The Pastoral Friend Program is designed to help you become a better pastoral friend for the people of all ages you know — the friends with whom you have a special relationship, and especially want to help through their difficulties.
Pastoral, or spiritual, care is the work of helping someone find inner well-being through general and spiritual support, comfort, and assistance in times of need. It's a skill anyone can learn, and everyone who cares about others can benefit from learning more of it.
The program covers basic pastoral and spiritual care understandings and skills, completed entirely online, at your own pace — start and finish whenever suits you, from wherever you are. It's not difficult, and it's completely free.
Each module is assessed through simple True/False statements, with the answers given in the pages that precede them, and marked instantly online.
Realistically, the program, including time for reflection but excluding Module 6’s conversation project, should take 4–5 hours of active engagement to complete.
Everyone benefits from learning the skill of caring. Caring spiritually for others is an important element of a service in Christ. People of all ages (including children) become ill from time to time and some face loss and trials. Being able to help others regain their peace of mind through appropriate emotional and spiritual assistance is an essential activity for Christ’s servants.
The handbook is a companion to the online course. It gives context for contemporary pastoral conversations and serves as an ongoing reference source for all pastoral carers and friends, whether or not you're partway through the program.
Learn more about the HandbookListening and thinking are essential to pastoral care. It's vital that we truly listen to those around us, especially the people we're caring for.
Some modules recommend short videos offering different perspectives on the topic. Can't watch them? Full transcripts are also provided.
As you go, think through what's presented and work out where you stand on each issue — the program is a starting point for your own reflection, not a fixed script.
Have a look at the full outline of the program, then work through it at whatever pace suits you. It's simple, and you'll come away a better-equipped spiritual and caring person.
God be with you!
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
— Philippians 4:6–7