Serving greater St. Louis, MO
Appointments: 314.994.9344

In Christianity, the term agape refers to the unconditional and voluntary love of God, God's love for humanity, and our call to love one another.

 
What's New at Agape:
 
bullet Healthy Grieving: Grief is a painful journey from loss to acceptance.  Join Frances J. Thomas as she leads a 4-Part Workshop from Sept. 13-Oct. 4 to provide information and supportive counseling techniques to help bring closure to the suffering.
 
bullet Darrell Provinse will be sharing on "Knowing God Loves Us" at Celebrate Recovery at 6 pm on Monday August 9 at First Evangelical Free Church.  This event is open to the public!
 
bullet Mark your calendars for August 18Rachel Peterka, Hannah Porcella, and Darrell Provinse will be presenting a seminar on Depression at Grace Church.  More details forthcoming.
 
bullet Take a look at our Article Resources: Kelly Maxwell has written an article on eating disorders, including information, a small questionnaire, and some local resources.
 
bullet Hannah Porcella and Darrell Provinse held a workshop on Procrastination, hosted by Grace Church June 16.  Many thanks to Grace for providing this opportunity!
 
bullet Many thanks to McGuire Furniture Rental & Sales for their generous donation of furniture for our offices.
 
bullet Hannah Porcella and Darrell Provinse held a Repairing Relationships Workshop at Grace Church April 21.  They presented on forgiveness and reconciliation, discussing both subjects in depth and as different from one another.  Thank you to Grace Church for this engaging opportunity.
 
bullet Thank you to Home Depot for your gift card donation for our Lake St. Louis work center construction!
 
bullet Darrell Provinse's presentation at Hope Christian Church on "Dark Night of the Soul: Understanding, Identifying, and Treating Depression" went well.  Thank you, Hope Church, especially the Women's Ministry, for the invitation to speak on such a relevant issue.
 
bullet We welcome Mike Siebe and Randi Borroff to the Agape family!
 
bullet We are proud to announce Frances Thomas' article "The Awesome Power of Optimism: A Personal Journey to HOPE" has been published in the book Overcomers, Inc.: True Stories of Hope, Courage and Inspiration, complied by Lynne Klippel.  The article speaks specifically about overcoming personal medical and socio-cultural challenges through hard work, and about spiritual empowerment.  Frances' own struggles and accomplishments drive her to believe that as long as there is a God, optimism rules.  Her counseling style presumes that in spite of disease or circumstances, some degree of abundant living is possible.  Please contact Frances via Agape or visit Overcomers, Inc if you would like to purchase the book.
 
bullet Thank you!  Mike Maninger has graciously donated two new computers for our Olivette location.  His gift will be a blessing to many.
 
bullet We are pleased to announce that Agape Christian Counseling Services has been listed in the United Way of Missouri 2-1-1 database.  Information regarding Agape's services is available via the United Way website.
 
bullet We have added a new location to be more accessible to you.  Kelly Maxwell is available to provide counseling services at Covenant Theological Seminary's counseling center.
 
bullet Darrell Provinse and Kristin Pirrie gave a presentation on adolescent suicide to the youth group at Korean First Presbyterian Church on October 26.  Beginning and ending with corporate prayer and worship, the counselors presented statistics, risk factors, and signs of suicide ideation in teens. 

Kristin led the group in discussing personal insight and research on the topic, shedding light on warning signs and depressive symptoms that put teens at high risk.  They recognized that thoughts of suicide are the result of "an imbalance of pain and hope, and often a permanent solution to a temporary condition."  The group also examined how to empathetically respond to friends when they are in crisis and how to seek help if the crisis is their own.

Darrell effectively magnified biblical truths that can refresh a hopeless heart: tethering the temporary painful circumstances of our world to the irrefutable permanency of God's perception of us.  Both Darrell and Kristin had a wonderful experience--thank you Jim Han and other at Korean First Presbyterian for the opportunity to connect with your youth!
 
bullet Tai Yong co-led a Saturday marriage seminar to couples at New City Fellowship on August 22.  The seminar was based on research from the Preparation and Relationship Enhancement Program, focusing on recognizing poor communication, learning speaker-listener techniques, expressing the self in specific terms, coming to proper resolution, and developing friendship.  Not only did Tai present reliable theory, he also allowed the couples the opportunity to make the knowledge practical through role play exercises.
 
bullet Perhaps you are interested in belonging to a community of faith or exploring Christian spirituality, but don't know where to start or whom to trust.  We are currently in the process of actively linking with local churches in order to help you in your search.  Here is a listing of a few churches that are friends of Agape, and that we believe to be healthy and scripturally-sound.
 

 
 

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