STATEMENT OF FAITH

The National Association of Nouthetic counselors:

1. affirms that the Bible is the only inspired, inerrant, authoritative and sufficient Word of God consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments;

2. affirms that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit;

3. affirms the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and His personal return in power and glory;

4. affirms that for the salvation of lost and sinful man, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential;

5. affirms that a person becomes justified by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ;

6. affirms the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life;

7. affirms the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; those who are saved unto the resurrection of life, and those who are lost unto the resurrection of damnation;

8. affirms the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ and His church.

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I. Individual Membership Procedures

A. Training

1. The minimum training requirement is satisfactorily completing a basic course in biblical counseling at a NANC certified training center. The NANC office can supply a current listing of training centers. 2. The applicant may have received training in biblical counseling at a training center that is not NANC certified. If the applicant believes that the training he received meets or exceeds NANC’s minimum training requirements, then the applicant may write a letter of appeal asking that it be accepted. The applicant should provide names of instructors, date and place of training, course topics, reading requirements, case observations and other appropriate information.

B. Application and References

1. The applicant is to obtain a membership packet from the NANC office or the NANC website at www.NANC.org. 2. The applicant is to provide personal evaluation forms and a stamped envelope addressed to the NANC office to the following people: a counselee; a parishioner or friend; a colleague; your pastor or a member of your official church board. 3. The applicant is to complete the application and personal evaluation forms and send them to the NANC office with the current application fee. 4. The applicant is to see that a letter is sent from his church indicating that he is a member in good standing. 5. The applicant is to see that a letter is sent from his official board indicating that the applicant’s counseling ministry is being conducted under its oversight. 6. If the applicant is an ordained clergyman, he should send a copy of his ordination certificate. 7. Ideally, these materials should arrive in the NANC office just prior to the arrival of the applicant’s exams.

C. Examination Phase

1. The applicant is to complete the NANC Counseling exam 101 and Theological exam 102. The applicant should send two copies of each exam to the NANC office. 2. Both exams are open book. It is anticipated that they will make the applicant study. 3. It is wise to complete the theology exam first. Good theology leads to good counseling. 4. On the theology exam, the grader will be noting the applicant’s understanding of theological truth and his ability to communicate it clearly. 5. On the counseling exam, the grader will be observing how the applicant applies the Scriptures to a variety of counseling issues. 6. Answers will vary in length. Many will be between one half page and one page, typed, single-spaced, double spacing between paragraphs. The applicant should strive for clarity instead of length. 7. Both exams should be sent to the NANC office at the same time. 8. If any of the applicant’s answers are not acceptable, he will be asked to do further study and to do a rewrite on those particular questions. 9. After both exams have been completed satisfactorily, the applicant will be cleared to begin the mentored supervision phase.

D. Mentored Supervision

1. The applicant is responsible to select and contact a NANC Fellow to act as his counseling supervisor. The applicant should contact the NANC office for suggestions on who to contact. 2. Prior to beginning the supervised counseling, the applicant is to submit written notification to the NANC office identifying who will be conducting the supervision and verifying his willingness to supervise. 3. If the applicant needs more than one year to complete the supervision, the applicant should submit to his supervisor and the NANC office a written request detailing the reasons for the extension, accompanied by the current extension fee. This request should be received prior to the conclusion of that year. 4. If the supervisor and the NANC office concur the request will be granted. The applicant will be informed when his request is granted and what steps are needed to complete the certification process. 5. After each counseling case, the applicant is to complete a NANC Case Report Form. The mentoring supervisor must have time to read these reports before discussing the session with the applicant. 6. The mentored supervision is usually accomplished by phone in combination with mail, fax, or email. A few people live near a Fellow and can meet with them in person. The details are to be worked out between the applicant and the supervisor. 7. Ordinarily the mentoring supervisor will listen to a minimum of 5 audio tapes of the applicant’s counseling sessions. 8. The applicant must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 50 hours of supervised counseling in order to be granted certification.

E. Continuing Membership

1. After the applicant has completed all the membership requirements he will be sent a Member’s Covenant to sign and return with the current annual dues. 2. The applicant will then be added to the membership list and sent a certificate suitable for framing. 3. Each member shall renew his membership by annually signing the Member’s Covenant and paying his dues. 4. The membership year ends September 30. The current late-payment fee shall be charged for all dues received after December 1. If dues and late charges are not paid by January 1, membership shall be suspended until payment is made. 5. After one year of non-payment of dues, members shall be removed from the roll of membership. Consideration will be given to hardship cases. 6. The Executive Committee will handle reinstatement of former members on a case-by-case basis.

II. Procedures for Supervision A. The applicant will:

1. Arrange, schedule and conduct his own counseling sessions on a regular basis. 2. Send his supervisor the following: a) A photocopy of the PDI forms for all cases to be supervised. b) A printed copy of the case report form (available through the NANC office) for each session. c) All required tapes. 3. All of the above become the supervisor’s property. B. The supervisor will: 1. Assess each PDI and case report form prior to the scheduled supervising session with the supervisee. 2. Schedule regular meetings with the supervisee to review cases. Note The above will be followed in all cases unless a comparable method for providing documentation of the basic elements of the sessions is approved by the supervisor. C. Fees 1. Fee structure shall be arranged between the supervisor and the applicant. 2. Fees for the supervisor shall not exceed $30 per hour for his time.

D. Basic Sequence of Supervision Process 1. The applicant solicits and obtains agreement from a Fellow for supervision and notifies the NANC office in writing. 2. Supervision begins a) At the end of 15 and 30 hours the supervisor will give the applicant a progress report, encouraging him to continue or to acquire further training before proceeding. b) During the 50 hours of supervision at least two cases must be followed through to completion. c) Supervision must be completed in one year. This year begins when the NANC office approves the applicant’s supervisor. d) If the applicant needs more than one year to complete the supervision he should submit to the supervisor and the NANC office a written request detailing the reasons for the requested extension, and the current extension fee. This fee goes to the NANC office. This request should be received prior to the conclusion of that year. e) If the supervisor and the NANC office concur the request will be granted. The applicant will be informed whether his request is granted and of what steps are needed to complete the certification process. 3. At successful completion of supervision, the supervising Fellow will send a written recommendation for membership to the NANC office. 4. In all cases where an applicant changes supervisors and wishes to transfer credit hours, the two supervisors involved shall consult prior to transfer. The second supervisor shall have the right to refuse to accept any or all of the proposed credit hours. 5. In situations where a supervisor is no longer able to continue supervision, either the supervisor or the applicant may request that the NANC office review and recommend a procedure for completing the 50 hours requirement. 6. At his discretion, for demonstrable reasons and with the approval of the Executive Director, a supervisor may make exceptions to the above procedures. But, in such cases, the supervisor must submit to the Executive Director written notification of the applicant’s successful completion of supervision clearly stating the reasons for such exceptions.

III. Institutional Certification Procedures

A. Pre-application 1. A training center, to be certified by NANC, must be organized in accordance with, and subscribe to, the principles and practices contained in the Statement of Faith, the Constitution and Bylaws and the Standards of Conduct of NANC. 2. A center must demonstrate its responsibility to, and working relationship with, a duly recognized church, group of churches, and/or denomination subscribing to the Christian values, the Statement of Faith and Standards of Conduct of NANC. 3. A center, to qualify for certification must offer training as well as counseling. Training may be targeted to laymen, so long as the program is substantive in nature. 4. Centers applying for certification must have a two-year record of full operation in accordance with the requirements outlined above.

B. Application 1. Secure from the NANC office and complete the NANC Training Center Application Form. 2. The supervising Fellow shall submit the application for institutional certification. The supervising Fellow need not be the director of, or be employed by, the applying center, but he must be willing to accept supervisory responsibility for the teaching curriculum and counseling at the. A written statement to this relationship must accompany an application from a center where the supervisory Fellow is in this category.

C. On-Site Evaluation 1. A team of two Board of Trustee Members shall be appointed to review the application after all materials have been presented. It is within the discretion of this team to determine the mechanics of how the review is conducted. 2. All expenses, including transportation, meals and motel for the review team and an appropriate fee for the team’s time shall be the responsibility of the applying center.

D. Final Evaluation 1. The team will present a written report to the Board of Trustees at its next annual meeting. 2. Certification is granted upon a 2/3 vote of the Board of Trustees at their annual meeting and upon receipt of the annual dues from the center

E. Continuing certification 1. Once certified by NANC the supervising Fellow is responsible to submit an Institutional Certification Annual Report. 2. The annual dues should accompany Institutional Certification Annual Report.

IV. Fees and Dues

A. The Executive Director sets all fees and dues in concurrence with the Executive Committee.

B. Processing Fees 1. A processing fee shall accompany each application for individual certification in this Association. 2. A processing fee shall accompany each application for institutional membership in this Association. C. Dues 1. Annual dues for Members Level 1 & 2, Fellows and Members of the Academy shall accompany the annual membership renewal. 2. Annual dues for NANC certified training centers shall accompany their annual report.