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What is Family Life Development Center?
For Key Ministry Leaders
The Family Life Development Center trains leaders to help others work through their personal and relational problems from a biblical framework. During the 25 week long training program, trainees gain understanding and Biblical perspective through online training videos, reading materials and weekly online two hour class sessions. Hands-on training opportunities in their online class give trainees an opportunity to apply and sharpen skills, like asking great questions, categorizing problems and helping others solve problems.
For Churches & Ministries
Family Life Development Center provides both a one-of-a-kind Training Program (described above) for staff and lay leaders, giving your leaders hands-on skills in helping people, as well as an on-going Mentoring Program and Resource Center available to start and operate in your church or ministry.
What are the key distinctives of FLDC?
The key distinctives of The Family Life Development Center approach to helping people and what makes it different from professional counseling are listed below...
1. Biblical
FLDC helps people learn how to counsel from a Biblical perspective on problem solving rather than a secular view which is give in most professional counseling centers.
2. Relational
Helping people will happen in the context of relationships where a person is loved and known so that truth can be spoken in love and encouragement can be given to make progress in solving problem. In a professional relationship, the relationship is very limited.
3. Contextual
People are helped in the context of community where there can be a 360 view of their life rather than being helped in a one on one counseling relationship where little other input and knowledge is available.
4. Connectedness
FLDC trains people to look at specific problems in the context of cause and effect and relatedness to all areas of life rather than just as an isolated incident or pattern in one or two areas of life.
5. Gatekeeping
FLDC carefully chooses who is trained to help people. You are in this training because you have shown a level of character, wisdom and good sense that says you could really be helpful to others in line with Scripture. Comparatively, the only requirement for entrance into graduate programs in counseling is academics. Character is never a consideration.
6. Training vs. Content
The goal is training people rather than just giving them a lot of content. Trainees will actually get hands-on practice in relating to others in ways that will help them problem solve and process through their issues.
7. Maturity vs. Mental Health
The goal in helping people is to encourage them toward maturity as a Christian rather than just good mental health.
8. Opportunity for Growth vs. Relief from Pain
We know from Scripture that pain can provide opportunities to change and grow into a deeper walk with God.
9. Heart vs. Determinism
The Bible makes it clear that the source of our problems is within our own heart and we are made responsible for the choices we make. The counseling world will typically look to the past, parents, biology, or circumstances in order to find the source of distress. In other words, they tend to say that something outside of our control determines what we say, do and feel.
10. Integrated vs. Compartmental View
Every psychological theory of counseling tends toward reductionism; simple explanations for behavior. FLDC looks at a person as a whole, the mental, the emotional, the relational, the spiritual, as we look at problems and how to help rather than compartmentalizing problems.
