As churches face increasing demands for discipleship, counseling and personal ministry, many pastors and lay leaders are seeking training that will help them care for individuals and families within their congregations.
For many who are already serving in churches, relocating to pursue a residential seminary degree is not an option. Careers, family responsibilities and ministry commitments often make traditional theological education difficult to access.
That reality helped shape the biblical counseling concentration within Cedarville Theological Seminary's fully online Master of Theological Studies (MTS) degree.
"Our goal is to serve ministers or lay leaders in the church who desire further education but can't necessarily go somewhere to do that," said Jeremy Oliver, director of the MTS program and assistant professor of theology. Oliver also serves as a member of the Biblical Counseling Coalition Council.
Biblical Counseling Emerges as Largest Concentration
Launched in January 2025, the 36-credit-hour MTS program combines biblical and theological study with practical ministry training. Students complete a core curriculum before pursuing one of four concentrations: biblical counseling, biblical leadership, ministry or worship and theology.
Among those options, biblical counseling has become the program's largest concentration, accounting for approximately 45% of MTS students.
"That's the lion's share of our students right now," Oliver said. "They want to learn how to be able to meet one-on-one with people."
Oliver said the concentration's popularity reflects a growing desire among pastors and lay leaders to provide biblical care within their churches. While some students hope to serve in counseling ministries, many want to strengthen their ability to disciple, mentor and encourage others through personal ministry.
"We've got some who are just looking at, 'I want to be really good at discipleship,'" Oliver said. "We've got others who are thinking about possibly working with counseling centers of some sort."
The concentration equips students with biblical counseling methodology and practical ministry skills through courses such as Biblical Care and Counseling, Interpersonal and Crisis Counseling, Counseling Methods and Theology, and advanced studies addressing marriage, family and personal ministry issues.
Connecting Training With Ministry Practice
Students in the biblical counseling concentration can tailor their capstone experience to fit their ministry goals. Options include developing a discipleship project using biblical soul care principles to cultivate a culture of care within a ministry, pursuing advanced certification through the Association of Biblical Counselors, preparing for certification exams through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors or completing a traditional research thesis.
The concentration attracts students from a variety of ministry and professional backgrounds. One student works for Los Angeles County serving victims of gang violence. He enrolled to deepen his ministry preparation and recently accepted a bivocational pastoral role. Another student, a public-school counselor, is exploring a transition into Christian education and counseling ministry.
Expanding Faculty Expertise
The seminary recently added Dr. Eric Abisror to its faculty. Before joining Cedarville, Abisror served for nine years in Argentina with Reaching and Teaching and developed expertise in biblical counseling, missions and pastoral training.
Abisror is expected to contribute to the seminary's biblical counseling instruction and mentoring efforts, bringing additional experience to a concentration that continues to attract growing interest from students.
Together, Oliver and Abisror bring experience from different areas of the biblical counseling movement, exposing students to a range of perspectives while emphasizing the biblical convictions shared across the field.
Serving Churches Across the Country
The online format allows students to pursue theological training without stepping away from their churches, careers or families. Approximately 170 students are currently enrolled in the MTS program, representing churches of various sizes and ministry contexts across the United States.
For Oliver, the program's success is ultimately measured by the impact graduates have on their churches and communities.
"I hope that we have Cedarville graduates serving in churches both here in the United States and internationally who are faithfully strengthening local churches," he said.
As churches continue to navigate complex personal, family and spiritual challenges, Cedarville's biblical counseling concentration is equipping pastors, ministry leaders and laypeople to provide biblical care in their churches and communities.
About Cedarville University
Cedarville University, an evangelical Christian institution in southwest Ohio, offers undergraduate and graduate residential and online programs across arts, sciences and professional fields. With 7,265 students, it is among Ohio’s largest private universities and is ranked among the nation’s top five evangelical universities in the Wall Street Journal’s 2026 Best Colleges in the U.S. Cedarville is also known for its vibrant Christian community, challenging academics and high graduation and retention rates. Learn more at cedarville.edu.