October 20–22 | Virginia Beach, VA
Please note: In-person registration for the national conference is now closed due to full capacity,
but preconference registration is still open!
2023 PRECONFERENCE
October 19 | Virginia Beach, VA
The 2023 CCEF Preconference is an opportunity to learn more from CCEF faculty and guest speakers. The preconference will be held in person on Thursday, October 19, 2023, from 9:00am to 5:00pm at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. Full-day tickets (2 sessions + boxed lunch) and half-day tickets (1 session + boxed lunch) are available. We hope you'll join us!
SCHEDULE
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM | MORNING SESSION
- Complex Problems in Marriage Counseling (Aaron Sironi)
- “A Future for the Man of Peace”: Education and Accountability for the Abusive Heart (Chris Moles & Greg Wilson)
12:00 PM – 2:00 PM | LUNCH BREAK
2:00 PM – 5:00 PM | AFTERNOON SESSION
- Weariness in Ministry: Conversations on How to Combat Burnout (Alasdair Groves, Darby Strickland, & Robyn Huck)
- School Shootings: A Case Study in Responding to Traumatic Events in Your Church’s Community (Brad Hambrick)
FULL DAY
$85
through August 30
HALF DAY
$60
through August 30
- Please note that the preconference is a separate event from the national conference. You must register separately for the national conference.
- This event is in person only. These sessions will not be live-streamed.
- Recordings will not be available for purchase or download after the conference.
- Registration is available until 11:59pm EDT, Monday, October 16.
- Refunds, minus a $20 administrative fee (per ticket), are available through Friday, September 15. To request a refund, please contact customer service at customerservice@ccef.org.
SESSION DESCRIPTIONS
Morning Option 1: Complex Problems in Marriage Counseling
Aaron Sironi
Working with problems in a couple's sexual relationship and counseling stepfamily couples can be two of the most difficult marriage counseling challenges. Increasingly, couples seek help in these areas, but counselors often feel ill-equipped to handle their needs. This breakout will develop the unique contours and methodological priorities as counselors care for couples through these difficult and delicate conversations.
Morning Option 2: “A Future for the Man of Peace”: Education & Accountability for the Abusive Heart
Chris Moles & Greg Wilson
Is there a biblically-grounded approach to helping those who perpetrate acts of abuse? Men of Peace groups and course materials have served hundreds of abusive men and their churches through facilitated group education and digital course materials. This breakout will offer biblical categories, tools, and approaches in working with abusive individuals. Emphasis will be given to group-oriented biblical care, specifically found in Men of Peace groups.
Afternoon Option 1: Weariness in Ministry: Conversations on How to Combat Burnout
Alasdair Groves, Darby Strickland, & Robyn Huck
Are you weary? Are you on your way to burnout? In this preconference session, we will address the spectrum of strains that counselors and ministry leaders face and the way Scripture reframes both the struggle of burnout and a biblical response to it. After introducing a biblical framework for burnout, we will delve into the challenge of stewarding your own soul wisely as you engage with the deeply painful stories and experiences of others. We will also share experiences of being affected by other people’s suffering, “secondary trauma,” and the means of grace God provides for us to care for ourselves and each other. Join us for a time of self-reflection and rejuvenation.
Afternoon Option 2: School Shootings: A Case Study in Responding to Traumatic Events in Your Church’s Community
Brad Hambrick
We can pray these things never happen… and we should (Matt 6:10). But we should also prepare for when the school in the news is one where children in our church attend. Ask yourself, “What are the initial responses we would recommend to parents wanting to care for their children? What are the logical but unhelpful responses we would help them avoid? What does helpful communication with students sound like—content and tone—after a tragedy of this magnitude? What would you look for in students, parents, and teachers to discern when more acute care is needed?” If you realize you need clearer and more concrete answers, join us to learn how to minister well when a traumatic experience intrudes on the lives of parents and children in your congregation and community.
PRECONFERENCE SPEAKERS
Brad Hambrick
Brad Hambrick serves as the Pastor of Counseling at the Summit Church in Durham, NC. He also serves as Assistant Professor of Biblical Counseling at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and as a council member of the Biblical Counseling Coalition, has authored several books including the recently released Angry with God: An Honest Journey through Suffering and Betrayal, and served as general editor for the Becoming a Church that Cares Well for the Abused (churchcares.com) project.
Chris Moles
Rev. Chris Moles is an ordained minister with the Christian and Missionary Alliance and Senior Pastor of The Chapel (Winfield, WV). Chris is a Certified Biblical Counselor (ACBC and IABC) and a trained group facilitator in domestic violence intervention and prevention. Chris holds a bachelor of arts in Bible from Cedarville College and a master of arts in biblical counseling from Faith Bible Seminary (Lafayette, IN).
Greg Wilson
Greg Wilson holds a doctor of educational ministry and is a licensed professional counselor and board-approved counselor supervisor in the state of Texas. He leads Soul Care Associates, a counseling and consulting practice in Flower Mound, Texas. He sees couples, families, and individual adolescents and adults. His practice areas include marriage and family, adolescent issues, domestic abuse, addiction, and trauma. As a consultant, Dr. Wilson works with leaders of churches and other organizations on adopting best practices and standards for care. He is the coauthor, with Jeremy Pierre, of When Home Hurts: A Guide for Responding Wisely to Domestic Abuse in Your Church.
Aaron Sironi
Aaron Sironi is a faculty member and the counseling training coordinator at CCEF, where he has served since 2008. He holds a master of science in marital and family therapy from Fuller Theological Seminary and has earned counseling certificates from CCEF. Aaron is a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) and has counseled in community mental health, psychiatric hospital, and outpatient settings. He has a passion for building strong relationships with local churches and coming alongside pastoral ministers through consultation, training, and counseling services. In addition to his work at CCEF, Aaron serves on the board of CCEF Montana, an affiliate counseling office in Billings, MT.
Robyn Huck
Robyn Huck is the Counseling Mentor at CCEF New England and has more than twenty years of counseling, teaching, and speaking experience. She supervises and supports a team of nine biblical counselors, trains interns, and has contributed to the Journal of Biblical Counseling. With a grandson who has Angelman’s syndrome, Robyn has a special heart for people affected by disability. Robyn and her husband Karl live in Vermont and are parents to three grown children with two daughters-in-law and four grandchildren.
Darby Strickland
Darby Strickland is a faculty member and counselor at CCEF, where she has served since 2003. She has a master of divinity with a counseling emphasis from Westminster Theological Seminary. Darby brings particular passion and expertise in helping the vulnerable and oppressed, especially women in abusive marriages. She has contributed to Church Cares and the PCA Domestic Abuse & Sex Assault church training materials. She has counseled in a missionary church setting and has also held leadership roles in women’s ministry. She is the author of Is it Abuse? (P&R, 2020), has written a handful of minibooks, and has contributed to several other books.
Alasdair Groves
Alasdair Groves is the Executive Director of CCEF, as well as a faculty member and counselor. He has served at CCEF since 2009. He holds a master of divinity with an emphasis in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary. Alasdair cofounded CCEF New England, where he served as director for ten years. He also served as the director of CCEF’s School of Biblical Counseling for three years. He is the host of CCEF’s podcast, Where Life & Scripture Meet, and is the coauthor of Untangling Emotions (Crossway, 2019).