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Dr. Rich Denning
& Mrs. Teresa Denning

Dr. Denning’s biblical teaching and pastoral ministry spans over twenty years. He is licensed and ordained through the International Pentecostal Holiness Church. Currently, he serves as a full-time lead pastor within the Cornerstone Conference and he teaches high school history and Bible at Faith Christian Academy. He is a certified teacher through the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). He is a clinic-certified teacher/trainer through Evangelism Explosion International, certified teacher through the Evangelical Training Association, and certified coach through Lifeforming Leadership Coaching. He holds two undergraduate degrees from Emmanuel College, a Master of Divinity degree from Erskine Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Regent University.

Connecting hurting people with a healing Savior is the aim of his pastoral ministry. When we are hurting, we want to someone to walk beside us. Common throughout the Bible is the image of the shepherd caring for his flock. Be it in leading them to calm places to drink the living water, finding them when they are lost, or defending them from attackers, the shepherd is a constant presence of comfort and assurance. While we know we will always fall short of the love of our Shepherd (Jesus), pastors do their best to act as shepherds for others. Dr. Denning believes the church is a “hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.” With that being said we all go through times when we need one another’s help.  There are seasons when we grieve, discover healing, restoration, and rejoice with one another.  In the simple words… we do life together as a church.

Pastoral counseling is designed to help people reconcile their past and present issues. In working with people, Dr. Denning relies on the fact that the Bible contains absolute truth and is sufficient for addressing life’s spiritual and relational problems and that the presence of the Holy Spirit is essential. Therefore the Bible becomes the primary tool in bringing a person’s concerns and issues to resolution while relying on the Holy Spirit for results.

His passion is to provide encouragement, insight and biblical guidance during times of crisis, change, personal and family difficulties. That is the essence of pastoral counseling. The goal as a pastoral counselor is to help resolve challenges. The objective during a counseling session is to listen, clarify, and offer hope, encouragement, prayer and sound biblical advice.

Pastoral counseling is not mental health care and should not be substituted for professional therapy or counseling, especially if you are already under the care of a paid professional counselor. Dr. Denning has an Associate of Art’s degree in Education, a Bachelor of Art’s degree in Pastoral Ministry, a Master of Divinity degree, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Regent University School of Divinity. He is a licensed and ordained minister of the Gospel. Though not a licensed professional counselor he is a pastor and is trained to address many situations and life challenges. There are some counseling situations that are beyond his expertise and such cases professional counseling is recommended and/or referred.

Coaching is different than pastoral counseling in that coaching helps move people who are not currently experiencing problems into the development and obtainment of certain goals. Coaching is designed to help people who do not need reconciliation of past issues but need help moving forward in their personal or professional lives. Coaching is a collaborative effort between the client, the coach, and the Holy Spirit. It seeks to produce goal-oriented outcomes for a better present and future. It is planned, pro-active, biblically based behavior that provides clear direction and focus. Dr. Denning’s certification is through Lifeforming Leadership Coaching and he utilizes Lifeforming coaching techniques and materials. His goal is to help clients discover God’s divine plan for their life and assist them in moving forward in living a life with purpose that matters. His specific area of specialization is in coaching other pastors, ministers, and church leaders.

“The Bible is not boring; people are boring;
don’t bore the people with the Bible”
– Howard Hendricks