This journey began with Pastor Mike Adkins of Grace Church’s vision of opening a professional counseling center in Central Florida.
Prior to becoming a pastor, Mike was a counselor. He has always been passionate about mental health care.
Our Story
The story of Grace Counseling is one of remarkable vision, growth and dedication
When we show up, God shows up.
And as I prayed about the future of the church in 2019, I sensed that God was urging us to show up quickly with something I’d only dreamed about for a very long time: a professional counseling center at Grace.
In 2020, I finally knew the reason He was asking me to hurry up.
COVID rapidly accelerated trends we’d seen coming for a long time in our ministry at the church — the breakdown of relationships, the growing problem of loneliness, the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and addiction. People craved help more than ever, but there were huge barriers to getting the kind of help they needed.
For starters, there were never enough counselors to meet the need, and waiting lists were often months long. If you did happen to find a therapist, the cost was often too great for the average person to bear.
The biggest problem to me, though, was a lack of counseling that was distinctly Christian. I believe in the tools of modern therapy — I have a master’s degree in counseling myself — but the tools can only take people so far without the ultimate healing of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Grace Counseling is designed to break down all of these barriers.
And we’re growing fast. In just five short years, we’ve already added a second location, and we’ve grown from one therapist to 16, with plans to add even more. We offer sessions at a greatly reduced cost and provide counseling scholarships to people as needed. We meet clients both in person and online, and we have counselors that focus on the needs of individuals, couples, kids, teens, and families.
I love that we’re able to connect people who need help in the community to the counseling center, and also connect people who need community at the counseling center to the church. And something even bigger is coming: The Center for Teaching and Healing at Grace Church. We’re currently in the process of renovating this 20,000 square foot property, located next door to our Orlando Campus, and it will expand our space from seven counseling rooms to 24.
There’s so much good happening here, and our prayer is that Grace Counseling continues to be a place of healing and hope for you and Central Florida.
Mike Adkins, Founding and Senior Pastor of Grace Church
The History of Grace Counseling
2019
Grace Counseling opens with two licensed therapists & a student working in the Grace Church building.
2020
Grace Church renovates a warehouse to create a standalone counseling center with five offices to meet a growing need for mental health services in the community.
2021
Grace Counseling expands to 7 therapists.
2022
Circle Community Church donates their land and 20,000 square foot building. Grace Church decides to make this new building The Center for Teaching & Healing, and 13,000 square feet of the building will be for the new home of Grace Counseling.
Grace Counseling’s team expands to 12 therapists.
2021
Grace Counseling opens a second location in Winter Springs and architectural planning is finalized for Grace Counseling’s expansion.
Grace Counseling hires their 16th therapist.
2022
Construction begins on the future home of Grace Counseling at The Center for Teaching & Healing
