Celebrating 1 Year of MinistryForum.ca
One year ago, MinistryForum.ca launched with a mission to connect, resource, and support ministry leaders across Canada. It has been a year filled with growth, encouragement, and connection as we’ve built up this online community - spaning all aspects of ministry work. As we reflect on this milestone, we’re filled with gratitude for the way Ministry Forum has become a space where ministry leaders can find trusted resources, share insights, and celebrate our diverse faith journeys together! THANK YOU Ministry Forum Community!
Here’s a look at what we’ve accomplished in our first year!
150 Web Posts
Since launching, we’ve published 150 blog-style posts on topics that matter deeply to ministry leaders—ranging from pastoral care and preaching to practical ministry tips, trends, and leadership. Every post is created with you in mind, we hope these posts have provided you with inspiration and practical insights for your work. It’s been inspiring to hear from readers who have found guidance, encouragement, and fresh ideas in these articles.
43 Notes of Encouragement from YOU
We’ve received 43 notes of encouragement from the Ministry Forum community sharing how being a part of this community has shaped or impacted their ministry. Whether it’s a simple “thank you” or a story about how a resource, article, or event made a difference, these messages fuel our commitment to serving this community. We’ve kept every note and posted many on our “what people are saying page.”
178 Events Shared
This past year, we’ve promoted 178 events on our events calendar, a place where ministry leaders can find learning opportunities, networking events, and spiritual gatherings across Canada. From webinars and workshops to conferences and retreats, our events page connects leaders with experiences that help foster growth, learning, and community. Got an event other should know about? Send it in and we’ll add it to our calendar.
This 10-week Basic Course in Pastoral Care offers practical training for those seeking to deepen their ability to care for others with wisdom, compassion, and presence. Offered both in person in Ottawa and online via Zoom, the Spring 2026 course runs from March 9 to May 11 and spaces are limited.
The CASC/ACSS National Conference 2026 invites spiritual care and psychospiritual therapy practitioners to reflect on how innovation, technology, and social change are reshaping spiritual health. Gathering in Ottawa, this national conference will explore emerging practices, research, and partnerships that support care, resilience, and meaning in a rapidly changing world.
Trauma-Informed Leadership is a six-session online course designed to equip faith leaders and ministry practitioners to better understand trauma, recognize its impact, and cultivate healthier ministry environments. Whether you are serving in a congregation, nonprofit, or community setting, this course provides practical tools to strengthen both personal resilience and organizational health.
This six-session online course supports ministry leaders who are navigating uncertainty, polarization, and rapid change. Participants are invited to strengthen their inner life, develop trauma-informed leadership practices, and cultivate hope-filled, sustainable leadership for today’s church and communities.
After 18 years, Wycliffe College takes stock, and asks its own faculty and some guests what they have learned on the nature of Scripture, theology, and how they relate. How does that relationship make a difference to how faculty write (publish) and teach in their respective fields (from Hebrew poetry to church planting)? Some faculty will consider biblical theology, others - the "theological interpretation of Scripture," and the "open" hermeneutics of the Bible and of theology.
Across Canada, many churches face declining attendance, aging congregations, and uncertain futures. This workshop invites congregations to move from survival anxiety toward faithful discernment and renewed mission.
What should churches do when their future no longer looks sustainable?
A 90-minute online gathering inviting Canadian ministry leaders into a shared process of discernment, exploring emerging trends and imagining faithful next steps for innovation in their contexts.
Equipped is a new one-day, in-person training series from CCCC designed to help Christian charity leaders and pastors grow in leadership, strengthen governance, and navigate legal and HR responsibilities with confidence. Hosted in cities across Canada, these practical, connection-rich events provide real-world tools you can immediately apply in your ministry.
How do we as disciples of Jesus study, learn, teach, and preach on healing narratives in conversation with a disability perspective? How does society’s perception of disability, now and during Christ’s ministry, shape our reading of scripture? What might disability studies offer the church in shaping a Christ community, one that is shaped and reshaped by our diverse bodies? How might we imagine ministry and discipleship? Our day together will start these conversations, learning in community, and approaching such questions with curiosity and care. We will examine how the sin of ableism seeps into our communities and process together it's impacts and our responses.
Equipped is a new one-day, in-person training series from CCCC designed to help Christian charity leaders and pastors grow in leadership, strengthen governance, and navigate legal and HR responsibilities with confidence. Hosted in cities across Canada, these practical, connection-rich events provide real-world tools you can immediately apply in your ministry.
Join us for "We Need To Listen" where participants will find:
- support and encouragement
- accountability and celebration
- ideas and strategies
…and most of all, a community of people passionate about sharing the Good News of Jesus with the world but sometimes feel alone doing it.
Ministry Forum is delighted to host an online space that will strive to be safe as modelled and facilitated by its hosts where ministry leaders will gather with almost no agenda and where everything is on the table and tangents are welcomed.
Equipped is a new one-day, in-person training series from CCCC designed to help Christian charity leaders and pastors grow in leadership, strengthen governance, and navigate legal and HR responsibilities with confidence. Hosted in cities across Canada, these practical, connection-rich events provide real-world tools you can immediately apply in your ministry.
A well-led meeting creates positive energy and builds momentum for the work of the church. This session invites participants to reflect on the facilitator’s role, provides tools for leading meetings well, and offers strategies for inviting differences and managing tension while minimizing unhealthy conflict. This workshop provides skills, strategies and a spirituality for nurturing healthy church cultures in the context of congregational and committee meetings.
A one-day seminar exploring the spiritual and existential dimensions of MAiD and end-of-life care, helping leaders engage questions of mortality, meaning, and compassionate accompaniment.
Courageous Faith in a Time of Fear is a two-day public conference exploring what it means to lead, speak, and act faithfully amid political polarization and deep divisions within churches.
Presented by Knox College's Ministry Forum and the Institute for Christian Studies' Free to Be Faithful initiative, the conference is open to clergy and lay leaders alike and includes a dedicated pastoral leadership track.
Through roundtables, workshops, and a closing panel, participants will explore sustaining big-tent communities, organizing for faithful action, and building the capacity of faith communities to move from fear to hope.
The Henri Nouwen 30th Anniversary Conference (May 14–16, 2026, Toronto) gathers scholars and seekers to explore how Nouwen’s spirituality offers a prophetic and healing response to today’s global and personal challenges.
Many churches today face a challenging combination of food insecurity in their communities, declining church attendance, and underused land on their properties. Eden’s Orchard, the missional expression of Eden’s Refuge, offers a compelling solution: transforming unused church grounds into thriving, low-maintenance orchards that feed the hungry and open new doors for local ministry. In this inspiring and practical webinar, JD Van Allen, certified permaculture designer and founder of Eden’s Refuge, will share how churches can plan, install, and maintain a community orchard with limited ongoing resources and volunteer hours. Drawing on real-world examples, including an orchard planted in the parking lot of C*Road Church, JD will show how a well-designed system becomes a sustainable ministry opportunity for decades to come.
A six-week online course exploring theological reflection in everyday ministry. Learn practical tools to engage Scripture, experience, and culture with greater depth and intentionality.
A special community event featuring Adrian Jacobs of the Turtle Clan, Cayuga Nation, sharing on the Spiritual Covenant—a reflection on land, relationship and reconciliation. Includes a thanksgiving with strawberries—the first fruit of the season and a sacred gift in Haudenosaunee culture, as well as sharing communion and a delicious lunch together.
A summer course exploring the intersection of AI and theology. Reflect on how emerging technologies are shaping faith, ministry, and our understanding of what it means to be human.
Ministry involves coming alongside those with whom we minister, through both the joys and challenges of life, inviting us into deep and profound interactions with those we serve. In this context, it can be challenging to define and set boundaries; yet, to do so is critical for healthy relationships. This interactive session is intended for all leaders who wish to establish healthy boundaries in the context of ministry.
Join us for "We Need To Listen" where participants will find:
- support and encouragement
- accountability and celebration
- ideas and strategies
…and most of all, a community of people passionate about sharing the Good News of Jesus with the world but sometimes feel alone doing it.
Ministry Forum is delighted to host an online space that will strive to be safe as modelled and facilitated by its hosts where ministry leaders will gather with almost no agenda and where everything is on the table and tangents are welcomed.
A six-week hybrid course exploring contemplative prayer practices. Experience spiritual disciplines that deepen your relationship with God and support a sustainable, rooted faith.
The purpose of the Retreat is to equip and encourage pastors in their first fifteen years of ministry through an intensive learning environment at St. Andrew’s Hall on the beautiful UBC campus exploring a theme of missional leadership in the church today. Program costs, meals and a travel bursary are generously provided to participants selected each year.
Equipped is a new one-day, in-person training series from CCCC designed to help Christian charity leaders and pastors grow in leadership, strengthen governance, and navigate legal and HR responsibilities with confidence. Hosted in cities across Canada, these practical, connection-rich events provide real-world tools you can immediately apply in your ministry.
Equipped is a new one-day, in-person training series from CCCC designed to help Christian charity leaders and pastors grow in leadership, strengthen governance, and navigate legal and HR responsibilities with confidence. Hosted in cities across Canada, these practical, connection-rich events provide real-world tools you can immediately apply in your ministry.
Equipped is a new one-day, in-person training series from CCCC designed to help Christian charity leaders and pastors grow in leadership, strengthen governance, and navigate legal and HR responsibilities with confidence. Hosted in cities across Canada, these practical, connection-rich events provide real-world tools you can immediately apply in your ministry.
Drawing on her experience of a life lived in Christian community, Ruth will help us gently to explore the fractures facing our world today. We will dig deep into Scripture and other sources of wisdom, including rich resources from the world of conflict transformation, to reveal hope beyond optimism. And we will look at models of intentional community to learn from one another about how to live well now for the good of all.
Join the Iona Community and Ruth Harvey for a retreat exploring active, hope-filled Christian community. Through prayer, reflection, and shared learning, participants will engage how to live faithfully together in a fractured world.
Equipped is a new one-day, in-person training series from CCCC designed to help Christian charity leaders and pastors grow in leadership, strengthen governance, and navigate legal and HR responsibilities with confidence. Hosted in cities across Canada, these practical, connection-rich events provide real-world tools you can immediately apply in your ministry.
Growing Resource Hub
Our resource hub has grown to 81 resources, and we are excited to reach our goal of 200 resources by Spring 2025. Each resource—whether it’s a course, guide, tech tool or podcast — has been chosen to support the diverse needs of ministry leaders. This collection reflects our commitment to curating helpful and accessible resources across a range of topics relevant to ministry today. We’re grateful to everyone who has shared their recommendations and to all who use this library to strengthen their ministries.
Visitors from Coast to Coast and Beyond!
Since our launch in November 2023, we’ve welcomed 7,100 unique visitors who’ve generated over 12,000 page views. We love knowing that ministryforum.ca has been able to reach people across Canada (and beyond), and we hope to see this number grow exponetially in the coming years as we expand our offerings and grow the community.
Looking Ahead
As we celebrate this first year, we’re excited to see how MinistryForum.ca will continue to grow and serve you. We’re committed to expanding our resources, sharing stories that encourage, and building stronger connections within this beautiful community of ministry leaders. In the coming year, we’ll continue to focus on creating content that speaks to the heart of ministry, promoting meaningful events, and adding valuable resources to help you thrive in your calling.
Thank you for being part of MinistryForum.ca. Your engagement, feedback, and support have been such a blessing in shaping this community.
Cheers to another year of growth, connection, and encouragement as we journey together in ministry!