1.  What does IBCD stand for?

IBCD is the abbreviation for the Institute for Biblical Counseling & Discipleship.

2.  What are your primary ministries?

We offer counseling services to those in the Escondido and La Mesa areas of Southern California (although sometimes counselees travel several hours to participate). The vast majority of our ministry is centered on counseling training. We offer seminars on Biblical Counseling, and many counseling resources.  Our annual Summer Institute is a 3-day conference full of helpful information for anyone involved or seeking to be involved in biblical counseling.  For those who are in the Escondido area, we also offer the opportunity to do counseling observation to fulfill the NANC requirement, as well as the tutorial which will oversee their 50 hours of supervised counseling. More information can be found on our Study Options page.

3. Is IBCD different from NANC?

Yes. NANC (which stands for the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors) is separate from IBCD.  Technically speaking, NANC is a certifying organization that does counseling training where IBCD is a counseling and counseling training center which is part of the overall ministry of Grace Bible Church.  IBCD assists people in becoming NANC certified and offers NANC certified counseling to the community.

4. Does NANC accept our training toward certification?

Yes. NANC accepts our Introduction to Biblical Counseling Course as part of the process to be NANC certified. Those who live near Escondido can also fulfill the counseling observation requirement through IBCD.  For more information on NANC certification, please visit www.NANC.org.

5. How did IBCD originate?

IBCD was founded as CCEF West in 1982 by Dr. George Scipione; later it became a separate entity from CCEF.  For more information, see to our History of IBCD.