For over four decades now, IBCD has existed to “strengthen local churches in one another care.” And as we navigate our fifth decade, the primacy of the local church in our mission has not wavered. There are many different counseling ministries that equip and train counselors at many different levels for counseling in many different contexts. But IBCD continues to be laser-focused on strengthening local churches across the globe by helping to equip their people for the work of interpersonal ministry.
IBCD Connect
In 2025, our premium video subscription platform (known as “IBCD Connect”) was redesigned to better showcase our various biblical care courses and observation videos. Wherever someone is on their journey, we have training material to meet their needs. For the discipleship novice, we have an 8-session Intro to Messy Care and Discipleship video curriculum. For those wanting more formal training in one-another care, we offer a 35-hour Care and Discipleship Course. And for those who want to learn how to better put what they’ve learned into practice, we have a growing collection of Observation Videos to glean from.
Updates to Our Care & Discipleship Course
This past year, we filmed updates to our core Care and Discipleship course and are preparing to release them in mid-2026. This updated resource— our most popular by far—will include a number of our classic sessions as well as almost half of the newly recorded sessions taught by Jim Newheiser, Scott Mehl, and Charles Hodges. This is the first update to our core curriculum in over a decade, and we’re excited about how it maintains the quality of teaching IBCD is known for while offering even greater clarity.
Expanding Observation Video Library
Our observation video library continues to grow as we released our eighth video series on the topic of shame with Dr. Jenn Chen this past year. In early 2026, we plan to release our ninth video series, in partnership with Mighty Oaks, on post-traumatic stress. Lord-willing, our production team is in the planning stages to film our tenth series on the topic of counseling parents of wayward children (featuring Jim and Caroline Newheiser). Once released, every new observation video is available to all IBCD Connect users, in addition to the 40+ hours of observation content already included in their on-demand subscription.
Translated Training Resources
After years of requests from our brothers and sisters overseas (as well as many churches here in the States), we have now released a majority of our resources subtitled in Spanish. We continue to offer our resources to partners across the globe who are translating and utilizing these videos into their own languages and cultures. The goal continues to be to strengthen local churches in one another care (wherever the strengthening is needed).
Largest Free BC Audio Library on the Internet
Not all of IBCD’s resources are behind our subscription paywall. In fact, the bulk of what we make available is absolutely free through our ever-expanding audio library hosted on our website. Organized by topic and speaker, this library grows every year as we continue to add previous conference plenary and workshop recordings. For 2026, a strategic plan is in place to publish a whole host of never-before-released legacy audio from teachers like Jay Adams, David Powlison, George Scipionne, and more.
One of the Premier BC Podcasts Available
Our free resources aren’t just limited to our audio library, either. We continue to host a monthly blog geared toward disciplers and counselors, as well as one of the premier biblical counseling podcasts, Help + Hope, with Christine Chappell. Some of our most recent episodes have included topics such as setting boundaries, engaging mental disorder diagnoses, and addressing reproductive loss.
Summer Institute & Pre-Conference
Finally, IBCD’s favorite time of year is hosting the largest biblical counseling conference in Southern California. This past June, we gathered in Burbank, CA, to explore the theme of Wise Counsel: Applying Ancient Truths to a Modern World for the main conference, and the theme of Grieving with Hope for the pre-conference. This was a particularly sweet time of equipping and fellowship among biblical counselors from across the western US—we are already excited for what God has in store this coming summer!
Registration for our June 2026 Summer Institute and Pre-Conference in Riverside, CA has already surpassed our initial goals for the entire event. Our main conference will explore the complex ways we navigate emotions (both positive and negative) as we pursue Christ in daily life. Created as emotional beings, we have an incredible capacity to experience life and glorify God through our feelings, and we can’t wait to dig into the topics of anger, anxiety, contentment, compassion, and more together. We’ll also be hosting a pre-conference on counseling parents of wayward children—a precursor to our newest observation video to be released in late 2026.
Another Year, Same Mission
For decades, IBCD has been committed to equipping local churches in one-another care. And while we continue to develop new resources (and update our old ones), the core of our mission has never changed. Our efforts are uniquely focused on equipping the local church. There are many different contexts in which faithful counseling can take place, but we believe the bedrock of all biblical counseling is a healthy and equipped church community. This is why our team sacrifices so much to make these resources a reality, and we pray these efforts will continue to redound not to the fame of IBCD, but ultimately to the glory of Christ.
Note: This article was originally published on December 19, 2025 for the Biblical Counseling Coalition blog.
