As the Coptic Diaspora
continues to grow throughout North America, the calling
for more laymen and laywoman to serve as trained Christian
counselors can be heard louder then ever before. Marital
trouble, drug addiction, social pressure... the issues
continue to deepen without bounds within our communities.
Clergy desperately need to be reinforced with humble
Christian servants that can help lighten the load and aid in
guiding our communities down the straight and narrow path.
By preparing these servants using the tools of both
psychology and theology we can better answer this call to
service. Therefore, in the Spring of 2006, H.G. Bishop
Youssef met with a team of psychiatrists and
Christian/Pastoral counselors to found what is now called,
the Family Ministry Program (FMP).
FMP infuses Western psychology
with Orthodox theology, Church tradition, and the true
Christian message. It then focuses all of its faculties on
understanding, diagnosing, and treating the unique Coptic
American culture in which the Diaspora is flourishing in.
The program incorporates 2 years of
distance learning with meetings held three times a year in
San Antonio, TX in the education of its students. The first
year will provide a thorough background in the basics of
human psychology and integrate this with Christian
counseling. The second year curriculum will be mainly geared
towards practical and clinical issues and the application of
knowledge gained in the first year.
Upon completion of the program, participants will receive a
certificate of achievement. They will have the knowledge and
skills to recognize cases requiring referral to
professionals, to teach premarital classes, to guide
families and youth, to access information and resources for
those in need, as well as a general understanding of legal
and ethical issues just to name a few.
Graduates of FMP will be sent
back to their respective communities both with the tools of
education and more importantly, the blessing of our Lord to
assist clergy in shepherding the flock.
