A Safe Place for Ministry Leaders to Get Help
We have two locations to provide a confidential and caring environment for pastors and ministry leaders to unpack struggles and receive biblical guidance.
If you have personal challenges related to marriage, parenting, addiction, depression, etc., our Brown County campus is your best option.
If you’re struggling with burnout, balancing ministry and family life, plurality/ staff conflict issues, or developing healthy leadership, our North Indy campus is your best option.
Get it all on the Table
Understand the Root of your Pain or Struggle
Gain a Clear Path Forward
We understand that as leaders, it’s easy to focus on serving others and miss the needs of your own life and soul.
Depression
Church Hardships
Sexual Temptation
Pride
Marriage Issues
Spiritual Warfare
Isolation
Financial Pressure
Ministry Demands
Burnout
Deep Discouragement
You deserve to be cared for as well.
Twelve Stones’ on-site 3-day Intensive Counseling Retreat provides in-depth care and counseling to help you, your family, and your ministry through the trials.
You will leave Twelve Stones understanding why you’re struggling, what God says about it, and how to move forward towards a more hopeful future.
Twelve Stones has invested in counseling pastors and missionaries from all over the world for almost 2 decades. Hundreds of those pastors were from the U.S. but we have also counseled pastors and missionaries from 21 other countries.
Healthy leaders Lead healthy ministries
Join the hundreds of leaders making a difference worldwide because they invested in taking care of their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health by coming to a 3-day Intensive Counseling Retreat at our campus.
Find Restoration Through God’s Word.
Here’s how:
Step One:
Book Your Retreat
You don’t have to walk through your struggles alone. Apply for a retreat and begin your path to healing.
Step Two:
Attend Your Retreat
Join us at our restful retreat center for three days of in-depth counseling. Here, you’ll experience a deep relational connection with your counselor, freedom from distractions, and focused time for careful assessment, Biblical insight, and practical planning for a brighter future. You’ll bring an advocate with you, who will help you implement your plan when you go home, so you feel supported long after your retreat.
Step Three:
Move Forward With Hope
Return home with renewed hope and a clear path forward. We’ll equip you and your advocate with resources and help you follow a practical plan to continue the work you started at Twelve Stones.
Bringing an Advocate
We believe community is essential for a healthy, faithful life. Struggles should be shared not hidden. So, the community is also at the core of our counseling process.
Every counselee must bring a friend of the same gender with them on their retreat who they are already in close community with. We call this friend an advocate.
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Who can be my advocate?
An advocate is a concerned friend, fellow church go-er, small group/life group leader, counselor, or another church leader that is willing to come alongside you in this difficult season. Each counselee in attendance needs a same-gender advocate.
This person should be a follower of Christ who knows you, loves you, and is eager to help you. They are committing to “Bear [Your] burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2).
Note: while family members can be an option, we would qualify that category as follows:
- Spouses: We ask your spouse to find a same-gender friend to come alongside them for the counseling retreat and beyond. Your spouse is welcome to attend the retreat but as added support, not an advocate.
- Parents/Adult Children: Similar to spouses, parents to their children or adult children to their parents typically are not the best choice for advocates. They may attend as added support, but each counselee needs a same-gender advocate.
What does an advocate do?
PRAY: Prayers lead us to rely on God for openness, wisdom, clarity, and lasting change as we seek to bring help to others. Advocates are prayer warriors in the counseling room.
GIVE INSIGHT: A person in your community who already knows you and understands your current struggle will be able to provide valuable input to the counselor about how you are doing and where you are struggling. Advocates also can help you ask questions you may not feel comfortable asking. So, in every way advocates help us have deeper insights.
TAKE NOTES: Good notes provide you with tangible reminders of core issues addressed, important principles reviewed, and most importantly, key Scriptures to be meditated on in the days and weeks ahead. Advocates take that burden off your shoulders.
FOLLOW-UP: We encourage advocates to commit to six months of intentional follow-up with you after your visit to Twelve Stones. We will provide you with a summary and action plan that gives you additional guidance and direction. Beyond that, after our time together, your advocates can reach out to us for additional guidance at any time.
Why is an advocate vital?
Empowering the Advocate
We encourage advocates to read these resources prior to coming to the retreat to prepare for their role.
Click here to download.
Free Download
Three Signs an Intensive Counseling Retreat is Right for You
