BELIEFS
The Gospel
God saves us from God, for God. All have sinned (Rom. 3:23). All deserve punishment by God (Rom. 1:18). Yet God, in His great love (Rom. 5:8), gave Jesus, His Son (John 1:1) to fulfill the righteous requirements of the Law as an offering for sin (Rom. 8:3-4), Who shed His blood on the cross (Acts 20:28), appeasing the wrath of God (1 John 2:2), and was raised from the dead, declared to be the Son of God (Rom. 1:4), so that all who repent of their sins and put their faith in Him would receive His righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21) and eternal life (John 3:16), as they work and wait for His return (Matt. 24:42-51), in which He will make all things new (Rev. 21:1-7). We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus.
The Bible
The word of God is perfect (Psa. 19:7), without error, infallible (2 Tim. 3:16), and sufficient for all of life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3). It is only through his word (Heb. 4:12) by the working of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26) that man can receive lasting and permanent change from the problems (despair, anxiety, enslavement, etc.) they face.
Certification
All biblical counseling certifications have been met and received through the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC). All members are required to adhere to the Standards of Conduct and Doctrine as set forth by ACBC. For more information regarding the beliefs and standards of ACBC, click here.
Meet our Counselor
Samuel Torres is a Level 2 Biblical Counselor through ACBC. He earned both his Master of Arts in Theological Studies and his Bachelor of Arts in Religion: Christian Ministries from Liberty University. He has since progressed into doctoral education as well as certification toward becoming a Fellow through ACBC.
ABOUT US
THE UPWARD CALL BIBLICAL COUNSELING
We are a ministry that is Christ exalting, gospel driven, and biblically based.
TESTIMONIALS
If I regret anything it’s not seeking help sooner because I was in a very dark place. Pornography had its hold on me and I couldn’t find a way out. I tried stopping on my own but in my failures was a deep depression. In all my attempts I never was successful and that led to thoughts of suicide. I thought that was the only way out but I’m glad I reached out for help. I told a brother in Christ about the suicidal thoughts and he reached out to the pastor of the church with my permission. Soon after I started biblical counseling but it wasn’t easy. I had to open up about my porn addiction and admit that I had a problem. In the process of admitting my sin I felt a huge weight lifted from my shoulders. The sessions were difficult because I was so used to hiding my porn addiction. I trusted the process and God was glorified in the process. I remembered that Christ forgives all and doesn’t even remember our sin. Even in all my failures Christ still had his arms wide open waiting for me to come to Him. Christ saw me as someone who is special and loved no matter what I did. Sin no longer has dominion over me and His forgiveness is everlasting. I’m grateful for counseling because I don’t know where I would be today without it. The forgiveness from my wife is a blessing and Christ shines through her. If you’re afraid to ask for help don’t be…. It’s the next step to healing.
- L
FROM DESPAIR AND ENSLAVEMENT TO JOY AND FREEDOM
We first want to start by saying , to God be the glory. We know that Gods timing is perfect and that his ways and plans are better than ours. The counseling that received was Bible based and lead with only the word of God. Sam was amazing in a lot of ways. Not putting his own feelings and opinions in the help he was giving us but guiding us in the truth and ways of the Lord. Helping us understand the importance of centering not only our marriage but our everyday life’s around the Love of Jesus Christ and his intention’s in it. We can honestly say that after 15 years together our marriage is stronger and we are happier than we have ever been, because our happiness now is not based on each other but on the reassurance that our God is a faithful one. We know God’s Love and mercy for us is infinite. And we are just so grateful and truly blessed that he put Sam in our path to guide us to the complete truth of who our Lord is.
- Mr. and Mrs. V
FROM BROKEN AND HOPELESS TO REDEEMED AND RESTORED
We are thankful for Sam Torres’s counseling, because it brought us closer to Christ. His guidance allowed us to see the true meaning of Christ’s salvation, and the importance of remaining in His word. We were able to understand what God considers love and how to actually live out those actions as spouses.
Biblical counseling ignited a fire in us to grow closer to Jesus. It helped us to rely on God's grace and love throughout the trials of life. We appreciate the opportunity that we had to include Christ in our life and marriage more intentionally. Thank you Sam for being His vessel!
-Mr. And Mrs. W
FROM SEPARATION TO UNITY
