What kinds of counseling might churches offer?

Fully staffed churches might offer: financial counseling such as Crown Financial Ministries; estate planning; personal discipleship, sometimes using one of the published courses such as Called To Obedience, Called To Joy, or Called To Grow; general counseling through ministries such as Stephen's Ministry; pre-marital counseling; child rearing support and education groups such as Growing Kids God's Way; alcohol and drug abuse counseling; and numerous small in-home groups focusing on Bible study, evangelism, or social enhancement.

Almost every state now requires licensing for those practicing counseling which uses professional techniques. This has raised the issue of how to separate "pastoral" counseling from the type of counseling defined and regulated by a state's particular wording of its law. More churches are, therefore, resorting to only offering discipleship counseling and dropping out of forms of counseling which might result in liabilities and legal actions against them.