How did Canada and the US arrive at their current, disorienting state of identity politics, and how should the church respond? Join us February 1, 2025 for the Canadian Religious Freedom Summit, live and online.
A nos participants francophones, veuillez noter que la conférence sera également traduite simultanément en français.
Christ and Identity in a Strange New World
How did Canada and the US arrive at their current, disorienting state of identity politics, and how should the church respond? Historian and author Carl R. Trueman shows how influences ranging from traditional institutions to technology and pornography moved our modern culture toward an era of “expressive individualism.” Other speakers will tackle class and identity (Pastor Dwayne Cline), faith and identity (Alan Shlemon) and human identity (Prof. Iain Provan). Join the Summit this year for an informative Christian perspective on this issue.
Location
Online stream and in-person at the Metropolitan Bible Church in Ottawa
Date & Time
February 1, 2025 01:00 PM - 4:30 PM EST 02:30 PM - 6:00 PM NST 02:00 PM - 5:30 PM AST 12:00 PM - 3:30 PM CST 11:00 AM - 2:30 PM MST 10:00 AM - 1:30 PM PST
Speakers
Host and Emcee
Craig Docksteader
Director of Policy, Office of Leader of the Opposition in the Senate of Canada
Craig Docksteader has served in pastoral ministry, public policy advocacy organizations, and as a political staffer on Parliament Hill for more than four decades. He is currently Director of Policy in the Office of the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and author of the book “To Shift a Nation: How the Body of Christ can effectively promote change in Canada”. Craig and Gail make their home in Ottawa, and have three daughters, six granddaughters and one son-in-law.
Keynote Speakers
Carl R. Trueman
Professor of Biblical & Religious Studies, Grove City College
Carl R. Trueman is a graduate of the Universities of Cambridge (M.A., Classics) and Aberdeen (Ph.D, Church History), and has taught on the faculties of the Universities of Nottingham and Aberdeen before moving to the United States in 2001 to teach at Westminster Theological Seminary (PA).In 2017-18 he was the William E. Simon Visiting Fellow in Religion and Public Life in the James Madison Program at Princeton University. Since 2018, he has served as a professor at Grove City College in the Calderwood School of Arts and Humanities. He is widely published in both academic and popular circles, is a Contributing Editor at First Things and Touchstone Magazine, an opinion columnist at World magazine, and a Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington DC
Dwayne Cline
Former Senior Pastor, North Baptist Church Hamilton
Pastor Dwayne Cline has led James North Baptist Church (JNBC) in Hamilton, ON since 1995, growing the congregation from 35 to over 450. Under his leadership, JNBC built a $22 million facility with 45 affordable housing units, serving one of Canada’s poorest communities. The church, which only earns $1 annually from the project, also ministers to over 400 non-attendees weekly and established a Karen refugee congregation in 2010. Pastor Dwayne is a sought-after speaker on ministry and nonprofit strategy through Cline Consulting and holds a master’s degree in divinity from Tyndale Seminary.
Dr. Iain Provan
Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies, Regent College
Dr. Iain Provan served as the Marshall Sheppard Professor of Biblical Studies at Regent College in Vancouver, Canada, for 25 years (1997-2022) before retiring and founding The Cuckoos Consultancy, which aims to help serious Christians engage faithfully with questions around “being human”. Born and educated in the UK, Iain holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge. He has published numerous essays, articles and books, the most recent of which are The Reformation and the Right Reading of Scripture (2017), Seeking What Is Right: The Old Testament and the Good Life (2020), and Cuckoos in our Nest: Truth and Lies about Being Human (2023). Iain is an ordained minister of the Church of Scotland, a Life Member of Clare Hall, Cambridge, and the recipient of five Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowships (Germany).
Alan Shlemon
Author and Speaker, Stand to Reason
Alan Shlemon has worked as an author and speaker for Stand to Reason since 2004. He trains Christians to share their convictions in a persuasive, yet gracious manner. Alan teaches about some of the most controversial issues of our time: abortion, evolution, homosexuality, bioethics, and Islam. He has been a guest on both radio and television, and has spoken to thousands of adults and students across the country at churches, conferences, and college campuses. Alan’s training incorporates three components. First, he equips people with the knowledge to form a foundation of belief. Second, he teaches them to communicate their knowledge persuasively and clearly. Finally, he shows them how to communicate in a warm, friendly, and gracious manner. Alan makes complex issues accessible to both youth and adult audiences.
Daniel Winter
Senior Pastor, Calvary Church Toronto
Daniel Winter is the senior pastor at Calvary Church Toronto (AGC) where he has served for almost 10 years. Calvary Church is a 95-year-old inner-city church in Toronto located across the street from a busy TTC subway stop. The church’s campus includes a 14-story long-term care facility and an adjoining subsidized apartment building for seniors. (Nisbet Lodge Corporation.) Daniel serves on the board of directors at Nisbet Lodge along with 7 church members. In 2017, Nisbet Lodge received intense pressure from the governing authorities to provide MAID at their LTC facility, which both Daniel and the membership of the board have successfully resisted until now.
Mike and Jennifer Schouten
Director, ARPA Canada
Mike Schouten is the Executive Director of the Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA). ARPA educates, equips, and encourages Christians to political action and defends biblical values and beliefs in Canada’s capital. They can be found at arpacanada.ca. He and his wife Jennifer will be sharing their son Markus' story as he faced terminal cancer.
Lia Milousis
Human Rights Advocate
Lia Milousis is a human rights lawyer, motivational speaker, and self-published author. Her practice focuses on constitutional law, human rights law, and family law. Lia earned her Bachelor of Social Sciences from the University of Ottawa in 2017, completing a Joint Honours Degree specializing in Political Science and Women’s Studies. She returned to the University of Ottawa and earned her Juris Doctor in 2020, graduating with a specialization in Social Justice.
Blaise Alleyne
EASTERN OUTREACH DIRECTOR, Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform
Blaise Alleyne is a pro-life activist, technologist, musician, writer and public speaker. Blaise is the Eastern Outreach Director for CCBR, founder of the Toronto Against Abortion project, and co-author of CCBR’s book, A Guide to Discussing Assisted Suicide. He also volunteers as the Vice President of Toronto Right to Life. Blaise has had thousands of conversations about abortion over a decade and half on the streets of Toronto, and has provided support to pro-life campus and community activism groups across Ontario for years.
Steve Brown
Steve Brown is passionate about sharing his faith on Vancouver streets as a street preacher. One time, as he preached, by-standers filed a complaint against him with the police, claiming he was loud and hateful, something Steve denies. The police charged him for mischief. Steve reached out to Carol Crossan who took his case. After almost two years in court, his case was dismissed late last year. Steve will share his experiences preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus on the streets and the need to defend the right to continue to boldly proclaim it publicly.
William Swinimer
William Swinimer grew up in Nova Scotia where he attended Forest Heights Community High School. As a committed Christian, he often shared his faith with his classmates. But in 2012 when he wore a T-shirt that said, “Life is wasted without Jesus,” he was suspended. As he did not want to in anyway deny Christ and still wanted to use the T-shirt as a door to share the gospel with his peers, he continued to wear it and received more and more suspensions. He still has a formal reprimand on his record today. The Education Minister of Nova Scotia at the time stated that students should NOT be able to criticize other people’s religious beliefs. The principal told him that these kind of messages are hate talk, make people feel unsafe at school, and that these kinds of messages caused people to commit suicide. William explained that he only wanted people to experience the joy, peace and life in Christ Jesus that he had found.
Päivi Räsänen - On trial for sharing her beliefs
Dr. Erwin Lutzer speaks on Christianity's unifying message
Don't miss out.
We look forward to having you join us in-person or online!
The Freedom Summit is offered without a registration fee; however, we depend on your generous contributions to make this event possible. Suggested contributions are $25 for in-person attendance and $15 for online participation. Your support is essential to help cover the costs and ensure the success of this event.
Dr. John Wyatt - Made in God’s Image: A Christian Response to MAiD in Canada
1:45 PM
Lia Milousis- The Weight of Hope: Mental Health Ministry to Youth as Followers of the Man of Sorrows
2:05PM
Alex Schadenberg - Protecting People from Euthanasia
2:35PM
Blaise Alleyne - A Guide to Discussing Assisted Suicide
2:50 PM
Break
3:05 PM
Mike and Jennifer Schouten - Markus Died Well
3:20PM
Dr. Ewan Goligher - How Should We Then Die? Christianity and Medical Aid-in-Dying
3:55 PM
Pastor Daniel Winter - MAiD and Pastoral Ministry
4:05 PM
Special Guest - Personal testimony
4:15 PM
Dr. Heidi Janz - Rescue Those Who Are Being Taken Away to Death: What All Christians Need to Know About Ableism, Autonomy, and the Expansion of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) in Canada
4:45 PM
Concluding Remarks
5:10 PM
Bonus Q & A Panel
Conference Location
This conference will be held both online and in-person
Online Online streaming link will be sent to your email on the day of the event.
In-person The Metropolitan Bible Church 2176 Prince of Wales Dr, Ottawa, ON, K2E 0A1, Canada
UPDATE: Bill C-4 received Royal Assent on December 8. On Tuesday, December 7, Bill C-4, which criminalizes conversion therapy, passed the Senate in a single motion. It had already passed the House in a single motion on December 1.
On Tuesday, December 7th the Canadian Senate passed Bill C-4, effectively banning the practice known as conversion therapy. The bill had been introduced to the House of Commons on November 29th and was approved on December 1st without further debate or study. It received Royal Assent today and will become the law of the land in 30 days.
Contact Us
Our Mission is to protect and promote freedom for gospel ministry in Canada.
The Canadian Religious Freedom Summit is convened and facilitated by the Metropolitan Bible Church, Ottawa, with the gracious help and advice of the Summit’s sponsors.
Please use the following form to contact us or directly through email at [email protected].