The Biblical Counseling Training Program began in Cluj, Romania with the first training conference held there in January 2018. The training program is structured around four intensive conferences that are spaced over the course of two years and build on each other. We were blessed to host our fourth training conference in Cluj in January 2020. We are thankful that in late 2019 the Lord opened the possibility for us to partner with a local congregation in Budapest Hungary. We planned to begin the training program in Hungary in the fall of 2020 but due COVID related restrictions we had to postpone those plans. We look forward with great anticipation to the first training conference to take place in Budapest in September 2021.

By offering this training program we hope to foster a confidence in the relevance, significance, and durability of the Word of God as it speaks into the lives of people; and in the hope of the gospel which is freely offered to all. It is our desire to see Eastern European Christians equipped to counsel, and critically evaluate secular methods for counseling by accurately applying God’s Word and wisdom in the counseling paradigm. We do this by supplying high quality instruction from well educated and experienced speakers, engaging participants in practical workshops and Q&A, and connecting them with experienced Biblical Counselors and peers. The program is designed for each unit or conference to build on the last, so we do not encourage and rarely accept participants joining the program at any point after the initial conference in the four conference series.

The first conference and half of the second will cover the “Introduction to Biblical Counseling”. The second conference will conclude with “Advanced Biblical Counseling” which will carry on for the duration of the third conference. The fourth and final conference will feature different focus tracks which may include addiction counseling, marriage counseling, family counseling etc.

Each conference will feature daily worship and prayer sessions, lectures, workshops, and question and answer sessions. There will also be opportunity to network with other Biblical Counselors from Eastern Europe, as well as from the United States.

The participation fee for each conference varies conference to conference, but our goal is to keep the cost for participants reasonable and affordable. Participants can expect coffee, tea, and refreshments provided each day during the conference, as well as lunch, a participant fold including printed schedule, seminar outlines, and other printed materials.

Each participant will need to fill out the registration application form and submit it electronically.  After submission the application will be reviewed by the steering committee and then an invitation extended to the participant. Once the invitation have been sent to the participant, the participant will then need to pay the participation fee by the deadline provided.

The conferences are typically held in the fall and early spring of each year.  For more specific dates please check the events calendar.

While the conferences provide the backbone for the training program they are also supplemented by follow-up support between conferences and we endeavor to provide the participants with the opportunity to maintain contact with experienced Certified Biblical Counselors who can mentor the participants throughout the year and provide insight and feedback when appropriate.