The Power of People Helping People

Galina, a professional Psychiatrist, with her lay team in Russia.
They are changing the churches and the nation.


We live in a mythical society with powerful lies that keep us bound to practices that do not work. For example, that only professionals can help people grow, learn, heal and recover from deep spiritual and emotional problems.

In 1969, just as I was starting my doctoral work in counseling, I heard two of the greatest psychologists in history speak about the power of ordinary people to help themselves and others get through the challenges of life.

What these men said made such an impact on me that I changed my career emphasis and wrote my dissertation on the power of Christians to provide care, counseling and coaching to one another. Carl Rogers, perhaps the most influential Psychologist in America, said that lay counselors were as effective as professionals.

Then O.H. Mowrer, founder of Integrity Therapy, said, "The early Christian Church was the most powerful healing community the world has ever known." Those two simple statements hit me like a tornado for I was studying to be a professional, clinical therapist. I had pursued a doctorate because I thought my educational insights were too weak to deal with the levels of need I saw among the students. I was right in some ways but I was wrong as well.

Mowrer and Rogers said that ordinary lay people were more powerful than any professional counselors. WOW! If true, that would change how we delivered care and counsel forever. I found in my research that Dr. Mowrer was right but his facts have been carefully kept away from the church and the American citizens.

Most people still think that the only answer to mental and emotional and relational pain is to see a professional and take drugs. This is not true. Lay volunteers are currently the largest untapped resource for good the world has ever seen. Let's tap them!