Our History is A Twist of Faith
How Family Resource & Counseling Centers Began:
Anne’s wonderful book “A Twist of Faith” tells the remarkable story of pain and redemption that lead her and Jonas to found the Family Resource & Counseling Center.
Their story begins with the pain of losing an 18-month old daughter due to a farm accident in the mid 1970′s. The trauma of this loss also created loss in their marriage as Jonas and Anne Beiler began to lose touch with one another. In an attempt to repair their marriage, they sought counseling. Jonas recalls, “It was an eye opener. It was so helpful.” As Jonas and Anne worked on their marriage, they got involved in crisis intervention and marriage counseling to help others in their time of need, just as they were once helped. Through their experience, Jonas realized the need for marriage counseling in the church and in their community. During this time, the vision for FRCC was born.
In 1979, Jonas was certified as a minister of the gospel. Jonas enrolled in the Institute of Pastoral Counseling, a component of EMERGE Ministries, in 1985, because he felt he should become trained to help those in need. It was upon his first visit to EMERGE that Jonas dreamed of providing a counseling center for families in the Gap area. They began counseling in their home two days a week, while supporting the ministry with proceeds from the pretzel stand they operated in a local farmers’ market.
In 1988, the dream started to become a reality. Jonas and Anne opened Auntie Anne’s Hand Rolled Soft Pretzels, a business which has flourished into a major franchising corporation. As the pretzel business grew, so did their ministry of helping marriages and families throughout Lancaster County. Jonas opened a non-profit counseling center which accepted donations in lieu of payment. In May of 1992, Jonas and Anne, CEO and Chairperson of Auntie Anne’s Inc., founded the Family Information Center (FIC). As FIC continued to grow, they acquired 650 square feet in the Newport Center along Route 41. With the expanding vision, Jonas changed the name of FIC to the Family Resource and Counseling Center in 2001.
During this time, Pastor David Woolverton also nurtured a dream of providing Christian Counseling to the community. In 2003, he followed God’s call and founded Crossroads Counseling Center. According to Pastor Woolverton, the foundation for the ministry is cradled in the words of Jeremiah 6:16 which states, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths; ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”
In 2006 the board of directors for both Family Resource & Counseling Center and Crossroads Counseling Center saw that they had a similar vision and passion for bringing professional Christian counseling to the community. This started a merger process that eventually brought the two organizations together for the purpose of serving even more people more effectively with the resources that God provides. This merger officially went into effect February 2008.
Today Family Resource & Counseling Centers has two locations (Gap and Lancaster) providing hope and healing to the community. FRCC continues to follow the Belier’s and David’s initial vision of providing quality professional Christian counseling and resources to Lancaster and Chester counties. Jonas, Anne and David are still very active supporters and encouragers of the FRCC family.
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