Care & Counseling

For those who have experienced the death of a loved one.

Everyone’s grief is unique, and everyone will grieve at his/her own pace. But many of the issues related to grief are common to all. To begin the healing process, we offer a 13-week grief recovery group using the GriefShare material, put together by Church Initiative. The group meetings last two hours and are composed of a video presentation and a group discussion time, and a workbook is also available to provide additional help. These resources give excellent practical advice and guidance from experts in grief recovery and from those who have experienced deep loss themselves. We understand that the grief process is difficult to face alone; it is helpful to walk through it with others who understand what you are going through. Our GriefShare groups have helped many over the years, and we invite you to come and be a part of our next group.

Contact: Dr. Jack Martin

PCBC partners with The Center for Integrative Counseling and Psychology to come alongside anyone who needs guidance through seasons of crisis and challenges. The Center provides counselors on the PCBC campus five days a week for your convenience. Services are for private pay. Medicare is also accepted.

Contact: Visit The Center to learn more or schedule an appointment.

If you know of someone who is in the hospital or who is going into the hospital (or rehab), we want to minister to that person and his/her family. If you have consent to let us know about the hospitalization, please contact us. We can add that person to a prayer list or hospital list, and one of our ministers or deacons will be glad to make a personal visit.

Contact: Dr. Jack Martin

For those who are going through a divorce or who have experienced a divorce.

If you are divorced or are going through a divorce, you are facing one of the most difficult events in a person’s life. It can be overwhelming emotionally, financially, and socially, and it can impact not only you, but also your children and family. In order to provide help for those who are going through such a devastating time, we offer a 13-week divorce recovery group using the DivorceCare material, put together by Church Initiative. The group meetings last two hours and are composed of a video presentation and a group discussion time, and a workbook is also available to provide additional help. These resources give excellent practical advice and guidance from experts in divorce recovery and from those who have gone through the painful experience of divorce themselves. Healing can begin as you come and work through the pain with others who understand what you are going through. We invite you to come and be a part of our next group.

Contact: Dr. Jack Martin

We have a large population of members who are no longer able to attend church, and yet, they are still part of our fellowship. To ensure that these In-Home Members know that they are still a vital part of PCBC, many of our active members reach out to them by making ministry calls, sending cards, delivering flowers, and making personal visits. If you know of someone who is no longer able to attend or if you would like to be a part of this outreach to these fellow members, please let us know. 

Contact: Debra Rountree

There are times when we all need prayer, and we are here to pray with you and for you. Our prayer teams receive requests 24/7 and are continually interceding for needs. We invite anyone to share a request and we want you to know that someone begins praying the minute a request is received.

Contact: Barbara Loest

At the time of a death, many people don’t know what to do. We are here to help guide you through the process. If needed, we can provide information about options regarding funeral homes, cemeteries, burials and cremations, and other general information. We can also help you and your family schedule services at the church, plan and provide a program, involve musicians and ministers, and make all the arrangements for a beautiful and worshipful service.

Contact: Valerie Bergstrom

To contact the Benevolence Ministry, please call 214.860.1545.

SCRIPTURE PASSAGES ON GRIEF

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” -Matthew 5:4

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” -Revelation 21:4

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” -Psalm 147:3

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” -Psalm 34:18

“Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” -1 Peter 5:7

“So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” -John 16:22

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” -Matthew 11:28-30

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” -Psalm 73:26

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” -Romans 8:18

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” -John 14:27

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing…” -Ecclesiastes 3:1-17

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” -John 3:16

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” -Joshua 1:9

“You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?” -Psalm 56:8

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” -John 16:33

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” -2 Corinthians 1:3-4

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” -Romans 12:2

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” -John 14:1

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” -1 Thessalonians 4:13-17

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” -Romans 8:28

“For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” -Psalm 30:5

“Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted from grief; my soul and my body also. For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.” -Psalm 1:9-10

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” -Psalm 23:1-6

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?'” -John 11:25-26

“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” -Isaiah 53:4

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” -Romans 8:38-39

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.” -2 Corinthians 1:3-12

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” -Isaiah 26:3

“He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.” -Isaiah 25:8

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” -Psalm 55:22

“The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” -Psalm 9:9

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” -Philippians 4:6-8

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” -Psalm 46:10

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” -Proverbs 3:5-6

“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.” -Luke 6:21

BOOKS ON GRIEF

Children’s Books:

• The Rabbit Listened – Cori Doerrfeld
• Grief is an Elephant – Tamara Ellis Smith and Nancy Whitesides
• You’ve Got Dragons – Kathryn Cave and Nick Maland
• The Invisible String – Patrice Karst
• Something Very Sad Happened – Bonnie Sucker and Kim Fleming

Adult Books:

• Trauma Through a Child’s Eyes – Peter A. Levine and Maggie Kline
• This is Hard – Jon Swanson
• Hope is the First Dose – Dr. W. Lee Warren
• I’ve Seen the End of You – Dr. W. Lee Warren
• No Place to Hide – Dr. W. Lee Warren
• Awesome: Praising God Straight From Scripture – David Gregory
• The One Year Book of Hope – Nancy Guthrie
• Waiting For Heaven – Larry Grabb
• Recovering From the Losses of Life – H. Norman Wright
• When God Interrupts – M. Craig Barnes
• Helping People Through Grief – Delores Kuenning
• Where is God When it Hurts – Philip Yancey
• How Pastors and the Church Body Can Minister to Grieving Parents – Dr. Gary and Laura House
• What Grieving People Wish You Knew – Nancy Guthrie
• We Wrote Your Name in Color – Jessye Wilden
• A Grief Observed – C.S. Lewis
• Lament for a Son – Nicholas Wolterstorff
• Sifted – Wayne Cordeiro with Francis Chan and Larry Osborne
• I Wasn’t Ready to Say Goodbye – Brook Noel and Pmela D. Blair
• Shattered – Gary Roe
• When Bad Things Happen to Good People – Harold S. Kushner
• The Worst Loss – Barbara D. Rosof
• Resilient Grieving – Lucy Hone
• Hope in the Mourning – Emily Curtis
• Five Cries of Grief – Irene A. Strommen and Merton P. Strommen
• Every Moment Holy (Liturgies) – Douglas Kaine McKelvey
• 50 Days of Heaven – Randy Alcorn
• A Grief Disguised – Jerry L. Sittser
• A Grace Revealed – Jerry L. Sittser
• Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy – Mark Vroegop
• A Bend in the Road – David Jeremiah

PODCASTS ON GRIEF

• While We’re Waiting
• Good Grief
• Nothing is Wasted
• Our Hearts are Home
• The GoodHard Story
• What’s Your Grief
• Always Andy’s Mom
• Grieving Parents Sharing Hope
• The Molden Cast 
• Warrior Moms

COUNSELING resources FOR GRIEF

• The Center
• Sparrow House
• Mighty Oaks Counseling 
• Christian Works Counseling (offer GriefWorks specifically for 5-18-year-olds)
• His Story Counseling
• Lifeology (not outright Christian)
• Southwest Clinical and Forensics