Learn About the Process
LEVEL 1
LEVEL 2
LEVEL 3 (Observation)
Level 1 teaches people how the sufficiency of Scripture shapes the way we view all of life’s struggles. It begins by laying the foundation of general principles involved in biblical counseling and then applies these principles to situations involving anger, conflict, depression, fear, worry, temptation and trial.
These materials will help believers learn to handle common issues of sin and sanctification in a biblical way
Level 1 of the Care & Discipleship Course entails the following 5 steps:
1. Instruction
The training consists of 15 hours of instruction from the Care & Discipleship Course. This instruction can be watched by purchasing a simple annual subscription ($55/yr) to stream the videos or buying a physical DVD. Please visit our online store for more information about our training products.
If you’re studying as a group –– the best choice may be to purchase a Supporting Church group subscription.
2. Exam
Once you have taken the 15 hours of instruction you can take the Level 1 Exam. It consists of 10 questions and is open notes, open Bible.
3. Electives
The general material in the Care & Discipleship Course is supplemented by the opportunity to listen to 3 electives from IBCD’s messages on specific counseling issues. Any message on the website (other than those in the Care & Discipleship Course) count as electives. Hearing messages live at a Spring Seminar or Summer Institute counts as well. Indicate these three message titles on the Level 1 Application.
4. Interview
Part of the goal of the Care & Discipleship training is that church leaders are aware of people who have a desire to be involved in intentional, one-another care. In order to receive a certificate of completion one must have an interview with a church leader who deals with pastoral care. The interview is simply discussing the provided questions. Nothing needs to be written down, but the church leader must sign and date the CDC Interview form indicating that this interview has taken place.
5. Application
Once all of the requirements have been fulfilled, the application form can be completed and sent to the IBCD Office. We prefer for these to be sent to us electronically via email. If that is not convenient, you may mail it to us at IBCD, 655 W 11th Ave, Escondido, CA 92025.
Level 2 continues with a wealth of practical wisdom for helping people seek true gospel change in the areas of marriage and family, parenting and biblical decision-making. It also explores the interplay of body and soul in relation to medicine and mental disorders.
Anyone with a heart for discipleship or leadership will find these materials a valuable tool.
Level 2 of the Care & Discipleship Course entails the following 5 steps:
1. Instruction
The training consists of 15 hours of instruction from the Care & Discipleship Course. This instruction can be watched by purchasing a simple annual subscription ($55/yr) to stream the videos or buying a physical DVD. Please visit our online store for more information about our training products.
If you’re studying as a group –– the best choice may be to purchase a Supporting Church group subscription.
2. Exam
Once you have taken the 15 hours of instruction you can take the Level 2 Exam. It consists of 10 questions and is open notes, open Bible.
3. Electives
The general material in the Care & Discipleship Course is supplemented by the opportunity to listen to 3 electives from IBCD’s messages on specific counseling issues. Any message on the website other than those in the Basics course count as electives. Hearing messages live at a Spring Seminar or Summer Institute counts as well. Indicate these three message titles on the Level 2 Application.
4. Interview
Part of the goal of CDC is that church leaders are aware of people who have a desire to be involved in intentional, one-another care. In order to receive a certificate of completion one must have an interview with a church leader who deals with pastoral care. The interview is simply discussing the provided questions. Nothing needs to be written down, but the church leader must sign and date the CDC Interview form indicating that this interview has taken place.
5. Application
Once all of the requirements have been fulfilled, the application form can be completed and sent to the IBCD Office. We prefer for these to be sent to us electronically via email. If that is not convenient, you may mail it to us at IBCD, 655 W 11th Ave, Escondido, CA 92025.
This final level of the course is aimed at the integration and development of all that has been covered in Levels 1 & 2. Applicants are required to observe 10 hours of counseling with an ACBC Certified biblical counselor. While we believe that live observation is best, we also understand that this can be difficult for many people to complete. That’s why we’ve created IBCD Observation Videos to satisfy this requirement. Some required reading of essential counseling texts are the final part of this training process.
Level 3 of the Care & Discipleship Certification process entails the following 4 steps:
1. Required Reading and Response Papers
Level 3 requires interacting with biblical counseling texts which will be helpful in the care and discipleship of people within the local church. The applicant is required to read the following two books and submit a response paper for each one.
Ken Sande, The Peacemaker.
Paul David Tripp, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands.
Download Reading Response Form
Looking for more Biblical Counseling Books?
Please visit our friends at BiblicalCounselingBooks.com.
2. Counseling Observation and Reflection Paper
Level 3 requires at least 10 hours of observing an ACBC certified biblical counselor to see biblical counseling principles in practice. There are 3 ways that the 10-hour requirement can be accomplished. One may choose do any of the following or a combination thereof.
- Participate in IBCD counseling observation at our office in Southern California.
- Find an ACBC certified counselor in your area by searching the ACBC website and arrange to observe their counseling sessions.
- If neither of these options works for your situation, you may meet this requirement by watching the IBCD Observation Videos via a subscription or DVD.
- To meet the 10 hour requirement please plan on watching 4 different cases.
- Please visit our online store to review options for watching IBCD Observation Videos
Once you have completed the 10 hours of counseling observation, write a 2½ – 3 page response which includes the following subjects:
- What was your overall impression of the biblical counseling process?
- Was there anything about the counseling that was surprising to you?
- What did you observe that you think will really benefit you in your counseling interactions with others?
- When you think about helping others in your church, in what areas do you feel you still need to be better equipped?
Download Observation Form (for Observation Videos)
Download Observation Form (for Live Observation)
3. Interview
Part of the goal of CDC is that church leaders are aware of people who have a desire to be involved in intentional, one-another care. In order to be certified one must have an interview with a church leader who deals with pastoral care. The interview is simply discussing the provided questions. Nothing needs to be written down, but the church leader must sign and date the CDC Interview form indicating that this interview has taken place.
4. Application
Once all of the requirements have been fulfilled, the application form can be completed and sent to the IBCD Office. We prefer for these to be sent to us electronically via email. If that is not convenient, you may mail it to us at IBCD, 655 W 11th Ave, Escondido, CA 92025.
More Questions?
• Read an extensive list of Frequently Asked Questions.
• Learn about outside ACBC certification in depth.
