It is hard to believe that the Canadian Biblical Counseling Coalition 2020 annual conference is only a month away.

Our theme this year is Gospel Conversations – Let’s Talk Counseling from the Scriptures.

You would expect that biblical counseling and biblical soul care focus on the Scriptures as their source of truth, wisdom, and authority; and you would be right!

What is unique to our theme this year is demonstrating how a single passage of the Scriptures, focused on for an extended period of time, can be a life giving part of ministering hope and help to those seeking biblical counsel.

Having recently heard Lee Lewis speak at TGC Prairies Regional Conference I’m excited to have Lee lead us in our four primary sessions.

We first tried breakout sessions at our 2018 conference, and your feedback was clear, you loved the content, the smaller groups, and the opportunity to interact so we have six different breakout sessions for you this year and we are running them twice like we did in 2019 so you have an opportunity to attend more than one.

Subscribe or keep an eye on our blog for more details about the conference, Lee’s sessions, and the breakout sessions in the coming days.

Look forward to seeing you all at the conference – Cam Barnard

2020 Canadian Biblical Counseling Coalition Annual Conference
Tuesday March 24 and Wednesday March 25, 2020 – Oakville, Ontario
Gospel Conversations – Let’s Talk Counseling from the Scriptures
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We always appreciate it when someone takes the time to contact us with a question or a request. By far, one of the most common questions we receive is inquiry about educational and training opportunities in Canada – which makes us very happy!

We are working to create more options, and plan to post a guide soon on what your options for training and education are as a Canadian interested in growing in biblical counseling competency.

In the meantime, we are excited to announce FOUR upcoming opportunities to grow your knowledge of biblical counseling … all in Canada!

October 18-19, 2019 – Calgary, Alberta
2019 TGC Canada Prairies Regional Conference: The Care of Souls
https://www.calvarygrace.ca/tgc-prairies-regional-conference

October 22, 2019 – Halifax, Nova Scotia (+ October 22-24 conference option)
2019 TGC Canada Atlantic Conference – Finding Our Identity in Christ
https://atlanticcanada.thegospelcoalition.org/registration

November 14, 2019 – Oakville, Ontario (+ November 15-16 conference option)
2019 TGC Canada Women’s Conference – Taking Refuge Under the Lord’s Wings: Bitterness and Blessing in the Book of Ruth
https://ca.thegospelcoalition.org/tgcc2019

March 24-25, 2020 – Oakville, Ontario
Save the date – registration opens soon
2020 Canadian Biblical Counseling Coalition Annual Conference – Let’s Talk Counseling from the Scriptures

 

Video content is now available for the 2019 national conference for the Canadian Biblical Counseling Coalition

Gospel Conversations
Let’s Talk Equipping the Church to Counsel

Thanks to the hard work of many generous volunteers we are delighted to let you know that the video content from this event is now live.

You can find this content, along with PDFs of the conference booklet and main session notes, on the 2019 conference web page: 
https://biblicalcounselingcanada.ca/2019conference/

This video content (along with the content from 2018 and 2017) is also available on our YouTube channel: 
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsYrVhxvDVWHqLTuhiR0DBQ

We trust this was a time of learning and encouragement, and that you are hungry for more. Don’t forget to mark your calendar for next year:
Wednesday March 25th – Thursday March 26th, 2020.

Those of use who live on the West Coast of Canada know there are not a lot of biblical counseling based events out this way.

Dr. John Street is an instructor in biblical counseling at The Master’s University and he will be teaching Foundations for a Godly Family in April 5-6 in Sardis Community Church 45625 S Sumas Rd in Chilliwack, BC, Canada.

Register before March 31st for this conference. Additional details here:

https://www.gracefellowshipchilliwack.com/events/event/61/foundations-for-a-godly-family-conference/2019-04-05

A PDF brochure is also available.

Hard to believe the 2019 Gospel Conversations Let’s Talk Equipping the Church to Counsel Conference on March 21-22 is less than a week away!

If you haven’t registered already; you have a few short days left to register. Registration closes at 4pm on Tuesday March 19th, 2019.

A popular part of last year’s conference were our break-out sessions. We are doing break-out sessions again this year. There are five break-out sessions and these break-out sessions will run twice during the conference so you have the opportunity to attend two different break-outs.

To assist you in choosing, here are this year’s break-out sessions:

BE EQUIPPED – FOUNDATIONS FOR BIBLICAL CARE IN HURTING MARRIAGES
When the hurt begins to grow and the pain goes deep, when the conversations either grow quieter or louder, when there seems no way forward, how do you begin a conversation in hurting marriages? We want to look at some foundations of biblical conversation and care for marriages.
Taught by David Robinson

BE EQUIPPED – ADDRESSING THE BIBLICAL HEART OF A COUNSELEE TO FACILITATE CHANGE
Even experienced counsellors can be sidetracked by the immediate circumstances and needs of a counselee. Yet, addressing the heart is what brings out lasting change. This breakout reminds us why it is critical to address the biblical heart, and how to stay focused on the heart.
Taught by Jason Kovacs

BE EQUIPPED – DIFFERENCES FROM INFORMAL TO FORMAL COUNSELLING
Many starting out in biblical counselling find themselves in informal counselling relationships with questions on how to proceed. This breakout looks at the major elements of biblical counselling, highlights those that are more challenging in informal counselling, and provides tools for making progress.
Taught by Cam Barnard

BE EQUIPPED – COUNSELLING BIBLICALLY WITH EXTRA􀇫BIBLICAL TOOLS
As soon as we stop reading the Bible, we begin to use extra-biblical tools. In this session, we will consider what resources are available to us, how to discern their usefulness, and how to use them in ways that promote a biblical worldview and gospel transformation.
Taught by Betty-Anne Van Rees

BE EQUIPPED – EXHORTING ONE ANOTHER IN THE LOCAL CHURCH
Who are the people that you are openly sharing your struggles with? Who are the people who are coming alongside you, hearing you, and counselling you from the Word of God?  God is calling us back to biblical exhortation. In addition to ministering biblically to others; He’s also calling us to allow others to come alongside us in relationship and counsel us from the Word of God, in order that we too might be encouraged and urged forward in our own walk with Christ. Exhortation within community is not optional, it’s essential.
Taught by Nathan Penny

Please register today and join us March 21st and 22nd in Oakville Ontario!

Agenda and registration information

Helping hurting people can feel like a maze

Helping hurting people can feel like a maze. Sometimes that maze takes us into the territory of suffering and being sinned against.

Other times that maze leads us into a journey of helping people who have fallen into sin.

In one of his sessions, Bob Kelleman will provide a comprehensive, compassionate biblical and church history approach to helping people see it’s horrible to sin, but wonderful to be forgiven, and possible to grow in grace.

Equip yourself with a biblical GPS that maps out the ministry focus of an equipped biblical counselor in guiding counselees into reconciliation, growth in grace, and maturity.

Please register today and join us March 21st and 22nd in Oakville Ontario!

Agenda and registration information

The church in Canada appeared ill-equipped and seemed to have little vision for helping people who were hurting.

Many years ago I found myself in desperate need of counsel as I navigated the pain and disorientation of tragic loss. It was the first time I realized that the church in Canada appeared ill-equipped and seemed to have little vision for helping people who were hurting. The general position of the Canadian church was, ‘emotional issues were best handled by therapists.’ However my emotions were intertwined with big questions about God that I needed the church to answer.

The void in my own experience has been a driving force in pressing me to be used of God to equip the church for the work of personal ministry that He has given every Canadian church to do.

I am delighted with the way God is moving in these days. I believe the 2019 Gospel Conversations Let’s Talk Equipping the Church to Counsel Conference on March 21-22 has the potential to be life changing for churches who are looking to see their members grow in the grace of one-another ministry.

Betty-Anne Van Rees – serving on the board of the Canadian Biblical Counseling Coalition