ABOUT BCC

ABOUT BCC

For over 40 years God has proven Himself faithful, helping thousands of people at the darkest times of their lives.

The Biblical Counseling Center is a Christian, biblically-based counseling service. Rather than follow secular philosophies or the latest trends, we counsel from God’s Word, the Bible. We depend upon the power of God and His Spirit to minister to people in their times of need.

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord: seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”  II Peter 1:2-3

The Bible addresses every part of life.  There is not a problem we face that God has not anticipated and addressed in His Word.

Here is a list of common problems we address:

  • Sexual Sins
  • Financial Problems
  • Eating Disorders
  • Care for Aged Parents
  • Communication Problems
  • Depression
  • Sin/Salvation
  • Marriage Problems
  • Worry
  • Parent/Child Problems
  • Fear/Anxiety
  • Alcohol/Drug Abuse
  • Pornography
  • Anger Problems

The comfort, strength, and grace of God can be a part of your life!

Call today to schedule an appointment.

The reason for our existence is to minister the Word of God to those in need of direction and change in their lives, to present the sufficiency of Christ as a practical answer to the daily problems of life and to train others how to minister God’s Word in a counseling setting (2 Timothy 2:1-2).

Our strength is not in ourselves or our wisdom. We gladly confess that our sufficiency comes from our loving savior, Jesus Christ. We believe that “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). We accept the Bible as being inspired by God and profitable… that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Jesus himself claims the title of “Wonderful Counselor”. He works through His Word and Spirit to change, comfort, and strengthen His people (Romans 8:1-2; 4-5; 9-11; 13-17; 23; 26-27).

We see ourselves as tools in His hand, intended to bring glory to God rather than ourselves. Our success and our pleasure lies in helping people draw close to God through Jesus Christ. We “have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth” (3 John 4).

For over 40 years God has proven Himself faithful, helping thousands of people at the darkest times of their lives.

The Biblical Counseling Center is a Christian, biblically-based counseling service. Rather than follow secular philosophies or the latest trends, we counsel from God’s Word, the Bible. We depend upon the power of God and His Spirit to minister to people in their times of need.

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord: seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”  II Peter 1:2-3

The Bible addresses every part of life.  There is not a problem we face that God has not anticipated and addressed in His Word.

Here is a list of common problems we address:

  • Sexual Sins
  • Financial Problems
  • Eating Disorders
  • Care for Aged Parents
  • Communication Problems
  • Depression
  • Sin/Salvation
  • Marriage Problems
  • Worry
  • Parent/Child Problems
  • Fear/Anxiety
  • Alcohol/Drug Abuse
  • Pornography
  • Anger Problems

The comfort, strength, and grace of God can be a part of your life!

Call today to schedule an appointment.

The reason for our existence is to minister the Word of God to those in need of direction and change in their lives, to present the sufficiency of Christ as a practical answer to the daily problems of life and to train others how to minister God’s Word in a counseling setting (2 Timothy 2:1-2).

Our strength is not in ourselves or our wisdom. We gladly confess that our sufficiency comes from our loving savior, Jesus Christ. We believe that “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). We accept the Bible as being inspired by God and profitable… that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Jesus himself claims the title of “Wonderful Counselor”. He works through His Word and Spirit to change, comfort, and strengthen His people (Romans 8:1-2; 4-5; 9-11; 13-17; 23; 26-27).

We see ourselves as tools in His hand, intended to bring glory to God rather than ourselves. Our success and our pleasure lies in helping people draw close to God through Jesus Christ. We “have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth” (3 John 4).

Introducing Our Team

Director & Counselor

Rev. Ken Smith

Director & Counselor

Counselor

Jill Hendrickson

Counselor

Counselor

Jerry Neumair

Counselor

Counselor

Jarrod Swartz

Counselor

Counselor

Terry Burlingame

Counselor

Introducing Our Team

Director & Counselor

Rev. Ken Smith

Director & Counselor

Counselor

Jill Hendrickson

Counselor

Counselor

Jerry Neumair

Counselor

Counselor

Jarrod Swartz

Counselor

Counselor

Terry Burlingame

Counselor

Frequently Asked Questions

We function as a ministry, not a business.  We ask our counselees for donations but do not require payment.  This allows us to minister to all who need our services.  And since we are a Biblical ministry we do not believe it is right to “charge” people for the Word of God any more than a Church would charge someone to attend a worship service.

We consciously put Christ first.  We are evangelistic; seeking to lead our counselees to Christ if they do not already know Him as their Savior.

We rely upon the Bible and its eternal truths rather than the constantly changing values and ideas of man popular in secular counseling.

We require that our counselors have more training in the Bible than in secular counseling training.

We seek to bring honor to God, even if that is difficult for the counselee.  We view painful situations as being ordained by a loving God and as opportunities to grow and change.  Therefore we teach our counselees to rely on God and His resources rather than giving solutions that simply offer relief or make them happy.

We have hope in every situation.  Many situations in life are beyond our ability to understand or to cope with.  God is able to strengthen us by His Spirit and to give us wisdom beyond our own.  He even gives us a peace that passes understanding.  No matter how bad things may be there is always hope and comfort in Christ!

We seek to honor the church as God’s approved authority over His people.  We do not try to replace the Pastor and Elders, but desire to assist them.  We work with the church not against it.  We talk with the spiritual authorities of our counselees when necessary. seeking to avoid conflicting advice.

We use the term “Nouthetic” to describe the kind of Biblical counseling we do.  It is a term coined by Dr. Jay Adams.  On a popular level we often simply refer to ourselves as Biblical Counselors, but there are many who make such a claim and mean something different by it.  So we use the term Nouthetic to distinguish ourselves and identify our philosophy of counseling.

Nouthetic is a Greek word we have brought into English which is why most people are not familiar with the word.  It is the term used in passages such as Romans 15:14; “And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to instruct one another.”  Here the term Nouthetic is used to indicate that God wants us to be directive in our ministry with each other (instruct).  Counseling is not to be just “hand holding”, feeling sorry for the counselee, but using the Word of God to direct people in how to live.  Another place in Scripture where the term is used is in Colossians 1:28; “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.”   Here the Greek word is translated “admonishing” stressing the authority that resides in God’s Word and our obligation to live by God’s commandments.  We could look at other Scripture passages to further explain why we have chosen to identify ourselves by this term.  But for the sake of brevity we simply want to say that the kind of counseling we do grows out of the Bible. Our Bibles are open as we counsel because it is THE source of our wisdom and authority.  We seek to be loving, kind and gentle while standing firm for the truths of God’s Word.  We seek to shepherd people into a greater understanding of and obedience to the Bible. We do not think the ideas of secular theories of counseling are to be adapted to the Bible. In counseling we must rely on the Lord, not the changing ideas of man.

Nouthetic counseling relies upon the Lord and in love seeks to help God’s people bring glory to Him in their lives.  When we live for the glory of God we find peace and comfort for our souls.

We affirm:

  1. that the Bible is the inspired, the only infallible and authoritative Word of God;
  2. that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit;
  3. the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and His personal return in power and glory;
  4. that for the salvation of lost and sinful man, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential;
  5. that a person becomes justified by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ;
  6. the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life;
  7. the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; that they are saved unto the resurrection of life, and that they are lost unto the resurrection of damnation;
  8. the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ and His church.

The following churches support the Biblical Counseling Center in various ways.  All have referred their members to us for counseling.  Some have included us in their budgets and others receive special offerings for us on a regular basis. (Note: This is not a complete list.)

Bethany United Reformed Church    Grand Rapids MI, 49509

Beaverdam Christian Reformed Church    Hudsonville MI, 49426

Calvary Baptist Church     Greenville MI, 48838

Covenant Presbyterian Church    Holland MI, 49423

Cornerstone United Reformed Church    Hudsonville MI,49426

Messiah’s Independent Reformed Church   Holland MI, 49423

Harvest Baptist Church      Hudsonville MI,49428

Byron Center Bible Church      Byron Center MI, 49315

Spencer Mills Orthodox Presbyterian Church Gowen MI, 49326

Whitneyville Bible Church      Alto MI 49302

New Life Fellowship      Zeeland MI, 49464

Redeemer Presbyterian Church      Ada MI, 49301

Rockford Springs Community Church      Rockford MI, 49341

Grace Community Church     Hudsonville MI, 49426

Faith Baptist Church        Muskegon MI, 49445

Faith United Reformed Church     West Olive MI, 49460

Hudsonville Alliance Church       Hudsonville MI,49426

Georgetown Protestant Reformed Church     Hudsonville MI, 49426

Maple Grove Bible Church    South Haven MI,49090

Hudsonville Protestant Reformed Church     Hudsonville MI, 49426

EastmanvilleUnited Reformed Church     Coopersville MI,49404

LittleFarms Chapel     Marne MI, 49438

Georgetown Grace Church       Hudsonville MI, 49428

Nortonville Gospel Chapel     Spring Lake MI49456

Huggard Bible Church        Sand Lake MI,49343

Jenison Bible Church      Jenison MI, 49428

Trinity Christian Reformed Church     Sparta MI, 49345

Heritage Christian Reformed Church     Byron Center MI, 49315

Reformed Heritage Community      Holland MI, 49424

Reformed Baptist Church of GR     Grand Rapids MI, 49506

Netherlands Reformed Church     Grand Rapids MI, 49504

West Cannon Baptist Church     Belmont MI, 49306

Southwest Protestant Reformed Church    Grand Rapids MI, 49518

Bethel United Reformed Church     Jenison MI, 49428

Harvest Orthodox Presbyterian Church      Wyoming MI 49506

Dutton United Reformed Church     Caledonia MI, 49316

Meadow Springs Community Church     Kentwood MI, 49508

Byron Center Protestant Reformed Church    Byron Center MI, 49315

New Richmond Bible Church      Fennville MI, 49408

Ottawa Center Chapel     Coopersville MI, 49404

Trinity Reformed Church      Grand Haven MI, 49417

Zion Chapel     Holland MI, 49423

True Light Baptist Church       Grand Rapids MI, 49506

Southlawn Church of God     Wyoming MI, 49548

Most of our counselees come by word of mouth. Our former counselees recommend us to a friend, or the extended family of someone we ministered to will recommend us. Therefore our counselees’ church backgrounds can be very widespread.  Here is a sample list of some of the church background our counselees have:

Baptist Churches

Independent Churches

General Conference Baptist Churches

General Association of Regular Baptist Churches

National Convention of America Baptist Churches

Southern Baptist Churches

Conservative Baptist Churches

Bible Churches

Brethren Churches

Charismatic Churches

Christian & Missionary Alliance Churches

Christian Reformed Churches

Church of Christ Churches

Church of God in Christ Churches

Evangelical Free Churches

Evangelical Lutheran Churches

Free Methodist Churches

Grace Brethren Churches

Independent Fundamental (IFCA) Churches

Independent Reformed Churches

Methodist Churches

Missouri Synod Lutheran Churches

Nazarene Churches

Netherlands Reformed Churches

Nondenominational Churches

Orthodox Presbyterian Churches

Pentecostal Churches

Presbyterian Church in America

Protestant Reformed Churches

Reformed Baptist Churches

Reformed Church in America

Roman Catholic Churches

Seventh Day Adventist

United Methodist Churches

United Reformed Churches

Wesleyan Churches

Wisconsin Synod Lutheran Churches

We also minister to people with no church background who are not believers. In these cases, evangelism is an important part of our counseling. We also recognize that church membership does not automatically mean that a person has saving faith in Jesus Christ. Because a relationship with Christ is foundational for life we address this question with all our counselees.

Frequently Asked Questions

We function as a ministry, not a business.  We ask our counselees for donations but do not require payment.  This allows us to minister to all who need our services.  And since we are a Biblical ministry we do not believe it is right to “charge” people for the Word of God any more than a Church would charge someone to attend a worship service.

We consciously put Christ first.  We are evangelistic; seeking to lead our counselees to Christ if they do not already know Him as their Savior.

We rely upon the Bible and its eternal truths rather than the constantly changing values and ideas of man popular in secular counseling.

We require that our counselors have more training in the Bible than in secular counseling training.

We seek to bring honor to God, even if that is difficult for the counselee.  We view painful situations as being ordained by a loving God and as opportunities to grow and change.  Therefore we teach our counselees to rely on God and His resources rather than giving solutions that simply offer relief or make them happy.

We have hope in every situation.  Many situations in life are beyond our ability to understand or to cope with.  God is able to strengthen us by His Spirit and to give us wisdom beyond our own.  He even gives us a peace that passes understanding.  No matter how bad things may be there is always hope and comfort in Christ!

We seek to honor the church as God’s approved authority over His people.  We do not try to replace the Pastor and Elders, but desire to assist them.  We work with the church not against it.  We talk with the spiritual authorities of our counselees when necessary. seeking to avoid conflicting advice.

We use the term “Nouthetic” to describe the kind of Biblical counseling we do.  It is a term coined by Dr. Jay Adams.  On a popular level we often simply refer to ourselves as Biblical Counselors, but there are many who make such a claim and mean something different by it.  So we use the term Nouthetic to distinguish ourselves and identify our philosophy of counseling.

Nouthetic is a Greek word we have brought into English which is why most people are not familiar with the word.  It is the term used in passages such as Romans 15:14; “And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to instruct one another.”  Here the term Nouthetic is used to indicate that God wants us to be directive in our ministry with each other (instruct).  Counseling is not to be just “hand holding”, feeling sorry for the counselee, but using the Word of God to direct people in how to live.  Another place in Scripture where the term is used is in Colossians 1:28; “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.”   Here the Greek word is translated “admonishing” stressing the authority that resides in God’s Word and our obligation to live by God’s commandments.  We could look at other Scripture passages to further explain why we have chosen to identify ourselves by this term.  But for the sake of brevity we simply want to say that the kind of counseling we do grows out of the Bible. Our Bibles are open as we counsel because it is THE source of our wisdom and authority.  We seek to be loving, kind and gentle while standing firm for the truths of God’s Word.  We seek to shepherd people into a greater understanding of and obedience to the Bible. We do not think the ideas of secular theories of counseling are to be adapted to the Bible. In counseling we must rely on the Lord, not the changing ideas of man.

Nouthetic counseling relies upon the Lord and in love seeks to help God’s people bring glory to Him in their lives.  When we live for the glory of God we find peace and comfort for our souls.

We affirm:

  1. that the Bible is the inspired, the only infallible and authoritative Word of God;
  2. that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit;
  3. the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and His personal return in power and glory;
  4. that for the salvation of lost and sinful man, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential;
  5. that a person becomes justified by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ;
  6. the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life;
  7. the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; that they are saved unto the resurrection of life, and that they are lost unto the resurrection of damnation;
  8. the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ and His church.

The following churches support the Biblical Counseling Center in various ways.  All have referred their members to us for counseling.  Some have included us in their budgets and others receive special offerings for us on a regular basis. (Note: This is not a complete list.)

Bethany United Reformed Church    Grand Rapids MI, 49509

Beaverdam Christian Reformed Church    Hudsonville MI, 49426

Calvary Baptist Church     Greenville MI, 48838

Covenant Presbyterian Church    Holland MI, 49423

Cornerstone United Reformed Church    Hudsonville MI,49426

Messiah’s Independent Reformed Church   Holland MI, 49423

Harvest Baptist Church      Hudsonville MI,49428

Byron Center Bible Church      Byron Center MI, 49315

Spencer Mills Orthodox Presbyterian Church Gowen MI, 49326

Whitneyville Bible Church      Alto MI 49302

New Life Fellowship      Zeeland MI, 49464

Redeemer Presbyterian Church      Ada MI, 49301

Rockford Springs Community Church      Rockford MI, 49341

Grace Community Church     Hudsonville MI, 49426

Faith Baptist Church        Muskegon MI, 49445

Faith United Reformed Church     West Olive MI, 49460

Hudsonville Alliance Church       Hudsonville MI,49426

Georgetown Protestant Reformed Church     Hudsonville MI, 49426

Maple Grove Bible Church    South Haven MI,49090

Hudsonville Protestant Reformed Church     Hudsonville MI, 49426

EastmanvilleUnited Reformed Church     Coopersville MI,49404

LittleFarms Chapel     Marne MI, 49438

Georgetown Grace Church       Hudsonville MI, 49428

Nortonville Gospel Chapel     Spring Lake MI49456

Huggard Bible Church        Sand Lake MI,49343

Jenison Bible Church      Jenison MI, 49428

Trinity Christian Reformed Church     Sparta MI, 49345

Heritage Christian Reformed Church     Byron Center MI, 49315

Reformed Heritage Community      Holland MI, 49424

Reformed Baptist Church of GR     Grand Rapids MI, 49506

Netherlands Reformed Church     Grand Rapids MI, 49504

West Cannon Baptist Church     Belmont MI, 49306

Southwest Protestant Reformed Church    Grand Rapids MI, 49518

Bethel United Reformed Church     Jenison MI, 49428

Harvest Orthodox Presbyterian Church      Wyoming MI 49506

Dutton United Reformed Church     Caledonia MI, 49316

Meadow Springs Community Church     Kentwood MI, 49508

Byron Center Protestant Reformed Church    Byron Center MI, 49315

New Richmond Bible Church      Fennville MI, 49408

Ottawa Center Chapel     Coopersville MI, 49404

Trinity Reformed Church      Grand Haven MI, 49417

Zion Chapel     Holland MI, 49423

True Light Baptist Church       Grand Rapids MI, 49506

Southlawn Church of God     Wyoming MI, 49548

Most of our counselees come by word of mouth. Our former counselees recommend us to a friend, or the extended family of someone we ministered to will recommend us. Therefore our counselees’ church backgrounds can be very widespread.  Here is a sample list of some of the church background our counselees have:

Baptist Churches

Independent Churches

General Conference Baptist Churches

General Association of Regular Baptist Churches

National Convention of America Baptist Churches

Southern Baptist Churches

Conservative Baptist Churches

Bible Churches

Brethren Churches

Charismatic Churches

Christian & Missionary Alliance Churches

Christian Reformed Churches

Church of Christ Churches

Church of God in Christ Churches

Evangelical Free Churches

Evangelical Lutheran Churches

Free Methodist Churches

Grace Brethren Churches

Independent Fundamental (IFCA) Churches

Independent Reformed Churches

Methodist Churches

Missouri Synod Lutheran Churches

Nazarene Churches

Netherlands Reformed Churches

Nondenominational Churches

Orthodox Presbyterian Churches

Pentecostal Churches

Presbyterian Church in America

Protestant Reformed Churches

Reformed Baptist Churches

Reformed Church in America

Roman Catholic Churches

Seventh Day Adventist

United Methodist Churches

United Reformed Churches

Wesleyan Churches

Wisconsin Synod Lutheran Churches

We also minister to people with no church background who are not believers. In these cases, evangelism is an important part of our counseling. We also recognize that church membership does not automatically mean that a person has saving faith in Jesus Christ. Because a relationship with Christ is foundational for life we address this question with all our counselees.