ICC Certification Advisors

Cert Advisors witness and multiply the blessing and giftedness of each new Conflict Coach and Biblical Mediator. By recognizing a Candidate's gifting, Cert Advisors help make a significant impact in the biblical peacemaking community.

Certified Christian Conciliators™ who look back over their candidacy have often mentioned their indebtedness to their Cert Advisors. Certainly, and for several decades, the entire Institute of Christian Conciliation has been indebted to them as well.

As always, we want to especially thank Cert Advisors for being at the forefront of each generation of new Certified Christian Conciliators™. Your legacy lives long and is one of the most treasured aspects of the ICC Certification process.

THANK YOU!

Responsibilities of the Certiﬁcation Advisor

As a Cert Advisor, you will have the privilege and responsibility of overseeing the Practical Experience of your Certification Program Candidates. You must understand “the basics” in order to guide your Candidates.

A brief overview of these responsibilities includes:

Pray regularly for Candidates
Communicate regularly with Candidates and provide them with encouragement and counsel
Be accessible and available to Candidates
Grant grace and mercy in cooperation with ICC when appropriate
Respond promptly when Candidates contact you, and
Advise the Cert Administrator if you have more Candidates than you can mentor effectively.

Beyond the Basics

A. The Cert Advisor’s Level of Commitment
The Cert Advisor will need to dedicate time with the ICC Candidate to serve as both a discipler and evaluator for the duration of the practicum. This commitment of time is a key component to being an effective Advisor.

B. Are you Available?
You are encouraged to weigh what time you actually have available, but most of us are busy and often simply need to decide if the Lord is calling us to help someone in this way.

The following estimates are provided as a guide to help you evaluate the level of commitment required, and to give you a guide on how much time you should plan to spend with your Candidates.

C. Estimated Time Commitment
The following estimates are for one Candidate. However, typically Cert Advisors have one to four Candidates (some have even more). Each Candidate may be in the Certiﬁcation Program up to three (3) years. Some Candidates complete in less than three (3) years. Candidates can apply for an extension beyond the three (3) years.

We estimate that you'll have 20-25 hours advising Case Reports over the course of 1-3 years.
1. About 30 minutes consultation per each of the 10 cases. More as needed.
2. About 40 minutes to review and fill out a response form for each case report and discuss responses with the Candidate.
3. Case specific video calls (private or group), as needed
4. Writing a final Candidate Evaluations (30 minutes)

Additional time can be spent, but your focus is on the overall ability of the Candidate to independently conciliate with wise boundaries, strong Scriptural foundation, insightful discernment of heart issues, time management, case summaries, and a gentle empathetic demeanor. You are the cautionary voice for a new Candidate, before he or she actually understands how to be guarded, impartial, and pro-active.

The Candidate's Case Report is your primary focus for this time. When education or training is needed, please assist. If significant time is needed to improve skills, please discuss with the ICC Office how we can together encourage your Candidate how to gain additional skills independently.

Candidates Should Initiate Contact
Certification Candidates should initiate contact with their Cert Advisor on a regular basis (at least once every three months would be appropriate). If a Candidate does not initiate contact, work on a plan to schedule a check-in point for prayer, encouragement, and advice. You can calendar an initial introductory appointment and discuss goals. When there are positive updates to report, consider filling out an online quick update form. This enriches the Candidate’s file. If a Candidate is not active for a significant length of time, contact the ICC office to discuss possibilities for encouraging the Candidate. It is important to manage expectations if a Candidate expects more time. Your focus is primarily on the Case Reports and consultation but also guiding a Candidate if more resources are needed.

D. Going Beyond
Even beyond the requirements of being a Cert Advisor, you bless the mission of biblical peacemaking as you consider:

Praying for the ICC team and their families
Praying for your fellow Cert Advisors
Praying for all Certified Christian Conciliators™, the parties they serve, the cases they accept, and the outcomes guided by the Holy Spirit.
Praying for wisdom to develop new conciliation resources and training events
Providing openings for development opportunities
Encouraging local churches to be become peacemaking churches
Assisting as needed with consulting and advising, by telephone or e-mail

Length of Service and Commitment to Candidates
Serving as a Certification Advisor is a commitment to see a Candidate through to the end, generally a two or three year term of service. Along the way, if you have any concerns or questions serving a Candidate, just let the ICC know.