CARE MINISTRY

At Trinity Grace Church

“A person’s thoughts are like water in a deep well, but someone with insight can draw them out.”

Proverbs 20:5

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

Galatians 6:2

At Trinity Grace, we envision Jesus’ gospel of grace ministering to the whole person.

God created us body and soul. Caring for ourselves involves caring for the whole person, body and soul. Body and soul affect one another.

Our body’s needs are health- and material-related.

Our soul is the sum of our thoughts, affections (emotional attachments), and will (decision making). Our soul’s health, therefore, is the sum of our mental health, emotional health, and healthy decision-making.


At Trinity Grace, we envision a whole system of care to care for the whole person.

We envision Jesus’ gospel of grace overflowing into a new care culture.

We envision grace overflowing into a new community of Christ-followers living out this new care culture.

We envision a gospel-motivated care culture where it is normal for people to reach out for help and for the greater body of Christ (not just the pastor) to care for one another in body and soul.

We envision a system of care with multiple channels of care. We envision caring for people through the ministries of Personal Growth, Presence, Processing, Practical Support, Preaching & Prayer, and Partnering.


Personal Growth: We envision Christ-followers maturing in self-care that overflows from a rich personal relationship with Christ and an increasing ability to apply the gospel to oneself.

Presence: We envision Christ-followers connected to New Communities. We are designed by God to grow toward wholeness in grace-centred community.

Processing: We envision our church members accessing our lay counsellors for biblical, gospel-centred insight and disciplines to help them process their life situations.

Practical Support: We envision our deacons receiving, discerning, and doing their best to tend to the material needs within our community.

Preaching & Prayer: We envision our elders modelling the above. We envision our elders ministering in biblical, gospel-centred preaching and teaching to the greater Trinity Grace community, discipling members in special cases within the elders’ capacity, and praying for the saints in step with the apostle Peter’s (Acts chapter 6 verse 4) and the apostle James’ (James chapter 5 verse 14) instructions.

Partnering: We envision partnering with the greater Christian counselling and care community when specific needs are beyond our church’s capability to care.

At the Heart of Our Care Ministry: Processing through Biblical Counselling

Christian growth results when life and Scripture meet. We mature when we encounter Jesus Christ through his Word and find his grace and mercy in the midst of our day-to-day joys, sorrows, sufferings, and sins.
Our lay counsellors seek to walk alongside struggling and suffering people with humility, love, and biblical wisdom. Our lay counsellors seek to help you process life through a gospel lens. And we seek to apply the gospel to the heart in the context of the client’s everyday, real-life joys, sorrow, suffering, and sins.


What Guides Counselling at Trinity Grace Church

Here is a summary of what guides our counselling:

The Bible Speaks
We believe the Bible is more than a book of facts. Its truths are meant to make a difference in our lives. God intends biblical truth to touch and transform every area of our lives.

But everyone faces moments when the truths of the Bible don’t seem to make a difference. “Can the hope that the Bible offers really speak to my depression?” “Can the peace that the Bible promises really help my anxiety?” “Can the love that is revealed in the Bible change even my marriage?”

At Trinity Grace Church, we believe that the Bible speaks into all of life’s problems, and in certain seasons of life each of us may need the careful thought and prayerful wisdom of another to help us make the connections that make a difference.


It’s About Two Relationships–Vertically with God and Horizontally with Christ’s Community
Yes, the Bible speaks to every area of our lives. The Bible isn’t simply a recipe book for happiness, however. Ultimately, the Bible points us to a relationship with a person—Jesus Christ. The Bible was given to reveal Christ as the one who is able to make all things new. We believe real and lasting change occurs when people know themselves and their problems within a living, vertical, and vital relationship with Jesus Christ.

But God created us to also need community. We need community because we are designed by God to grow in the context of real relationships. We need this horizontal connection within a local church.

Our counsellors endeavour to point you to a vertical relationship with Jesus; to help you process your life and apply his gospel of grace to your everyday joys, sorrows, sufferings, and sins; and to point you to healthy relationships within the church.


Meet Our Lay Counsellor

Susan Noda

Susan was a high school guidance counsellor for over 22 years with the Toronto District School Board before ending her education career as a vice-principal. Since then she has pursued her counselling further, continuing her studies in Christian counselling. She is a graduate of the American Association of Christian Counsellors with a Masters Diploma in Biblical Counselling, specializing in grief and loss.

Focus Areas: Family and Marriage, Adolescent Issues, Educational Counselling, Grief and Loss Counselling

You can reach Susan by filling out a Care Request Card.