What does the vision of Sojourn have to do with counseling? Answering this question from a traditional counseling perspective, you might simply say that Sojourn vision’s will reach more people in more communities … more people means more counseling needs which means more counselors needed. This answer is not really wrong but the perspective is off because it narrows the vision to just counseling.
Sojourn’s vision to see the gospel transform everything-ourselves as individuals, our church, our city, and the world-is not just Sojourn’s vision; it is God’s vision! This vision of change is the mission of the gospel. Christ is working in powerful ways to build His church and to advance His kingdom in this dark world. You might ask, “What does have to do with counseling?” Everything! At Sojourn, counseling flows from the gospel and is seen as an integral part of gospel mission. So the mission of the gospel IS the mission of Sojourn counseling. You can’t separate the two. In fact, we intentionally refer to counseling as “gospel counseling” to make this very point.
So what is gospel counseling? Gospel counseling is a way of loving one another as we listen, explore, and understand the struggles of unbelief in one another’s hearts in the midst of life and suffering, while showing how Christ and His gospel truths apply in deeply personal and specific ways, so that we can live out the gospel by faith in community, by grace and the power of the Holy Spirit. Counseling carries out the two-fold mission of the gospel by building up believers in the church in love and by evangelizing unbelievers in the world which then advances the kingdom.
Sojourn Counseling has a four-prong approach: (1) compassionate care for those in the church and neighborhoods, (2) intentional equipping of men and women to live out the gospel and to help others to do the same, (3) loving engagement with those who preach and practice a different “gospel” as they counsel others, and (4) humble networking with churches across the world to learn and grow together so that we can better serve the bride of Christ.
So why is this vision campaign, and specifically, Commitment Sunday, important for Sojourn Counseling and the church as a whole? The answer is simple–gospel mission. The gospel is all about sacrifice and service. Give your time, your talents, and your resources to this glorious mission. We are called to step up and step out into mission because our King Jesus is on mission:
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matt. 9:35-38)