FTA Vision Case Statement

Campaign Title…

Imagine a Place…

Campaign Promise…

He who began a good work in you will perfect it…. Philippians 1:6 (NASB)

Campaign Prayer…

May the God of peace… equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ. Hebrews 13:20,21 (NIV)

Campaign Purposes…

• To give people the opportunity to join a Christian community which is pursuing a God-given vision that is inspiring, exciting, and enriching.
• To encourage people to invest time and resources in this vision.
• To help people understand that their spiritual journey could be enriched by their participation in this labor of love.
• To inspire people to respond to the call of God to invest their resources in the kingdom, wherever God leads them to give.

Our Mission Is Born…

Family Therapy of Albuquerque (FTA) began as the vision of two pastors at Heights Cumberland Presbyterian Church (HCPC). God inspired Rev. Richard Brown and Rev. Dr. Dwight Keller with the calling upon the Church to be a place where a person’s relationship with God could be deepened through the services of a counseling ministry.

Rev. Brown and Rev. Dr. Keller understood that people often need a personal laboratory to help them learn how to apply the gospel message they encounter in worship, in small group settings, in Christian education classes, and in their devotional lives. They passionately believed that counseling relationships from a Christ-centered perspective can be powerful tools of healing, spiritual growth, and renewal. With the enthusiastic support of Senior Pastor Larry Moss and the elders of the Church, HCPC launched the ministry of FTA in 1984.

Our Mission Is Embraced…

As the sacred mission of FTA has been embraced, a ministry that began with one counseling pastor has grown into a church-based counseling center employing twenty counselors, a psychiatrist, and five support staff.

The inspiration of the original vision for FTA continues to burn brightly in the hearts of those called to serve the ministry. The conviction that the Church needs to provide affordable counseling services that make expert soul care available to all has grown stronger. We believe that Christian counseling services, that help people develop their relationship with God in the midst of their struggles, have two important benefits. First, research has shown that services from this perspective are the most effective in helping Christians resolve their struggles. Second, services from this perspective help Christians achieve a goal more important than resolving their struggles: becoming more like Christ as a result of their struggles.

Our Vision Is Raised…

Greater clarity has emerged regarding the highest purpose of our services, which is to assist the process of Christ being formed in people’s lives. We have also gained greater insight into the broader purpose of our services, which is to be part of a mission to renew lives, strengthen the Church, and transform the community. Increased clarity and insight has led to a renewed vision for more exceptional services in a more conducive setting supported by the most excellent training possible.

As many Christians struggle to experience the abundant life promised in the gospels, as they suffer debilitating symptoms in response to difficult life experiences, as many Christian marriages fail and families are fragmented, and as churches are weakened by all of the above, there arises a pressing need. Something must be done and something must be done now for the sake of people’s lives, the health of the Church and the power of the gospel witness. The need for counseling services which help people develop their relationship with God in the midst of life’s challenges has never been more urgent.

As broken, wounded, undeveloped aspects of people’s inner lives and their relationships are transformed by Christ through the tool of Christian counseling, faith is deepened, lives are renewed, marriages are saved, families are preserved, the Church is strengthened, and the witness of the Church to the community is empowered.

Our Vision Is Pursued…

As we pursue our vision for the future, our trust is placed in God to fulfill what He has inspired (see Philippians 1:6). Two specific needs have arisen that, when met, will strengthen FTA’s ability to realize the vision God has raised: the need for a new facility and the need for support for the ministry of FTA.

A New Facility…

A new facility would empower the ministry of FTA in four different ways:

1. It would permit FTA to expand its services so that more Christians could experience the process of Christ being formed in their lives and so that more people who do not identify with the Christian faith could be touched by the love of Christ.
2. It would allow FTA to conduct its ministry with greater excellence in a setting that is beautiful, inspirational, comfortable, functional, safe, and that communicates the excellence and presence of Jesus Christ.
3. It would provide FTA with a state-of-the-art facility for training our therapists to greater excellence in their ability to integrate methods of spiritual development and Christian counseling.
4. It would grant FTA the opportunity to train up the next generation of Christian counselors in a setting that would facilitate excellent clinical training and inspired spiritual growth.

Support for the Ministry of FTA…

FTA has a special mission to minister to persons regardless of the level of their financial resources. We are committed to helping people move past financial barriers and into the healing presence of Christ, much like the four men who lowered their paralytic friend through the barrier of a roof and into the presence of Christ (Mark 2:3-5). In order to fulfill this commitment, as well as the commitment to provide excellent Christian counseling services in a conducive setting, support is needed beyond what is collected in fees for service.

Imagine A Place…

• Dedicated to assisting the Spirit-driven process of Christ being formed in peoples’ lives.
• On a mission to renew lives, strengthen the church and transform the community.
• Devoted to developing the most excellent Christian counseling methods.
• Committed to training up the next generation of Christian counselors.
• Where people are not turned away due to lack of financial resources.
• Where people who are not Christians experience the unconditional love of Christ.
• Where comfort, beauty, and excellence inspire an experience of the presence of Christ.

Our Invitation…

A vision for the future of FTA has arisen that is compelling and exciting. As our vision is pursued, we see God at work not only in the lives of people who receive ministry from FTA, but also in the lives of the staff of FTA, the Board of Directors, and those who have committed to this labor of love through donations of time and resource. We invite you to pray about whether God would inspire you to join us in pursuit of this vision. You will help transform many lives by the investment of your resources and your spiritual journey could be enriched by participating in this joint labor of love.