The soul care ministry of Woodland Park Community Church is a co-ed team of lay Christians committed to partnering with anyone feeling weighed down by the burdens of life. We are not professional counselors, nor do we follow a particular biblical counseling program. Instead, we offer the ministry of presence. We are available to meet with you one-on-one for deep conversations in which you can safely share your struggles. Our goal is to listen with empathy and grace and to offer biblical encouragement. We hope that you will feel seen and loved and will know that you are not alone.
How can we help?
Our soul care ministry is designed to pair you with a caregiver who will meet with you regularly as you journey through your current struggles or seek to find healing from past struggles. Some examples of situations this ministry can address include (but are not limited to):
- Grief
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Crisis of faith
- Stressful life circumstances such as divorce, illness, or job loss
- Relationship challenges
- Shame from life choices including abortion, pornography, and sexual immorality
- LGBTQ+ questions and concerns
If we feel that your situation exceeds our capacity as nonprofessional caregivers, we will help get you connected with a professional counselor. Sometimes people benefit from working both with us and a mental health professional simultaneously.
What you can expect from us
- Commitment to meet with you on a regular basis. We usually meet in coffee shops, parks, or in our church office.
- Empathetic, nonjudgmental listening.
- Praying with and for you.
- Spiritual encouragement.
- Referrals to professional counselors and/or community-based resources as appropriate.
- Confidentiality (see exceptions below):
We want you to feel safe to share your burdens without fear of gossip. Therefore, we will not discuss your situation with anyone outside our ministry. Our team members meet regularly for peer supervision and may discuss your situation in general terms, but we will avoid identifying details in these conversations. Because our ministry operates under the authority of the pastors and elders at Woodland Park Community Church, we reserve the right to consult them when needed. If we perceive you are at risk of harming yourself or others, we will refer the situation to our overseeing pastor who may notify the local authorities.
Our core assumptions
Our job is to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Since God loved us enough to die for us "while we were still sinners," we are called to love others with the lavish, unconditional love that we have received (Romans 5:8).
Empathy expressed through active listening is the most effective way to communicate love to someone who is hurting.
We believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and authoritative Word of God. As such, it should be sensitively applied to offer hope, encouragement, and (when appropriate) conviction of sin.
Ministry should be steeped in prayer. We cannot offer true comfort to others without the help of the Holy Spirit, our ultimate Comforter (John 14:26).
If you would like support, please call our church office at 719-687-9444 to be put in touch with our Soul Care ministry. We will schedule a phone call to explore your situation.
Also, please reach out if you have a heart to show up authentically for others (no prior counseling experience necessary).
We would love to discuss having you join the team!