Assigning Growth Assignments

Author: Shauna Van Dyke

Category: Biblical Counseling, Blog, Counseling

Stepping into the lives of so many women, entering into their journey to help them draw closer to Jesus, is a blessing. As a counselor, an hour each week is not enough time to fully care for those who’ve shared their vulnerability and painful struggles with us. From the desire to do more, I’ve found it essential to offer encouragement and to provide ways the counselee can diligently seek God and the truth of His Word during our time apart.

Creating a growth plan

Homework is something we have been doing since grade school. Our teachers utilized homework to evaluate our level of learning and help determine our grade. So, it is easy to understand why, in counseling, the term homework may be viewed as something the counselee completes for the counselor’s benefit or performance evaluation. This is not the relationship I, as a biblical counselor, want with my counselees. For this reason, I’d like to encourage replacing “homework” with a new paradigm.

In counseling, we want to facilitate biblical sanctification. So, together, my counselee and I formulate a “growth plan,” and within that, I provide “growth assignments.” I communicate something like, “I want to emphasize the importance of your time in between our sessions, and the goal of this growth plan is to help you to become more like Christ, create new habits, and grow in your dependency on the Lord.”

Elements for growth assignments within a growth plan:

• Growth assignments are for the further development of the counselee, so what you provide should facilitate biblical sanctification.
• Growth assignments establish dependence on God’s Word rather than on the counselor.
• Growth assignments should emphasize key spiritual disciplines. Seek to include Scripture reading, Scripture memorization, prayer, church attendance with notetaking, and seeking community. You can also provide specific reflection questions and supplemental topical reading when applicable.
• Growth assignments should be fruitful and effective (Col. 1:9-14). When creating assignments, strive for clarity so when it’s done properly, they can see the results. Usually when it is measurable and attainable, as all goals should be, it can bring encouragement and anticipation of change. You can then rejoice with them. Example: if you are counseling someone with depression, you might start off with smaller Scripture selections with more meditation, rather than whole chapters.
• Growth assignments help establish a pattern of action and habit (Eph. 4:22-23, James 1:22). What’s happening in between the counseling sessions is instrumental.
• Growth assignments should address the heart (thinking, emotions, action). The goal is to propel them toward God and to develop the habit of living a godly life.
• Growth assignments should strive to address all areas needing growth: physical, spiritual, relational, emotional, and situational.
• Growth assignments should help them interpret the difficulties of life through a biblical lens with the focus on God: His character, promises, and purposes; Christ: His life, ministry, and character; Holy Spirit: His role, guidance, and help; Scripture: praying, thinking, and living biblically.
• Let the truth of Scripture reveal practical application, helping to strengthen their commitment and reliance on the Word. John 17:17; Matt. 7:24-27; 1 Tim. 4:7-8; Ps. 19, 86, 119; Phil. 2:12-16.

Practical example

Growth Plan: Struggles with negative thinking; help to become more Christ-focused vs. self-focused.

Growth Assignment: Scripture and assignments that help counselee think biblically each day.

Day one: Read Philippians 4:6-9. Paul provides a three-fold plan for overcoming worry by praying, thinking, and living biblically.

• Praying biblically, vv.6-7. The Lord is near. We can take our concerns, fears, doubts, emotions to the Lord in prayer. God gives us the gift of peace, in response to our thankful and trusting prayers. Pray confidently, knowing that in the midst of these circumstances you can trust that God is in control with a plan and purpose. Remember that He supplies all of your needs (Phil. 4:19). Pray, thankfully, that God is present, strengthening you, helping you, and upholding you (Isa. 41:10). God cares for you (1 Pt. 5:7). He is all-powerful and all-knowing (Ps. 147:5) and His grace is sufficient (2 Cor. 12:9-10).

• Thinking biblically, v.8. When we are spiritually blind, our thoughts are futile and cause us to focus on our hurt, pain, inadequacies, or failures. But by God’s grace we can have the ability to think rightly, so after Paul directs us to pray with a thankful heart, he gives us a guide for what to think about:
  • “Whatever is true,” (meditate on God’s Word)
  • “Whatever is honorable,” (be in awe of the Lord’s power and faithfulness)
  • “Whatever is just,” (reflect on what is righteous and holy)
  • “Whatever is pure,” (dwell on what is morally clean or undefiled)
  • “Whatever is lovely,” (focus on what is kind or gracious)
  • “Whatever is commendable,” (consider virtues of courage or respect)
  • The Holy Spirit is working in us, renewing our mind (Rom. 12:2) so that our mind has the ability to think about what is “excellent” and “worthy of praise”

• Living biblically, v.9. Praying and thinking biblically must precede living biblically because our thoughts affect our behavior. Self-focused thoughts can hinder us spiritually by shifting our focus from the omnipotent God to our own desires (Mark 4:19), which is why Jesus refutes anxiety with truth, promises, and reason in Matthew 6:25-34. We cannot allow anxiousness to hold us back from fully living and serving our Almighty God. Paul had first-hand experience in living righteously in the midst of trials and tribulations. When he wrote to practice the things you “have learned and received and heard and seen in me,” he knew that for his readers (both then and now) the result would be the peace of God despite hard circumstances.

Day two:

• Bible: Read again Philippians 4:6-9 and pursue an extended time of reflection.
• Journal: Thoughtfully answer the following questions: Is what I am thinking true about God? Do my thoughts honor God? Are my thoughts holy, righteous, or right? Do my thoughts cast doubt on God’s goodness or the truth of His promises? Do my thoughts flow from a heart filled with tenderness and affection for the Lord? Are my thoughts commendable?
• Memorize: Philippians 4:6-9
• Pray: Which area are you struggling with the most? Write out a prayer asking God for help.
• One Another: Start a list of things you are thankful for. Include at least 5 things about specific people in your life.

Days three to five:

• Bible: Read Philippians at least 3 times and write out the scriptures that you find most helpful.
• Journal: Continue reflecting on the questions from day two. What other ways can you begin to pray, think, and live biblically?
• Memorize: Philippians 4:6-9
• Pray: Where do you see the Lord working in your life? Write out a prayer of thankfulness and pray this each day while adding to it. Turn some of your favorite scriptures into prayers.
• One Another: Send 5 or more people letters, emails, phone calls or texts expressing your gratitude to them.

Reflection Questions:

1. How beneficial might building out a growth plan with growth assignments for those under your care be?
2. Review my example. What would you change or add? Use this as a start in creating your own growth assignments.
3. The sample growth plan was designed to help the counselee change their negative thinking to become more Christ-focused vs. self-focused. What other growth assignments would be beneficial for this growth plan?

Posted on January 28, 2026