About BRIT
A training initiative for the men of local Canadian Reformed churches, grounded in the conviction that growth in godliness is the lifelong responsibility of every man.
How BRIT began
Brothers In Training began with informal conversations within local Canadian Reformed churches. In council rooms and in homes, the same concern kept surfacing: office bearers were being ordained, handed a Church Order and a list of visiting addresses, and then largely left to find their own way. Councils and individual members alike expressed a desire for something more structured.
As those conversations continued, the vision widened beyond the men currently serving. Any man in the church may one day be nominated, and preparation for that is best begun early. More importantly, the growth an office bearer needs is the same growth Scripture asks of every Christian man. Training in godliness is not a special course for the few who hold office; it is the ordinary, lifelong responsibility of every brother.
BRIT therefore took its present form: discussion sessions open to all the men of the church, arranged so that current office bearers are equipped, prospective office bearers are prepared, and every man who attends is built up.
Our aims
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Equip current office bearers
Elders and deacons carrying out the work today: practical wisdom for the office, its common difficulties, and the encouragement of other men who understand what it requires.
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Prepare prospective office bearers
Any brother may be nominated. It is far better to have considered the office carefully, and to have examined oneself honestly, before that call comes.
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Train every man in godliness
A term of office ends; the calling to grow in godliness does not. Whatever builds up the body of Christ builds up the men within it, whether or not they ever hold office.
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Find and share useful resources
Books, articles, church documents and sermons, gathered, read and weighed by the men who attend, and passed along to those who will benefit from them next.
Who the sessions are for
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Current office bearers
Elders and deacons who wish to think through their work with other men, beyond the business of a consistory meeting.
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Prospective office bearers
Men who may be called to serve, or who wonder whether they might be, and who wish to understand what the office requires before it is asked of them.
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Every man in the church
Fathers and sons, single and married, working and retired. Growth in godliness is not reserved for those in office, and the sessions are open to any brother who desires it.
How a session is conducted
A session is a discussion rather than a lecture. The leader introduces the topic, usually with a passage of Scripture and a short reading circulated beforehand, and the conversation proceeds from there. Experienced elders sit alongside men who have never conducted a home visit, and both benefit.
Sessions last approximately ninety minutes and are held on a weekday evening. Most are recorded and posted online, so that men who were unable to attend can follow along, and so that a series remains available to anyone newly nominated.
Topics are proposed by the men who attend. A series on the office of elder or deacon works through the office from its biblical foundations to its weekly practice. Standalone sessions address particular matters: personal discipline, leading a household, or speaking with a brother who is drifting.
Passages we return to
Train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 1 Timothy 4:7–8
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17
Alongside these, the qualifications for office in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, Paul's charge to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, and the Forms for Ordination in the Book of Praise shape much of what we discuss.
An open invitation
Every man from any of our churches is welcome. You need not be an office bearer, and no prior reading is required.