Joel Trigger

Feeling called to ministry from an early age, Joel Trigger’s vision for counseling first developed while studying Psychology in college. As a born storyteller, Joel developed a passionate desire to help people understand their own life stories in the context of God’s greater story and to hone the ability to discern God’s redemptive purposes in the themes that show up in those stories. This vision was further refined in seminary through a deeper understanding of how the central shaping factor in our stories is the important relationships we experience. Because our primary wounds come from relationships, healing too comes through relationships, which was key to understanding the healing power of the counseling relationship as Joel witnessed firsthand in his experience on both sides of the counseling room.

After seminary, Joel gained experience in counseling and church ministry, serving as a ruling elder and Director of Counseling and Family Ministry at a PCA church, while navigating the challenges of starting his own family. This shaped his passion for supporting people, particularly in the challenges of marriage, family life, and ministry. After several years straddling the worlds of counseling and ministry, Joel made the shift to counseling full-time in order to prioritize presence with his family and find sustainable healthy rhythms of life for himself and especially enjoys working with ministry leaders to help them do the same. Joel also loves working with ministry couples, young parents, and anyone else willing to do the work to understand how their story has shaped them and find healing in those wounded places.

Joel lives with his wife and two children in Waco, TX where you might find him playing disc golf, taking his kids to the zoo or library, teaching friends a new board game, or conquering local escape rooms.