray five days of the week. Methodically, they work their way through relevant scripture and companion resources woven together into a cohesive whole in a manner that fosters heart change over the course of the twelve-week format. The model of Journaling for Transformation is a creative approach that ensures development of communication and deepening relationship with the Lord in prayer. Group members then share what the Lord has done in their hearts when they gather for a weekly two-hour discussion group.

Lastly, it is the work of carefully curating resources and weaving them together into a cohesive whole that makes SoulCare Groups™ Workbooks one-of-a-kind. The interplay of various authors and resources makes for an impactful journey for all.

We have run groups as small as three and as large as twelve. Any more is too many. Any less should be referred to individual biblical counseling and care if available.

No one can stop you from doing the study on your own. Having said that, they are designed to done in community with fellow believers – in person if possible. Nonetheless, if you work the material deeply for yourself, you will still experience profound change. Try to share what you are learning with someone or find an accountability partner who is aware that you are working the material.

No, in fact, we strongly advise against it. Leaders will work the material alongside participants in real time. Because leaders are fellow sojourners in this process, you do not need to be a topical expert. The best way forward is to do the work alongside your group in real time.

SoulCare Groups™ are for strugglers only. Therefore, they do not make a good small group study as participants who do not struggle will not resonate with the journaling prompts in the same way as fellow strugglers.

Absolutely, we have designed the model with you in mind. Any lay leader with a heart for care can lead these SoulCare Groups™. Having said that, you will find yourself training up to be one along the way!

No, but there is no question that any amount of training in biblical care and counsel is beneficial to the process. Nonetheless, the workbooks lead and guide you through from start to finish. Aside from carefully reading the note for group leaders and familiarizing yourself with the workbook format, no prior training is required.

We have not run groups for younger than age eighteen yet. Maybe we will in the future. If you attempt to run a group with teens, please let us know how it goes. We are curious!

Each topic has a list of companion resources required for the study. Typically, it will include three biblical counseling titles which we have curated and interwoven into the daily readings for that topic.

First, it is important to note, the daily rhythm of read, journal, and pray from the SoulCare Groups™ workbooks should replace your current daily devotional work. Though we have found, you get out of it what you put into it, we have observed the average participant spends roughly thirty minutes, five days per week devoted to the study.

Do as much as you can daily, then pick up the rest of the work later. Do everything you can each day, to the best of your ability and by the grace of God. Some groups require more work than others depending on the nature of the issues being addressed.

Once you’ve decided to embark on launching a SoulCare Group™:

1. Recruit the support of your pastoral staff. You don’t want to launch something without their awareness.

2. Secure two co-leaders to run each group.

3. Order your workbooks and the companion resources. We recommend ordering enough for a full group, and then handing them out the first night you meet. There is no pre-work, so they don’t need them until then. (This also gives you freedom to recruit right up until the day of the first gathering)

4. Schedule the start of the groups (12 meetings with 11 weeks of work).

5. Recruit participants through announcements and any other means. Ask for help from pastoral staff and small group leaders to identify those in need. We have learned that a personal invitation goes a long way to overcome apprehension about joining a group.

6. Launch!

If you find you have more questions, please send an email to info@soulcaregroups.org and we would be delighted to help you get started!