Quick Info:
Number of weeks: 6
Price: $125
CEUs: 3.0
Required books?: Yes
Live video session?: Yes
Part of a certification or series of courses?: Yes (IFD Certification in Christian Care & Counseling)
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In this course, you’ll learn the advantages of church-based counseling, and the legal, ethical, and multicultural issues surrounding it. You will learn how to identify spiritual gifts in others, use the Bible in Christian counseling, and how to connect the Bible to everyday life. It will also connect you to additional Christian counseling resources.
This course is designed to show that God’s Word is our guide for good living and by reading and studying His Word we can find that God addresses every concern we may have in life. In the church, there is a lifetime support system to love and care for us and the whole community of believers and nonbelievers.
The hope is that after the course, your relationship with God will be stronger and you will have a more purpose-driven life. You will have developed more skills for helping hurting people and a stronger desire to do so. This course will give you skills, resources and faith in God to live a good Christian life helping your brothers and sisters and as many of God’s people as you can.
Required Live Video Zoom sessions are held each Thursday, 7:00-8:00 pm Central time. This is an opportunity for students to discuss weekly studies in a virtual group and complete contact hour requirements.
Students are required to have the following books for this class:
- Christian Counseling: A Comprehensive Guide, by Gary R. Collins
- CrossTalk – Where Life and Scripture Meet, by Michael R. Emlet
This course is eligible for 3.0 CEU.
Price: $125
About the Instructor
Reverend Shirley J. Connally is a retired teacher/counselor/minister with a B.A. (English/French), M.Ed. (Counseling & Guidance), M.Div. (Theology) and additional studies on the Doctor of Ministry Degree. She retired from public education with 36 years’ experience as an English teacher and/or secondary counselor. She also taught freshman English at the Houston Community College for several years. Additionally, she served as an adjunct professor at the Charles Harrison Mason Bible College and owned a private practice counseling office for several years.
She has served in ministry in the local church and community for most of her life. She was ordained after completing seminary while serving as an associate with three Baptist pastors and went on to serve as associate and senior pastor in The United Methodist Church. Even though most of her training and service as an adult has been in The United Methodist Church, her childhood years were spent equally divided between three denominations (Methodist, Baptist and Catholic).
She has always been drawn to teaching and helping people, so, naturally using her gifts of teaching and counseling have been dominant in her life. She has offered courses in Christian care and counseling and Bible studies for children, teens, young adults, middle adults and senior adults, reaching all developmental stages of life. She has also offered courses on God’s purpose for the family and prayer retreats, providing time and guidance for those times when we need to go to a quiet place and spend time alone with God. Her prayer is that we can study and continue to develop additional skills and a basic knowledge of how we can use the Bible to help people live better lives.
She is the mother of one daughter in business and one granddaughter. She loves teaching Disciple Bible Studies, serving on the Scholarship Committee, Nursing Home Ministry, St. Stephens Food Pantry and helping wherever she is needed in her church and community. When relaxing she loves reading, crocheting and watching Houston’s #1 sports teams (Texans, Rockets and Astros) and helping people.
