STS Maine
On Thursday, October 16th, 2025, Small Town Summits will host a Summit at UBC Ellsworth in Ellsworth, ME. Pastors and lay leaders from small places across Maine will learn how to more effectively counsel others and how to encourage and equip our congregations to grow in offering wise counsel.
Called to Counsel
October 16Th 2025
One of the tasks of small-town ministers is to learn how to more effectively counsel others, and to encourage and equip our congregations to grow in offering wise counsel. This year, our plenary sessions will highlight the importance of God’s Word and Christ’s church for personal transformation in the life of believers, together with a call (and practical equipping) for each believer, including pastors/elders, to grow in our ability to offer wise biblical counsel. Breakout sessions, and also a plenary panel discussion, will provide opportunities to get practical, go deep, and explore through questioning.
8.30 – 9am - Arrival and registration
9 – 10am - Welcome, Singing, STS and CCEF-NE Vision, Introductions
10 – 10:45am - Session #1: God’s Word, Christ’s Church: The Catalyst and Context for Transformation and group discussion (Dan Crichton, STS)
10:45 – 11am - Coffee break
11am – Noon - Session #2: Counseling Applied - Growing as a Counselor and group discussion (Andy Engert, CCEF-NE)
Noon – 1pm - Lunch
1 – 2pm - Breakout sessions
2 – 2.15pm - Break
2.15 – 3pm - Session #3: Counseling Panel (Andy Engert, Shawn Carpenter, Kimberley Kearns, Tony Trussoni)
3 – 3.30pm - Prayer
In our first two main sessions, Dan Crichton and Andy Engert will speak to the content and context of biblical counseling and pursuing continued growth as biblical counselors. Our last main session will be a panel giving Summit participants opportunity to ask specific counseling questions for discussion among the panelists and fellow Summit attendees.
Dan is the pastor of Grace Bible Church in Cranston, RI. He's a graduate of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and serves on the Board of Directors for the Baptist Convention of New England. He and his wife Joy have three daughters and two sons.
Andy Engert is the Executive Director at CCEF New England. He received his Master of Arts in counseling from Asbury Theological Seminary and has completed numerous CCEF School of Biblical Counseling certificate courses in preparation for becoming a biblical counselor. He has a passion for supporting the church in New England and for helping people find real help in the Lord as they face the significant challenges of life. Andy and his wife, Christine, have three sons, and he also serves as the Music Director at Christ Redeemer Church in Hanover, NH.
Andy Engert
What might a counseling ministry look like within a small-town church? How would a church go about starting one? In this practical breakout session, guidance will be offered on starting (or strengthening) a counseling ministry in a local church. Various models of church-based counseling ministry will be considered, along with essential questions that should be addressed to establish formal and informal counseling within a congregation.
Andy Engert is the Executive Director at CCEF New England. He received his Master of Arts in counseling from Asbury Theological Seminary and has completed numerous CCEF School of Biblical Counseling certificate courses in preparation for becoming a biblical counselor. He has a passion for supporting the church in New England and for helping people find real help in the Lord as they face the significant challenges of life. Andy and his wife, Christine, have three sons, and he also serves as the Music Director at Christ Redeemer Church in Hanover, NH.
Micah Lang
Most Christians (and even pastors) feel ill-equipped and unsure of how to best do evangelism in a New England context. It can be difficult to find the balance between sharing with our "words" and showing with our "lives" the person and work of Jesus Christ in a way that is effective and natural. In this breakout, we will explore how everyday believers (in everyday life) can utilize the Christian skill of "intentional soul-care" as a means of both displaying and declaring the gospel to unbelievers.
Micah is a pastor at Redemption Hill Community in Lewiston, Maine and has a passion to see healthy, gospel-centered churches multiply and flourish in New England. He received his Master's of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife Felicia are parents to three beautiful children: Ada, Judah, and Lily. He regularly writes at Gospel Matters.
Kimberly Kearns
Jeremiah (29:12) writes, "Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you." Is prayer essential in biblical counseling, and if so, why do we sometimes neglect prayer time with our counselees? Biblical counseling can only be successful if led by the Holy Spirit in love and truth. Through prayer we call upon Christ to help us navigate the pressures and issues with our counselees, and also to help with our guidance in their lives. This session will explore the importance of prayer in and out of the counseling room, allowing Christ to lead us in true biblical counseling, and demonstrating the beauty and necessity of prayer to our counselees.
Kimberly Kearns resides in the very small town of Columbia Falls. She, her husband, and their many animals relocated here from NJ in 2016. After searching for quite a while for a gospel-centered church, she found her home at Downeast Baptist Church in Machias, ME. She has a BA from Eastern College and an M.Div. with a biblical counseling emphasis from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. She is currently enrolled in the D.Min. program at Midwestern, as well as being in the second phase of certification through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors. When not reading and writing for her dissertation on bringing biblical counseling back to the local church, she and her husband love exploring all Downeast Maine has to offer.
Meet the Team
Micah is a pastor at Redemption Hill Community in Lewiston, Maine and has a passion to see healthy, gospel-centered churches multiply and flourish in New England. He received his Master's of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife Felicia are parents to three beautiful children: Ada, Judah, and Lily. He regularly writes at Gospel Matters.
