The Master’s University’s Master of Biblical Counseling program has a close partnership with the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors. TMU functions as a certified training center for ACBC, which means that all training completed at TMU–both undergraduate and graduate–counts toward your certification with ACBC.
There are three phases to the ACBC certification process and each phase is built into the MABC program as part of a student’s degree completion.
Phase 1
When completed through a local church, Phase 1 consisted of 30 hours of basic training, 10 hours of observation, and 1,000 pages of reading.
Within the MABC program, students receive above and beyond the minimum requirements for completion. They complete hundreds of hours of basic training, fulfill the 10 hours of required observation within the program, and engage in reading that exceeds ACBC’s minimum requirement. This structure allows students to go deeper into the material while also benefitting from classroom interaction.
Phase 2
In Phase 2, ACBC requires biblical counseling candidates to complete two examinations: the Counseling exam and the Theology exam.
In the MABC program, these exams are fully integrated into the curriculum as part of specific courses. Since they are built in as class assignments, students benefit from receiving instruction that prepares them specifically for each portion of the exams and professor feedback throughout the process.
Students’ completed exams questions are also graded by ACBC certified graders through the MABC program, so they do not need to be prepared and submitted independently to ACBC outside of their coursework.
Phase 3
In the final phase, ACBC requires the completion of 50 hours of biblical counseling.
In the MABC program, these hours are built directly into the degree through the courses Applied Soul Care I and Applied Soul Care II. As students work toward completing their required counseling hours, they have the opportunity to be mentored by professors who are ACBC Fellows.
As the first school to offer both an undergraduate and graduate degree in biblical counseling, TMU has maintained a strong and longstanding association with ACBC, ensuring that students are equipped not only academically, but also fully prepared for certification and ministry through biblical counseling.
