“The counselors at the Center are some of the unsung heroes of the church in our area. Quietly and behind the scenes they have helped hundreds of us, including myself and my wife, in finding a more satisfying relationship with God and each other. I regularly recommend them to people who are sincerely looking for God’s answers to their problems.”

– Tom Oyler, Teaching Pastor, Grace Fellowship, Johnson City, TN

“Without reservation, I would recommend the ministry of TCCC. Over the past 15 years, I have referred many individuals and families to the Center. TCCC’s  entire staff are capable and compassionate counselors.”

– Dr. Phil Hoskins, Sr. Pastor, Higher Ground Baptist Church, Kingsport, TN

“I was greatly encouraged when I discovered TCCC. I have seen what Biblical counsel, through competent counselors, can do in the life of a saint in need of emotional and spiritual renewal. I am thankful for the Center and I highly recommend their ministry.”

– James Wells, Pastor, Norton Christian Church, Norton, VA

“The counseling center has been an integral part of the counseling ministry of this church since 1992. We realize that often the best thing we can do to help others is to refer them to trained, Godly counselors with a Biblical approach of addressing personal and family concerns. Many in our congregation have found help and healing through this ministry.”

– Dr. James K. Pierce, Sr. Pastor, Towering Oaks Baptist Church, Greeneville, TN

“TCCC:

You have my permission to use anything talked about in our sessions or in this recount of my experience, if you think it may help another person. I will try to be brief, but thorough so that someone else may be released from the pain and devastation of an affair. I pray that this will be helpful.

When I learned of my husband’s affair, I was devastated. Not only did my husband put a marriage of 13 years in jeopardy, the affair happened with my best friend. I felt so alone because the only two people I could pour my heart out to were the ones who betrayed me. Our pastor sent us to TCCC and I feel that if it wasn’t for the miracles that God worked through my counselor, we wouldn’t be where we are today. When the affair came out, I didn’t know what to do, where to turn, or who to turn to. I definitely was in no shape to pray. What would my prayer be, when I was blaming God for allowing this to happen? The first thing I asked my husband was if he wanted to be forgiven. He said he didn’t deserve it but would do whatever it took to keep our marriage together, although I didn’t believe him at the time. I asked him to go to counseling and he agreed. Our first session was 3 days after I found out.

In our first session our counselor started asking questions and I learned why the affair happened and even though it wasn’t my fault that it happened, there was something I wasn’t providing for my husband that the other woman was. That was the first thing that I had to understand. My husband and I talked about what those things were and what needed to be done to fix that. After a couple of weeks things started to get better – for us as a couple anyway. The next problem I had was forgiveness of both my husband and my best friend. That wasn’t so easy. There were times when I just wanted to give up, ask for a divorce and get it over with. There were times when I just didn’t want to forgive and at least have an excuse to be miserable.  There were also times when all I wanted to do was be mad at God, my husband, and my best friend because I was just in so much pain and felt like I was having to fix something that I didn’t break. I was doing all the hard work and they were getting a lot less than what I felt they deserved. Our sessions were like a roller coaster ride, some days we flew through things and problems were resolved fairly quickly, other days our sessions were exhausting and my husband and I were up into the wee hours of the morning talking and praying, trying to take what insight the counselor gave us in our session to work things out. I was asking “when is this affair going to quit consuming my life?” It was all I would think about day after day and my husband had all but stopped working because he was afraid to leave me alone.

After about 4 months of counseling I had started healing and forgiving and finally opened my heart to let God do what he needed to do. Soon after that, our counselor started digging into our pasts to see if there was anything lurking there that had any influence on problems we had that weren’t directly related to the affair. Sure enough he dug up a lot of things that we both thought we had dealt with and forgot about. You never know just how true it is that your past can come back to haunt you! I kept telling our counselor that it seemed like I would get so far with getting through this affair and it felt like I was hitting a brick wall and couldn’t understand what my block was. He continued digging and asking questions and we finally figured out – with God’s help – what it was. I didn’t want to revisit my past, and told him that I wasn’t going back, but after prayer and a lot of convincing from the counselor, I agreed to go back to that memory. Without going into detail, I found my way out of the darkness and into the light and my block was gone! I knew that through all of this God was there, I just didn’t want to open my eyes to see Him, I was so afraid of what I would see and feel that I didn’t want to trust Him and let Him protect and comfort me in that memory. I’m glad I finally opened the door of my heart to God and let Him heal my hurts. That session was a new beginning for my husband and me. In that session my husband revealed that he had a lot of worries of his own but didn’t want to trouble me with them. I told him I wanted to help him through his problems but he wouldn’t open up. I thought that this issue would be another session with the counselor, but it wasn’t. That night God revealed to me what all of his problems were and I named them off to him one by one. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Before that happened, we had a heart to heart talk about what I experienced in our session and the realization that everything was not all about me and what I wanted. I told my husband that for all the years we were married, it never occurred to me all the things he had done and sacrificed for me and our little boy. Just in me saying those words, opened him up enough for us to talk about what was bothering him and resolve everything that was burdening him.

This has really been a long journey for us. We have been in counseling for 7 months and the affair only lasted for 3. We have had many sessions and even had a group session with the other couple that lasted for 4 hours. I have been able to forgive my husband and my best friend completely. My friend and I even went out to breakfast recently. I know our relationship will never be the same, but as least I know this is what God wants for us right now.  TCCC has definitely been a vessel used of God, if it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be where we are today. I can honestly say that my marriage is stronger and happier than it has been in years. I give God all the glory and honor for my healing, releasing me from all my hurts, and for using TCCC to give us guidance when we needed it the most.

Thank you”

“Several years ago, my wife and I separated.  She moved out of the house, took my daughter with her, and filed for divorce.  Like most men, I didn’t realize the seriousness of our marital situation, and until she left I thought we could work through our issues.  Out of pure desperation, I picked Tri-Cities Center for Christian Counseling out of the Yellow Pages, and after talking with the receptionist, I scheduled an appointment – not knowing whether my wife would even attend with me.

It turned out that she did attend, and we met with a counselor.  From the very first session, he said the words that we both needed to hear.  I believe that our counselor was guided by the Holy Spirit throughout our counseling, and I soon realized that I had hardened my heart and that my insensitive words and actions were driving a wedge between my wife and myself.  He suggested several tapes and books, which I eagerly absorbed.  I didn’t realize that God has a plan for marriages, and that He actually tells husbands and wives how they are to treat each other.  Eventually, my wife moved back home and I can say without hesitation that we will never have to go through that devastating experience again, as I am seeking the heart of Christ and so is she.  I wouldn’t wish that experience of marital separation on my worst enemy – on the other hand, it led me to changes that I needed to make in my own life.  Thanks to Tri-Cities Center for Christian Counseling – I don’t think I would have my wonderful marriage without your wise counsel.  My wife and I just returned from a romantic cruise to the Caribbean, and we are in truly love with each other after 32 years of marriage!”