A new study released by Barna shows that regular churchgoers and church leaders are at odds with whether or not churches should offer counseling. The study included data collected from 2015, 2020, and 2022, with data being collected from 585 senior pastors from September 6-16 of last year through online surveys. The data compared the ways pastors, Christians, and non-Christians viewed the essentiality of churches offering counseling and care to their community. Only 31 percent of pastors stated they believed churches should offer counseling, compared to 38 percent of non-Christians. Fifty-two percent of Christians stated they believed churches should offer counseling and community care services. 

The study also found that the subjects had very different views about the church’s primary role in the community. Not unsurprisingly, 84 percent of pastors stated they believed a church’s role in the community is to tell others about Jesus. Fifty-eight percent of Christians stated likewise, along with 30 percent of non-Christians. Overall, 50 percent of US adults stated the role of the church should be to tell others about Jesus. The study also found that pastors felt their churches were at least somewhat or very effective in interior care, like discipleship and spiritual formation, but not as much in reaching unchurched people (76 percent vs. 39 percent). The percentage of pastors who believe that their church is at least somewhat effective at reaching unchurched people has gone done significantly from 63 percent in 2015. 

The differences between Christian congregants and pastors on counseling showed the greatest gap between pastors and their congregations. Referring to the data, Barna’s Resilient Pastors series stated, “There are ways for pastors and communities to get on the same page (or at least in the same chapter) about the role of the church in their communities — but it’s going to take some humility, introspection and, most importantly, open communication to get there.” Writing for Servants of Grace at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Timothy Pasma stated that churches should absolutely be the place of counsel, particularly biblical counsel. “I believe that if you look to the Bible, you will find that it asserts that the legitimate context for counseling is the local church,” he wrote. “Many of you may be shocked at such an idea! Isn’t it interesting that today, young people can grow up in a Bible-believing congregation, graduate from a Christian college, enter a graduate doctoral program in counseling or psychology, and never be challenged with the idea that counseling is the work of the Church? Indeed, the Church is the biblical context and the best context for counseling.” The Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF) is an organization that offers training to pastors and laypeople on how to counsel Biblically and offers training for certifications for its counselors. 

Counseling became especially important when another Barna study revealed that 54 percent of practicing Christians had at least one relational, emotional, or mental health issue that they felt was impacting their relationships. Depression rates in the United States are also at the highest they have ever been. And although those rates are lower in people of faith, single Christians still suffer from loneliness, further highlighting the importance of Biblical counsel.