Member Care at Citylife

The diaconate exists to serve our church family by meeting practical needs through deeds of service and the ministry of mercy.

• Financial Assistance: Offering temporary financial assistance, as a way of supporting your flourishing in Christ.

• Practical Support: Coming alongside members and regular attenders to:

  1. Encourage biblical stewardship of resources

  2. Plan wisely for the future

  3. Experience gospel-shaped community

  4. Move toward wholeness in Christ

• Our Goal: Our goal is to see a care recipient’s situation change over time until diaconate care is no longer necessary.

Fill Out Intake Form

Please direct any questions to diaconate@citylifeboston.org. 

The diaconate coordinates care during life events like caring for a newborn, an injury or illness, etc.,  by providing meals (doordash, drop-offs, etc.) with members of our community.

If you or someone you know at Citylife could use some help, please contact Karen Lau (karen@citylifeboston.org), a member of our diaconate.

We believe that biblical or licensed clinical counseling is a valuable resource for and partner with the local church in providing care for our people. For Christian counseling, contact:

• Harbor Christian Counseling (HCC)

• Boston Center for Biblical Counseling (BCBC)

Diaconate Subsidy: For members and regular attenders of Citylife, the diaconate offers counseling subsidies of up to $500 per person for counseling. Harbor Christian Counseling offers a discounted rate at $100/session for Citylife, but the diaconate subsidy is not limited to Harbor Christian Counseling or even Christian counseling. Please complete the intake form to request assistance or email diaconate@citylifeboston.org. 

Additional financial assistance for counseling can be requested and will be reviewed by the diaconate according to our standard care policy.

The pastors at Citylife are here to walk alongside you in every season of life - for counseling, spiritual guidance, or prayer. If you’d like to talk to one of our pastors for personal counseling or marital counseling, please complete these forms.

If you would like trauma-informed care or want to talk to a female ministry staff member, please reserve a time with Nam Hee Kim (namhee@citylifeboston.org), our Director of Justice & Mercy Ministries. 

Premarital Counseling 

Premarital counseling is an opportunity to prepare not just for your wedding day but for a lifelong marriage. Together with one of our pastors, you’ll explore various topics to build a strong foundation for life as husband and wife. Our desire is to help you enter marriage with wisdom, grace, and confidence in the gospel. The couple must participate in at least four sessions of premarital counseling (each 1–1.5 hours), led by the officiant. Sessions may be adapted (fewer but longer) depending on schedules but must be arranged in advance.

Wedding Officiating

To request a Citylife pastor to officiate your wedding: Please review our Officiating Policy HERE. 

No scripture condones the physical, sexual, emotional, or spiritual abuse of an image bearer. If you have questions about or would like to receive care for an experience of abuse, neglect, gender-based violence or stalking, please reserve a time with Nam Hee Kim (namhee@citylifeboston.org), our Director of Justice & Mercy Ministries.

Schedule appointment with Nam Hee

Resources About Abuse

• Report of the Ad Interim Committee on Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault

• Becoming a Church That Cares Well for the Abused (free e-book)

• Is It Abuse? A Biblical Guide to Identifying Domestic Abuse and Helping Victims

• No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us (a seminal well-researched book on domestic violence; non-Christian resource)

General Resources  

• Worthy (Celebrating the Value of Women) (a closer look at scripture that has historically been misused to diminish women in the Church, written by authors from the Reformed tradition)

• She Deserves Better: Raising Girls to Resist Toxic Teachings on Sex, Self & Speaking Up (a Christian resource that wants to build up girls and women so that they are empowered to hold healthy boundaries and thrive; heads up that sex is discussed) 

The Healing Cohort is a fellowship of believers that walks together to seek healing from hurts, recovery from addictions and freedom from secret sin, for lives wholly surrendered to Jesus. Loosely based on the principles of Celebrate Recovery, we invite God and each other into the spaces that we struggle to give fully to God, that we keep in the dark, or away from church and from others. 

On the 2nd Sunday of January each year, we hold an orientation for those interested in learning more. The Cohort runs for 8 sessions, on the 2nd and 4th Sundays from January through May. For more information, email Nam Hee Kim (namhee@citylifeboston.org), our Director of Justice & Mercy Ministries.

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