PAST SESSIONS

No one should grieve alone. But most people don’t know what is helpful to say or do to support someone who is grieving. Even ministry leaders often feel uncomfortable. With 4 simple concepts, anyone aged 9 – 99 can gain confidence to effectively express empathy. We are never more like Jesus than when we comfort the broken hearted. Imagine your church becoming known as “that caring place where no has to grieve alone.” Fueled by a holy discontent, Shirley left her fund raising career in 2019 to become founder of a grief ministry, CornerBend Ministries. As a grief coach, Shirley’s mission is to help solve this problem: Most people don’t know what is helpful to do or say in support of someone who is grieving. With her book, “The Little Black Funeral Dress” and the online “Hope Heroes Course”, Shirley’s desire is to equip The Church to be the safest community for people to authentically grieve and experience empathy and hope. Shirley has been married to her husband, Carey, for 38 years. He is the Pastor of Finance and Operations at Centre St Church. Their married daughter, Chantel, lives in Calgary and their son Jordan lives in Heaven.

Church Coach John Albiston looks at the various areas where Pastors need to be healthy in order to lead healthy Churches. He'll point out the areas where pastors need to focus on if they want to lead healthy, growing, vibrant churches that reach out to lost people. John Albiston serves the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada as a Church Effectiveness Coach. One of the founders of the national Church Vitalization Summit, John helps plateaued churches grow and growing churches grow even faster. Together with their team of coaches, he has seen the number of growing churches in his district more than double in the last few years along with a similar two-fold increase in the number of souls saved. During the last nine years of his pastoral ministry, John saw his churches grow at an average rate of 50% per year as a result of conversion growth. Academically, he serves as adjunct faculty at Vanguard College in Edmonton, and Victory Asia Bible College in Sriracha, Thailand.

Our world needs hope over doubt, faith over fear, love over hate; can the church provide that? What does it look like to stare into the eyes of someone who does not share your values and love them like Jesus does? Chaplain, EMT, Pastor, and Crisis Responder Jim Caruso shares his real life experiences about what it means to bring hope into a hurting world

Connie Jakab walks pastors through her Flourishing Coaching training that will serve to help those they serve live full and meaningful lives. You'll learn simple coaching tools and techniques you can use in your every day interactions with people. Access the Free Resource here https://www.dropbox.com/s/deqjxbxxf65yj74/FSAT%20-%20Flourishing%20Self-Assessment%20Tool_Landscape%20%281%29.pdf?dl=0 Access the Free Course here: https://certifiedflourishingcoach.com/flourishing-framework/

Imagine if thousands of pastors all over the world had contagious courage!!! What kind of heights would we soar to together, in life and our ministries? What is contagious courage? And as a pastor, why is it important to have it? Join Vahen in a session filled with inspiration, laughter and thought-provoking conversations, as she share's what she's learnt about herself and God in her leadership journey, that will challenge and empower you to be a more confident leader, with CONTAGIOUS COURAGE. Are you ready? Vahen King – Author / International Speaker & Founder of the Non-Profit Organization Going Farther. At age 23, one week after her engagement, Vahen developed Transverse Myelitis, a virus that left her physically disabled and dependent on the use of a wheelchair. Trying to adapt as a person with a disability, her “new normal” was feelings of self-doubt and exclusion. Reaching a point of desperation, Vahen realized that she had a choice to make, to be paralyzed by fears and insecurities, or push forward. And push forward she did. In 2017, Vahen was crowned the first ever Miss Wheelchair Canada and Miss Kindness World. Not only her beauty, but her character has won her awards. Her recent title was the 2021 women of inspiration “influencer” award. Visit https://goingfarther.org/ for additional resources

In light of recent news regarding Pastors failing morally, this is a conversation worth having. Spiritual Care Director Peter Cusick takes a look at the downward spiral of sin and what pastors can do to stay safe morally, ethically and spiritually. Peter has been a pastor since 1978 and pastored three churches during that time. He is a Certified Spiritual Director with an active practice serving the spiritual needs of individuals and groups—with a special emphasis to other pastors and ministers. He founded and is the director of Beside Peaceful Streams Inc. a ministry of prayer, soul care, and spiritual direction. He has co-authored The BluePrint and self-published Prayers and Reflections Volume 1 and Lord Teach us to Pray. See www.besidepeacefulstreams.com. Download the handout for this session at https://www.dropbox.com/s/xdqw69j649eobdx/Why%20Pastor%27s%20fail%20Handout.pdf?dl=0

This session takes a short tour through some of the scriptures that Dr. Cath has discovered as she has walked through tough seasons in pastoring, counselling, leading, studying, and teaching.

Life today has a tendency to overload us, and dictate what is important and worthy of our time, space, energy and money. Taking back that authority and deciding for ourselves what values we will prioritize and maximize is called "Value Innovation"

Is your church a safe place for people struggling with their mental wellness and health? Brett Ullman will share practical ways to help leaders create a safe space in their church to support mental health. Brett is a renowned speaker and author on mental health matters in Canada and North America