By Michael Gryboski, Editor Friday, April 10, 2026

A Tennessee church and a local Baptist association have converted a storage shed into a biblical counseling center to serve people in the community during their time of need.

The Big Emory Baptist Association (BEBA) and First Baptist Church Lenoir City recently opened the counseling center on the association’s Harriman-based property, holding a dedication ceremony last month.

Randall Davenport, biblical counseling pastor at First Baptist Church Lenoir City, told The Christian Post on Thursday that the counseling center traced its origins to the counseling ministry at the church, which launched about five years ago.

Davenport said the "vision was to be a beacon for biblical counseling in the surrounding area,” so the new facility “was a natural progression that the Lord provided.”

“The first steps for the BEBA counseling center began about 18 months ago when First Baptist Church Lenoir City and BEBA began discussing the church joining the association,” he said.

“During our first meeting with some of the pastors in the BEBA association, they expressed their desire to offer biblical counseling for their members and the community. We were very pleased to see all the pastors’ initiative, leadership, and support to bring biblical counseling to their area.”

According to Davenport, BEBA Director Matt Cannon suggested housing the new center in the storage shed because the association already owned the building.

Local churches helped convert the building into a counseling center, with Corey Jones, a pastor at Middle Creek Baptist Church, leading the construction and renovation work.

“Right now, we’ve just opened the doors,” Davenport told CP. “It is only volunteers who will be serving there. We’ll start with one day a week.”

“We did have a training in the fall of 2025, with around 20 people from different churches in the association attending. Many of those are in the process of getting a certification. Our expectation and desire is to have part-time administrative help, and counselors from First Baptist Church Lenoir City and BEBA will utilize the space.”

When asked by CP how he hoped the new center would help advance the Gospel, Davenport responded that whether it was “anxiety, depression, marriage issues, parenting, anger, or addiction, we have the hope of the Gospel to share and then disciple those dealing with these issues and many more.”

Davenport said nearly two-thirds of the people who receive counseling at First Baptist Church Lenoir City do not belong to his congregation.

“God is moving,” Davenport added. “People are hurting and wanting answers from the Bible on how to move forward in light of what the Bible says.”

“We preach and sing about the power of the Gospel. Now we have a place to guide individuals and families to Christ. It’s also in a strategic location in the area and close to the interstate exit, which makes it very accessible to those in the surrounding area.”

News Source : https://www.christianpost.com/news/god-is-moving-church-launches-biblical-counseling-center.html