“Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

One component of Apostolic Christian Counseling and Family Services is professional counseling that occurs at the office in Morton. The office is located at 73 East Queenwood Road in Morton, Illinois. Because of the location of the office, most of the clients seen at ACCFS are from Central Illinois. However, at times individuals travel to Central Illinois for a one-time consultation visit.

Members or friends of the church who want to enquire about counseling services can call the toll free number 877-370-9988. This number can also be found in the Apostolic Christian Church of America Minister book and in the Silver Lining. All calls coming into ACCFS after normal business hours (see Contact Us page for hours) are answered by an automated voice-mail system. The person making the call is asked to leave a message with information about how to contact them. All information left on the automated system is completely confidential. One of the counselors will return the call within 24 hours to talk about the type of services needed.

Before setting up the first appointment, the counselors talk with interested individuals about what their needs are, how urgent the concern is, and how closely it is related to doctrinal or spiritual issues. If there are currently no openings in the counselors’ schedules, the caller must decide whether to go on the ACCFS waiting list or to accept a referral to another counseling service. Usually these services are local counseling practices that have met with ACCFS staff and been educated about specific Apostolic Christian Church doctrine and practices so that they can provide services in a supportive way.

When someone comes to the office for counseling, he is asked to complete a number of forms common to any professional service. These are used to develop a treatment plan, coordinate with medical providers, and provide mailing and billing information.

The number of times a client is seen for counseling depends entirely on the individual needs of the person. Some people may only be seen once or twice while others may be seen regularly for a year of more. The frequency of appointments (i.e. weekly, monthly, etc.) will also vary by the client and the counselor.

Services to clients include teaching/reinforcing the application of Biblical truths to life, educating and treating for concerns like depression and anxiety, and teaching new skills to help couples and families communicate and understand each other better. The need for a physician to assess medication and medical concerns is also considered.

The issues that clients discuss in counseling are kept confidential in accordance with the law. However, it sometimes is helpful to work directly with a person’s elder/minister or with a family member. In these cases, if the client is willing to sign a release of information, the counselor will involve others in the counseling process.

The elders of the Apostolic Christian Church have always had the responsibility of assisting people with mental health and relationship problems in the course of shepherding their churches. They have sought to better understand the needs of people in their churches and to support them in a way that encourages their spiritual soundness. Over time there has been a growing recognition that in some cases it can be helpful to seek out professional counseling to address some of these problems. Naturally, elders are concerned about whether a professional counselor will support a struggling person in his faith. Some elders have found professional counselors in their communities that they have been comfortable referring people to. However, at other times there have been concerns raised about the counsel given by certain counselors.

One of the main reasons for the creation of ACCFS came because people wanted the assurance that their faith would be respected by the counselors that they work with. The development of the counseling service was a specific response to those concerns. Since ACCFS opened March 1, 2000, there has been a very positive response to ACCFS offering professional counseling.

Updated 3-5-07