MABC Emphases
The Master’s University MABC program is designed to equip students for effective biblical counseling within both the local church and broader global ministry. Because ministry contexts vary, our program offers specialized paths to deepen your practical skills in a few distinct areas. While the core curriculum remains the same, you can tailor your degree to align directly with your specific ministry goals.
General
The General Emphasis trains students in the general subject of biblical counseling, teaching them how to bring the all-sufficient Word of God to bear in any situation.
FEATURED COURSES
This course is designed to continue to develop the skills of the graduate student in the science and art of biblical interpretation for greater accuracy in the application of truth in a counseling context. A proper hermeneutical approach will be modeled for difficult passages that are frequently used in counseling, especially as that approach relates to the use of texts from a variety of genres in Scripture. The focus of this course is for the graduate student to learn how to properly interpret each book of the Bible, with its special literary genre and subgenres, in order to be well-equipped to accurately apply its truth.
This course is designed to apply the biblical principles taught in BC501 Introduction to Biblical Counseling and BC503 Methods of Biblical Change to a range of specific counseling problems. Topics discussed include anger, fear, depression, homosexuality, anxiety, eating disorders, incest, child abuse, counseling youth, counseling divorcees, and crisis counseling. Each student will research and present to the class a detailed biblical counseling outline for a teacher-approved counseling issue.
- BC518 Counseling from Proverbs
- BC519 Counseling from Ecclesiastes
- BC555 The Biblical Counseling Movement
- BC574 Developing a Counseling Ministry
- BC575 Counseling and Legal Issues
- BC599 Thesis Composition
- BC600 Counseling Research Thesis/Project
Mediation
The Mediation Emphasis trains students to be mediators through biblical reconciliation, specializing in crisis marriages, business disputes, and church conflicts.
FEATURED COURSES
This course will build on the principles in the foundational course Biblical Conflict Reconciliation. The student will be introduced to the theology behind mediation, arbitration, and reconciliation ministry. The student will also be introduced to the methodology of mediation as a form of ADR (alternative dispute resolution). Key related passages of Scripture will be exegeted to build a solid biblical foundation for this emphasis. Common, secular methodologies will be introduced along with the Institute for Christian Conciliation.
The purpose of this course is to make the student aware of common problems encountered in the mediation process and a biblical perspective on those issues. Issues of anger, anxiety, bitterness, forgiveness, confession, breaking of promises, gossip, church conflict and many others will be explored along with the biblical and theological solution. This course will also remind the student that the worshipping heart is always active during times of conflict. The pressure of conflict reveals the desires of the heart. In addition, the student will understand the limitations of their mediation training. Lastly, legal forms and procedures will be introduced including “The Rules of Procedure” from the Institute for Christian Conciliation.
This course is the culmination of everything the student has learned. Students will observe skilled mediators leading a mediation, and will be given the opportunity to use the methodology and forms they have learned in practice. The student will receive professor and peer evaluation in this practicum course.
Missions
The Missions Emphasis trains students to bring biblical counseling into a cross cultural context in an effort to faithfully carry out the Great Commission.
FEATURED CLASSES
This course acts as an introduction to the necessity and purpose of biblical counseling in global missions. It will examine the theological, missiological, and practical integration of the two fields, exploring how the ministry of the Word applies to personal and interpersonal issues across cultures, how biblical counseling strengthens the global church, and how missionaries can wisely engage diverse worldviews with gospel-centered soul care. Emphasis is placed on contextualization without compromise, the role of the local church in transformative ministry, and equipping indigenous leaders for counseling and discipleship.
This problems and procedures course equips students to understand and apply biblical counseling principles across diverse cultural settings. Students will examine how worldview, language, value, and cultural systems shape human experience and problem interpretation. As various cultures are surveyed, students will learn biblical principles to deal with common issues. The class emphasizes the sufficiency of Scripture and the gospel as transcultural truth while cultivating the humility, empathy, and discernment necessary for effective ministry among people of all nations.
This course prepares students to train and equip international churches in the theology and practice of biblical counseling. Students will develop culturally informed, and biblically faithful training that empowers pastors and church leaders worldwide to care for souls through the Word of God. Emphasis is placed on establishing counseling ministries that are sustainable, reproducible, and rooted in the local church. The course integrates theology, missiology, pedagogy, and leadership development to strengthen the church globally through counseling and discipleship.
