Heart to Home Ministry

About Dr. Joneal S. Kirby

Dr. Joneal Kirby, Ph. D., is a licensed marriage and family therapist and serves as the director of The Christian Counseling and Resource Center in West Monroe, Louisiana. She also works in private practice as a therapist in the West Monroe Center.

Dr. Kirby and her husband coordinate and lead a Marriage Retreat bi-annually. They regularly teach marriage and parenting courses. They are certified PREPARE/ENRICH counselors and are active in a pre-marital counseling ministry. Dr. Kirby  is also a frequent instructor for family and parenting classes and workshops.

Dr. Kirby’s personal and professional endeavors center first on her own family and then are dedicated to helping hundreds of other families by sharing a message of hope and healing. A regular Bible class teacher, she has an active speaking ministry for church workshops, retreats, and seminars as well as professional organizations. Joneal has spoken to audiences in Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma, and California including the Tulsa Soul Winning Workshop and the Pepperdine Lectureships.

She serves as the family health advisor for the national parenting organization, The Motherhood Club. She is a featured speaker with the Motherhood Club event, "It's a Mom Thing". The most recent was held in West Monroe, Louisiana featuring Lisa Welchel and Chondra Pierce. She provided parenting and family advice for the website and the organization.

Dr. Kirby has a daily radio program, The Family 411, produced in Monroe, Louisiana that is dedicated to helping families  to build health, strength and stability. The program can be accessed through http://www.887fm.org/   with a live streaming broadcast. Family 411 airs at 7:20, 1:20, 5:20 each weekday.

Dr. Kirby is the creator and coordinator of the women’s mentoring program, Heart to Home, a ministry whose basis is small groups of younger women, led by older, mentoring Christian women. These mentoring women serve with hospitality in their own homes and by leading and teaching younger Christian women. Heart to Home Women's Ministry is based on Titus 2:3-5 and, provides an avenue to pass our Christian faith on to the younger women in our church families.

Married to Randy Kirby since 1975, the couple met while students at Harding University, a Christian college. They are parents to Katelyn, Josh and Jake and daughter-in- love, Jamie, all graduates of Harding, also.

Education

• Ph.D., Marriage and Family Therapy. University of Louisiana at Monroe
• M.A., School Counseling. Northeast Louisiana of Monroe
• B.A., Education. Harding College
• Teacher Certification, Lifetime. Louisiana
• Licensed, Marriage and Family Therapist, Louisiana

Career

• Founder and Director, Christian Counseling and Resource Center
• Private Practice, Marriage and Family Therapy
• School Guidance Counselor
• Secondary Teacher
• Assistant, Dean of Women

Professional Affiliation

• Clinical Member, American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy
• Clinical Member, Louisiana Association of Marriage and Family Therapy
• Clinical Member, American Association of Christian Counselors, Charter Member
• President, Louisiana Association of Christian Counselors, Founding and Charter Board Member and Member

Personal

• Married Randy Kirby in 1975
• Three children. A daughter, 2 sons plus one daughter-in-love
• Born in San Diego, California
• Eldest of six children; Daughter of Luther and Jo Shackelford
• A believer in Jesus Christ; Redeemed by the Son of God
• A member of White's Ferry Road Church of Christ
• Lived in West Monroe, LA for 21 years
• Owned by 2 Quarterhorses and a Labrador Retriever

Other

• Frequent speaker at Bible studies, retreats, parenting seminars, ladies' seminars, marriage workshops, lectureships. Audiences include groups and churches in Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Tennessee
• Contributing writer to Twin City Family Magazine. Monroe, LA
• Daily Radio Program: Family 411, The Cross, 88.7 FM Radio station. Monroe, LA
• Founding Director, Heart to Home Women's Ministry

Experience

• Speaker and writer on marriage and family issues
• Radio speaker on family issues
• Over 22 years of counseling experience
• Over 1000 hours of supervised clinical marriage and family therapy.
• Provided counseling to students, parents, educational professional for 12 years
• Served as a volunteer family counselor for over 18 years to church and community.
• Developed and taught parenting and marriage classes, workshops, and curriculum for churches and community for over 22 years.
• Trained and certified in Prepare/Enrich
• Trained and Certified in Family Wellness

Community Involvement

• President,, Louisiana Association of Christian Counseling
• Appointed Member – Community Marriage Policy Task Force
• Appointed Member, Governor’s Marriage Commission
• Member, Community Prayer Partners, Ouachita Parish
• Member, Council on Abstinence, Ouachita Parish
• Developed marriage education and enrichment initiatives for Louisiana
• Member, Governors’ Program on Abstinence Coordinating education and presentations
• Counselor and teacher at Christian Youth Camp
• Founder and Director, Northeast Louisiana Infertility Support Group, NELI
• Developer and Co-Editor of Family Newsletter, Heartline.
• Founder and Developer of Women’s Ministry- Heart to Home
• Founder and Curriculum developer for Mom’s Bible Study
• Teacher, parenting classes White’s Ferry Road Church of Christ
• Marriage Retreat Founder and Coordinator, White's Ferry Road Church of Christ
• Speaker, MOPS, Monroe, LA
• Small group leader. Personality issues w/DISC profile.
• Provides individual, marriage, pre-marital and family counseling to church members and community.
• Coordinates and teaches workshops for women to encourage spiritual growth
• Teen counselor, Shreveport, LA
• Church Youth Leader, Shreveport, LA
• Certified Foster Parent
• Organized Support Group for church Children’s Foster Care Homes
• Presented Workshops 
  • Preparing for Parenthood
  • Family Wellness
  • Christian Wives Club
  • Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours (by Kevin Leman)
  • Running the Rapids (by Kevin Leman)
  • Bringing Up Boys (by James Dobson)
  • Smart Mom
  • Family Wellness
  • KidsCope
  • STEP, Systematic Training for Effective Parenting
  • PET, Parent Effectiveness Training
  • ACL, Adventures in Christian Living
  • Kids & Divorce
  • Your Child and Attention Deficit Disorder
  • Communication in Marriage
  • DISC Personality Inventory
  • Healthy Sexuality in Marriage
  • Healthy Marriage Workshop
  • Healthy Family
  • Keeping Kids Safe in an Unsafe World

Honors

• Delta Kappa, Marriage and Family Therapy International Honor Society
• Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers
• Who’s Who In American Colleges and Universities