The Center was founded by Judson E. "Buddy" Childress in January of 1981 as the Christian Counseling Center. Buddy began Needle’s Eye Ministries to minister to the business and professional community,. It did not take long for him to realize that there was a need for a Biblical counseling ministry to work in conjunction with his planned ministry. Many people were hurting and came to him for counseling for their personal problems, marriages and children. They had met the Savior, yet they did not know how to resolve some of the major difficulties in their lives. They needed to know how the Scriptures applied to their daily lives, especially as they sought to live a godly lifestyle and to deal with their emotions and relationships. Buddy saw the need to train laypeople to help in the counseling ministry. The Center became the first offspring of Needle’s Eye.

In April of 1984, the Center was recognized as a separate non-profit corporation with its own board of directors. The name was changed to the Christian Counselors Training Center to reflect a focus on the training of counselors. In 1989, CCTC moved into separate offices at 3602 Floyd Avenue. In 1996, the name was changed to Christian Counseling and Training Center to reflect a dual emphasis on counseling and training.

CCTC offers its counseling and training courses year around in numerous host churches within the central Virginia area. Over 100 church bodies are served annually by the activities of CCTC. The central purpose is to help people bridge the gap between their faith and their daily life. This is done primarily through counseling and training. The Center also assists the local church in crisis counseling and counseling assessments. In addition, CCTC serves as a networking and referral organization helping individuals locate other Christian organizations which can more effectively provide assistance to match their special needs.

In the area of training, the center has a series of courses that prepares effective counselors. The first year’s sequence focuses on Biblical principles for problem solving and relationships. The second year’s sequence moves toward using Biblical principles to assist others with their problems. After completing a two year sequence of courses, qualified students can enter the Advanced Counselor Training program. CCTC awards a certificate to those who complete the entire counselor training program. Completion usually takes from four to five years since the students are all part-time. The Center, in cooperation with other ministries, sponsors special events to provide specialized training to those in ministry. In 1996 CCTC began sponsoring seminars designed to be beneficial to local churches and ministries. Janice Bricker lead a series of three seminars on crisis counseling. The Center sponsored a seminar on ministering to the sexually broken in March, 1998. Theresa Latini, the Executive Director of OneByOne was the lead speaker and she was joined by Noval Smith and Barry Anderson. On November 7, 1998, CCTC and Needle’s Eye Ministries jointly organized a Peacemaker Seminar at Immanuel Baptist Church in Richmond and taught by Peacemaker Ministries. These efforts are examples of how CCTC works with other organizations to serve the Body of Christ.

E-mail CCTC at info@cctcinc.org.

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