In March, Biblical Counselling UK came to stay at The Hayes, a venue they’ve been conferencing at for almost 10 years. Their organisation is dedicated to bringing the truth of the Bible into everyday situations through conversation and counselling. We spoke with Ruth Roberts, Executive Assistant to the Director of Biblical Counselling, about their retreat and how it's changing lives.
Biblical Counselling UK in the Derbyshire Hall. Photo credit: Colin Hulett
What is Biblical Counselling?
As an organisation, we believe that the Bible is true and precious, and has guidance for every aspect of life, including the difficult and tricky parts. People are often used to thinking about engaging with the Bible in church where it's preached, or perhaps at home through private devotionals.
However, as an organisation, we're also interested in a third aspect: conversations that bring the truth of the Bible into everyday situations. These conversations happen each week in church, at home and in the workplace; all as part of everyday life.
Photo credit: Colin Hulett
We are looking to equip people either through one-on-one counselling covering a specific topic or through an informal conversation at church or home.
What is your conference about?
This is our annual residential conference and this year we've been looking at the theme of loss; the hope of Christ in sorrow. Our main sessions have been focusing on the book of Ruth and how that narrative might speak to us regarding the topic of loss.
We’ve also had a seminar program, diving deeper into the biblical responses to different losses in life. These included guidance such as how to pray with people who are grieving or how to preach about lament.
Photo credit: Colin Hulett
Our conference attracts 3 groups of people, all of whom want to be equipped to help others through conversational ministry:
- Church congregational members
- Church leaders
- Vocational Counsellors
How do your delegates feel about your annual conference?
For many delegates, it is the highlight of the year; to be able to come together in person. Lots of these people have a passion for caring for others and to have the ability to come together with other like-minded people is a massive encouragement.
Photo credit: Colin Hulett
Having this encouragement helps to equip and enable them to go back to their churches and carry on their passion.
Why do you retreat at The Hayes?
There are lots of reasons why we like The Hayes. Conversational ministry is a key component of our conferences so having comfortable areas where people can sit and chat is really important.
Having outdoor space is important to us too. The topics we cover at our conferences can be hard to grapple with sometimes. So, being able to wander down to the lake, or sit on a bench outside is something the delegates really value.
The ease of transport is an important factor for us, so we like that The Hayes is just off the M1. This means we have delegates who come from all over the UK. We even have a small number of people who come from Europe.
We love the fact that The Hayes has big meeting halls where we can all gather together during those main conference sessions. We like to run multiple different seminars during our conferences and due to The Hayes’ many meeting rooms, we are able to facilitate this.
Michael Tinker Concert in the Derbyshire Hall.
We really want to serve our delegates well at these conferences, and The Hayes displays this ethos too; whether through serving a meal or the front-of-house staff accommodating all of their needs.
Thank you Ruth for your time. We love having Biblical Counselling stay with us and look forward to their future conferences.
We’re delighted to serve churches and Christian groups across the country with our conference spaces. Find out more about residential conferences at our Northamptonshire, Derbyshire or Hertfordshire centres.
