To maintain any level of ABC certification, counselors will need to:
- Renew ABC membership each year and remain in good standing
- This includes submitting the necessary renewal and agreement forms online
- This includes paying the annual membership fee (which also covers your certification renewal)
- Complete at least 12 hours of approved Biblical Counseling continuing education units (CEU) each year
- Submit the biblical counseling CEU Documentation Form through our ABC Certification Renewal Form located here.
Certification Renewal Process
All levels of ABC certification require 12 hours of Continuing Education Units (CEU) specific to biblical counseling to renew and maintain certification each year. Examples include:
1. Reading in Biblical Counseling
We believe it will be important for you to cultivate the delight and habit of reading in the area of biblical counseling, if you haven’t already. If you choose to read books for CEU units, then you will write a response paper and submit to your Pastor, Training Leader or Supervisor for feedback. The paper should be around 2-pages in length. Each book will be worth 3 hours of credit with no more than 6 hours of credit given to book reading per year. Please utilize the following structure.
- Briefly summarize the book in two or three paragraphs. What was the main point and thrust of the work? How did the author go about answering the questions and presenting the ideas he or she intended?
- In four or five paragraphs, share your perceived strengths and weaknesses of the book. How did it help you? How did it confuse you? In what ways did it honor Scripture? In what ways, if any, did it contradict the Scripture?
- Take several paragraphs to explain how the book will inform, shape, change, and motivate your approach to counseling ministry. How did it challenge you personally?
2. Conferences and training workshops
By the grace of God, there are many good biblical counseling conferences available around the United States and worldwide each year. Every hour of a conference workshop counts as 1 CEU unit. Often, attending a single counseling conference each year will cover the 12 CEU’s needed. Also, sometimes local churches, seminaries, or other organizations will offer training in the area of biblical counseling, and we want you to feel free to attend these and submit documentation of the training for consideration toward your CEU requirement.
If you choose to attend conferences and training workshops for CEU credit, then please write a response paper for each session or seminar attended to submit to your Pastor, Training Leader or Supervisor for feedback. The paper should be around 2-pages in length. Please utilize the following structure.
- Briefly summarize the conference session or workshop in two or three paragraphs. What was the main point and thrust of the session? How did the presenter go about answering the questions and presenting the ideas he or she offered?
- In four or five paragraphs, share your perceived strengths and weaknesses of the conference session or workshop. How did it help you? How did it confuse you? In what ways did it honor Scripture? In what ways, if any, did it contradict the Scripture?
- Take several paragraphs to explain how the training will inform, shape, change, and motivate your approach to counseling ministry. How did it challenge you personally? What points seemed most significant to your life and ministry?