Facilitating Church Based Counseling Groups: Fall 2022 Webinar Series

Do you feel called to use your story and experience to care well for others?

Do you want to understand how to practically run a peer-based support and recovery group in the context of your church?

If you answered “yes” to these questions, we would invite you to join us for this webinar series. 

FAQ

  • What will I learn from these webinars? When you’re done you should be able to understand the practical steps to running a G4 group. 
  • Do I need to attend them all? Yes, each webinar is part of a series and will rely on information from the previous webinars. 
  • Is there a cost? The webinars are free. 
  • How long is each webinar? Each webinar will run for approximately 45 minutes followed by a Q&A. Webinars will start at 3:00PM and will end at or before 4:00PM
  • Who should attend? Anyone who is interested in learning how to facilitate a G4 group at their church.
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The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work

The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work: A Practical Guide from the Country’s Foremost Relationship Expert

The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work has revolutionized the way we understand, repair, and strengthen marriages. John Gottman’s unprecedented study of couples over a period of years has allowed him to observe the habits that can make—and break—a marriage. Here is the culmination of that work: the seven principles that guide couples on a path toward a harmonious and long-lasting relationship.
 
Straightforward yet profound, these principles teach partners new approaches for resolving conflicts, creating new common ground, and achieving greater levels of intimacy. Gottman offers strategies and resources to help couples collaborate more effectively to resolve any problem, whether dealing with issues related to sex, money, religion, work, family, or anything else.

NOTES FROM THE BLOGGER

John Gottman is one of the most well known researchers and authors on marriage. The book was originally published in 1999 and has been updated through the years with the most current and up-to-date research done by John Gottman’s team and research institute. Based on years of research and counseling, this book has impacted the lives of individuals for over 20 years.

Gottman attempts to pull back the curtain to explain how his research is done as well as how he is able to use that research to predict and encourage how a couple will interact and fair in marriage. Explaining how he has created the seven principles based on his research that he has spent decades collecting and interpreting sets up the remainder of the book and his seven principles.

The technique that Gottman uses is unique in that he does not simply give you a list of do’s and don’ts but he provides principles that must be adjusted to your marriage. This is not a list of homework assignments but are concepts that should be personalized to your particular marriage. Gottman does a great job explaining a concept and offering a variety of scenarios that show how a concept might look vastly different in marriages.

While this book will not guarantee marital satisfaction and success it will be helpful for anyone who desires to work on their marriage. These concepts are not earth shattering but they are written in a way that makes working on them possible. An average marriage that takes these concepts and puts them into practice would likely improve in quality and intimacy.

Confidentiality in Group Counseling

One of the most common concerns of a participant is confidentiality. Without confidentiality the work of counseling would be problematic because participants would find it difficult to trust their group facilitator or group enough to share the most intimate details of their lives. 

Confidentiality is too important to a counseling ministry to assume that it is being done well. For this reason, we strive to do everything possible to ensure that we are protecting the stories of those who have entrusted us with them. For this reason, at G4 we believe confidentiality to be so fundamental to caring well for people that it is one of our seven core values. This blog explores two different aspects of confidentiality: (1) why confidentiality is important, and (2) how we as a ministry strive to uphold it. 

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Embodied

Embodied: Transgender Identities, the Church, and What the Bible Has to Say

Preston Sprinkle draws on Scripture, as well as real-life stories of individuals struggling with gender dysphoria, to help you understand the complexities and emotions of this highly relevant topic. This book fills the great need for Christians to speak into the confusing and emotionally charged questions surrounding the transgender conversation.

With careful research and an engaging style, Embodied explores:

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G4 Debrief Homepage

Throughout the progression of our G4 ministry leaders need to be trained and developed As a way of serving our leadership team every other week we host debriefs that are meant to encourage leaders, discuss hard topics, and develop leadership skills. Each debrief topic results from issues that needed to be addressed in particular groups that were deemed important for all.

The list below is not meant to be exhaustive and will continue to grow as we cover more important topics.

  • Caring Virtually: Similarities, Differences, and Unique Challenges
  • Accountability: What Is It and How We Use It
  • Leading Not Reading Through the Curriculum
  • How to Push a Participant with Care
  • Setting Group Expectations
  • Asking Quality Questions
  • Confidentiality In Group Counseling