The MSCC program has been strategically designed to cultivate in our students three essential qualities: wisdom, maturity and skill. Without these spiritual and practical qualities counselors can never be successful at providing real hope, godly direction or lasting help to struggling people.

Our educational strategy includes seven distinctive components:

1. Personal Attention and Respect

We are committed to giving our students the same personal attention and respect they will one day give to their counselees. From assistance with the application process and advice in registering for courses to classroom interaction and one-on-one lab supervision, our staff and faculty make it a priority to focus on each student as a unique individual. This is essential to helping each student reach their full potential.

2. Development of the Whole Person

Although helping our students achieve academic excellence is important to us, we believe that effective counselors are those who mature spiritually, relationally and psychologically as they grow professionally.  Inside and outside our classrooms and laboratories we challenge and assist our students to develop and maintain health in their spiritual, family and private lives as they pursue competence as counselors.

3. Nurturing Community

We believe people grow and serve more effectively in safe, supportive and nuturing communities than they do as "lone-rangers" or independent agents.   We strive at all times to keep our students immersed in small groups with their peers and faculty in order to provide this kind of nurturing community.

4. Balanced and Relevant Curriculum

In constructing and refining our curriculum, we are vigilant to assure that all of our course work is relevant and practical for counselors who are soon-to-be "in the trenches" working with the most troubled of people.  We are committed to offering a curriculum that always balances contemporary scholarship and professional standards with biblical truth.

5. Approachable and Involved Faculty

Our faculty is committed to teaching counseling first by example.   This requires hands-on personal involvement with our students both inside and outside of the classroom.  Our faculty gets involved with our students as real people in order to give them the opportunity to benefit from their first-hand experiences as counselors.

6. Real-to-Life Laboratory Experiences

We teach counseling as an art that must be practiced in order to be mastered. From the first day to the last day in our program, students participate in laboratories and/or practical field experiences that plunge them into real-to-life scenarios.  They learn through hands-on, trial-and-error rehearsals under the watchful eyes and artful supervision of our faculty.

7. Dependency on the Spirit of God

We believe that counseling people when they are most vulnerable and talking to them about the most intimate and difficult struggles in their lives is a sobering and sacred calling. It must always be approached with humility. Even with the most advanced training, no one is truly adequate for this task without help from God's Spirit.  We are committed to helping our students learn how to depend on the wisdom and power of God's Spirit in all of their attempts to help others.

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