Laity Care Center

The Laity Care Center (LCC) helps people face the difficult and unexpected issues of life. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, our Laity Care Leaders (LCLs) minister to people and give guidance as to how one can be set free.

Laity Care Centers have a unique opportunity to expand the ministry of the local church’s discipleship ministry through the training and service of mature laypersons. Working under the guidance of the church’s ministerial staff and teaching consultants, LCLs operate as a ministry of the church by providing individual, marital, and family training and support firmly grounded in biblical principles for the purpose of strengthening the body of Christ.
This ministry is not structured to prepare individuals for vocational positions of ministry, nor does it prepare people as counselors for private clinical work or licensure. Rather, the program is designed to produce lay leaders within the church equipped with practical laity discipleship skills who can serve as an extension of our church pastors and staff in discipling those who need help during difficult personal issues.
Each of us knows a friend or loved one that is battling some crisis or situation that leaves that person feeling lost and without hope. Whether it is the loss of a loved one, battling depression, contemplating divorce, dealing with a difficult child, or battling pornography, these situations can become too much to bear. These and many more are examples of people who may seek refuge at the Laity Care Center. The good news is lives are being changed, marriages restored, and people battling strongholds are claiming victories. Our methodologies are no secret. We simply apply the Word of God to each and every situation through the leadership of the Holy Spirit. The people seeking our help do not receive our personal opinion, they receive God’s direction. They see their situation from a root cause analysis, with the root cause always being sin, the heart of the problem. Once identified, they are taught how to be set free from sin through repentance and then mentored into a lifestyle of walking in the Spirit. God gets the glory!

If We Build It, They Will Come…
By Paul Ezelle, Director of the CHBC Laity Care Center

The line “if you build it, he will come” is from Field of Dreams, the 1989 fictional movie where Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) heard a voice telling him to build a baseball field in the middle of his Iowa farm. Shoeless Joe Jackson, Chick Gandil, Buck Weaver, Eddie Cicotte and four other Chicago “Black Sox” players started showing up on this baseball diamond which they thought might be heaven. The storyline was that Ray Kinsella, by the time he was ten, found playing baseball to be like eating vegetables or taking out the garbage. By the time he turned 14 he disliked it so much that finally he refused to throw the ball around with his dad. It broke John Kinsella’s heart and later Ray’s heart broke too because he would not have another opportunity to pitch the ball with his dad (who played minor league baseball and died prematurely).

One day, John Kinsella mystically shows up to play ball in this “field of dreams.” Ray gets his chance to make amends with his deceased dad by saying "Hey... Dad? You wanna have a catch?"

You really do not have to go to the movies to see a much better story than this. Why not consider serving the Lord at the Laity Care Center (LCC) by becoming a Laity Care Leader (LCL)? The current LCLs look forward to their appointments as this is where they pour out their life for the sake of the Kingdom. The Holy Spirit directs God’s Word through these men and women to heal broken marriages, mend relationships, and give people hope. God is glorified. A new story develops each week. Reruns are very rare.

Our “field of dreams” is the LCC. It was first envisioned by Dr. Kerry L. Skinner in 2001 while he was living in Atlanta, Georgia. He did not hear a mystical voice like Costner, but rather God gave him a clear vision for a functional Laity Care Center. This unique center would be a place where lay people would incorporate the methodologies from his and Dr. Henry Brandt’s multiple books used for training in biblical counseling programs across America.

We thank God that He called Kerry Skinner to Mobile, Alabama where the vision has become a reality. Dr. Skinner poured his heart into the LCLs and taught us how to listen to people’s issues, then, under the authority of the Holy Spirit, guide them to the awareness that sin is the foundation of their problem(s). Over and over we heard him say, “If sin is the problem, there is no human remedy.”
As Laity Care Leaders were being trained, Charles Nicholson, David Stroud, and other volunteers refurbished the old clothing storage building across the street into a real work of art. The building looks great with a waiting room, receptionist’s office, and nine small rooms that are ideal for one-on-one sessions. We thank Charles and David for building it because “they are coming.”

For over two years now they have come. Almost every week we see people come to faith in Christ, see believers restored in their personal life, and marriages revived. We are seeing many people come for help. The ministry is provided free of charge. They come because there is hope in the cross. Word of mouth advertising continues to create a large response. The LCC is a place where “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” Matthew 9:37-38.

Hollywood loves to take people with immoral histories and highlight them as regular people, or in the case of Field of Dreams, as even some sort of heroes. The glossed over truth in this mainly fictional movie was that these actual baseball players threw the 1919 World Series by intentionally losing games to the Cincinnati Reds, a conspiracy developed by Chicago White Sox player Arnold “Chick” Gandil. In the movie, several players inquire, “Are we in heaven,” as if their clean white uniforms indicated they had been in limbo until Costner’s character builds them their personal heaven, a baseball field. The message is classic Hollywood and scripted loud and clear that one really does not have to pay for his sins. Of course, Hollywood does not line up with Scripture.

At the Laity Care Center, we don’t deal with Hollywood style fiction. Our cases are real-life and the pain is usually deep. We don’t speak false words that make our clients feel good, but rather we reveal Scriptural truth as we help them come face-to-face with God so they can see their sin. We see people that are saved, but out of fellowship with Christ and allowing sin in their life. They come in usually pointing a finger at a spouse that makes them angry or a circumstance that wrecked their life. It doesn’t take long before it becomes obvious that it is not the spouse nor the circumstance that is creating their problem. At the heart of the problem is usually their own sin. Once sin is identified, the person realizes he/she is just a repentant prayer away from being back in fellowship with a holy God that loves them unconditionally.

We also see lost people who turn to us as a last resort. Maybe their spouse has left them and now they realize they need to do something to try to get them back. Some clients come under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and totally surrender their life to Christ. Some change so radically that when they encounter their estranged spouse, the spouse states, “You’re different? Something happened to you and it appears to be for the good.” Suddenly the divorce court becomes a little less crowded, the spouse’s divorce attorney is no longer required, and the restored family begins a new life. They are initially discipled by the LCL at the LCC. They also get plugged in to a small group class at a church as God continues to grow them up in Christ.

We built it and they are coming. Wednesday evenings alone are no longer adequate to accommodate the number of calls we are receiving at the LCC. Kerry did not visualize a part-time LCC, but rather a full-time center with 100 LCLs each giving 1-2 hours per week. The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Not only did we build it, we are now going to open it up Monday through Thursday evenings and Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. They will come.

Our LCLs don’t need a TV show or movie to make a difference. Their life is exciting just knowing they working for God in the LCC.

… but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love (Eph. 4:15-16).
Core Curriculum
• The Heart of the Problem (Brandt and Skinner)
• The Word for the Wise (Brandt and Skinner, revised 2007)
• The Joy of Repentance (Skinner)
• Breaking Free from the Bondage of Sin (Brandt and Skinner)
• Marriage God’s Way (Brandt and Skinner)
• I Want to Enjoy My Children (Brandt and Skinner)
*There are other wonderful resources you may choose. To agree to this association means any resources you use would not be in conflict with the above resources.

The Laity Care Association is a network of churches from different denominations and cultures who have the same focus for biblical counseling in the body of Christ. The LCA is a non-binding agreement that helps to keep unity of spirit and purpose in the use of God’s Word as the main text for guidance in dealing with life problems.
LCA Member churches have access to a special section that provides them with free resources not available anywhere else. This includes logos, business cards, brochures, counseling forms, applications for LCLs, and attendance report forms.
Our prayer is that you would consider linking with us through the association to begin training God’s people to help those who need a place of hope, care, and prayer.