About Insight.
We are passionate about teaching and equipping believers with the life changing word of God.
Our Purpose
We want to help believers to live out the gospel of hope through the resurrection power given to them by the Spirit. We also want to equip believers to love others well and to live out the truth presented in Scripture. This is vital for the Church of God making it a living, thriving, growing redemptive community.
We achieve this purpose through individual and group counselling sessions but also through educating others to mentor and disciple through internships, training courses and seminars.
A Little History
Insight was born out of Elisha House Pregnancy and Family Support Centre, which had its roots in the Niagara Life Centre, (St. Catharines).
In the summer of 2021, Insight registered as a not-for-profit corporation, and the first Board of Directors was formed. At the same time, plans were initiated to purchase the property at 263 Division St., Welland. Further plans for renovating the new office building were laid in the hopes that these offices would be available in January, 2022. In January, the first of the Insight staff were hired, and the work of the ministry commenced on January 10, 2022.
Our Mission
To provide biblical counselling and to equip people with practical biblical training.
Our Statement of Faith
Insight Biblical Counselling is a Christian not-for-profit organization that offers counselling and training from a biblical perspective, the basic tenets of which are:
- We believe in One God who exists in Three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit
- We believe that God created all things for His glory, including man whom He made in His image; as such, all humankind has intrinsic value from conception to natural death.
- We believe that man, of his own volition, rebelled against God, plunging all of humanity into a state of sinfulness and causing separation between man and God.
- We believe that Jesus Christ, who is Himself God, took on human flesh to make Himself killable, suffered although He lived a sinless life, died on a cross and was resurrected from the dead in order to take the penalty of man’s sin upon Himself, providing a way for man to be reconciled to God through the forgiveness of sins.
- We believe that without faith in the substitutionary atoning work of Jesus, man cannot be reconciled to His Creator.
- We believe that God transforms the hearts of sinful people through the Word of God, the Bible, applied by the work of the Holy Spirit who resides within Christians. We believe that God uses Christians as instruments in His hands to convey biblical truth, in love, to others.
- We believe that God’s intended design for sexual relationship is only in the context of a covenanted marital relationship between one genetic male and one genetic female.
- We believe that our greatest calling in life is to love God with all that we are and to love our neighbours by serving them ahead of ourselves.
- We believe that Jesus Christ will return to finally and fully eradicate all evil and restore all good.
Our Staff
All of our staff members are highly trained individuals with hearts full of compassion for people and our ministry. At Insight we are committed to serving our clients with excellence.
Glen Slingerland
Executive Director
The Niagara Region has been home to Glen for most of his life. He lived close to the south shores of Lake Ontario until God led him to Westminster Theological Seminary in 2007. After marrying Rebecca the following year, she joined him in Philly while he completed his MA in Biblical Counselling. Glen began counselling at Elisha House in Welland after returning to Ontario. He worked there as a biblical counsellor and director until he accepted the Executive Director position at Insight in 2022. Glen enjoys renovation work, wordsmithing, and sharing good food with great friends. He and Rebecca have been blessed with 4 children: 2 sons and 2 daughters.
Rhonda Vande Burgt
Biblical Counsellor
Rhonda grew up in sunny Southern Alberta with a thirst for learning and a wandering foot. Her adventures led her to Edmonton to complete a Bachelor of Child & Youth Care, then on to Philadelphia’s Westminster Theological Seminary to complete her Master of Counselling. After graduating from Westminster, she completed an internship at the Christian Counseling & Education Foundation (CCEF) before moving to Southern Ontario to work as a counsellor for Elisha House. She currently lives in Southern Manitoba with her husband. She works online as a contract counsellor at Insight Biblical Counselling two days a week. She is a practiced bookworm, finds refreshment on any activity outdoors (especially when it involves flowers!), and enjoys adding to her long to-do list of creative projects.
Scott Knoechel
Biblical Counsellor
Scott would say he would love to tell you all the wonderful things about himself, concluding that the only thing that makes any difference is that God has chosen him to be His. He knows that just a look internally reveals that life is a foolish adventure without knowing Christ (Philippians 3:7-9)- the rest is of little consequence. Scott’s first degree was in auto mechanics (which is why he is now a counsellor). He and his family came from the Chicagoland area to Welland in 2017 and are glad to be in Canada. He enjoys trying to play the cello and dabble in film photography. Scott loves to share the experiences of how Christ has and continues to heal and transform him in this frustrating world.
Lynn Murray
Biblical Counsellor
Lynn has lived in Niagara since her teens. She became a Christian in her mid thirties. Since then she has been all about learning. After attending a two-year Bible School course she went to McMaster U for an Addiction Careworker Diploma before obtaining a BA in Sociology at the same University. Lynn continued her thirst for learning by taking CCEF courses online and attending many conferences. In her downtime Lynn loves game nights, practical jokes, concerts and anything that involves being outside.
Andrea Kampen
Biblical Counsellor
Andrea grew up and lives in the Burlington area. She is a mom of 4, nana of 2 and life-long student of God’s Word. Her heart’s desire is to share her love for her Lord and His Word with others in both formal and informal settings in her home, the church and community. Andrea has served in various ministries, leading women and children in her local church, in Bible Study Fellowship International and with Women of Worth Conferences. She currently leads “Flourish,” a women’s ministry resource network. Andrea has studied Biblical Exposition with Charles Simeon Trust and has recently completed a Masters Degree in Biblical Counselling from Westminster Seminary. She loves coffee, reading, puzzling, swimming in northern Ontario lakes, watching live theatre and holding babies.
Karina Wierenga
Biblical Counsellor
Karina graduated from Dordt University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and a minor in Business. She is currently working towards completing her Master of Arts in Biblical Counselling at Westminster Theological Seminary. Karina is married to her husband Brian; together they have been blessed with 5 children- 3 boys and 2 girls. She is passionate about children and families, serves as a women’s bible study leader in her church and loves to play piano. Karina enjoys spending quality time with her family and friends; biking, hiking, listening to music, playing games and, of course, eating ice cream.
Allison Marr
Biblical Counsellor
After completing high school Allison was unsure of what to do with her life, but her deep love of talking with and listening to people as well as her passion for her local church lead her to get involved with volunteer work at her church-anything from helping in the nursery on a Sunday morning, to leading a Life group, leading Bible studies, and serving on a church board. During that time, she heard about CCEF and worked on completing the three counselling certificate programs offered there. She is known to say that CCEF changed her life and her faith. Allison started to work as a biblical counsellor at Elisha House in 2016, counselling individuals, families and leading groups, before joining the team at Insight in 2023. Since then, she and her husband have been wondrously blessed with three children. Allison still enjoys being involved at her church as much as her time and energy allows. She enjoys deep and meaningful conversations with people, the occasional competitive sport, and getting lost in a good book or Netflix series.
Gail DeGiovanni
Biblical Counselling Group Coordinator
Gail is a West Coast girl, growing up in the Fraser Valley of BC. After graduating from Simon Fraser University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and minors in English and Elementary Education, she taught elementary school for thirteen years. When her husband, John, took a pastoral call in Ontario, they moved here with their 4 lovely daughters. Gail then worked on completing her counselling certificates through CCEF’s Distance Education program. She leads a How People Change small group in her church and has a heart for women, marriages and families. At Insight she is the Biblical Counselling Group Coordinator and group facilitator. Gail enjoys travelling, and in her spare time she loves spending quality time with her husband and kids and offering decorating tips to family and friends.
Valerie Hildebrand
Administrative Assistant
Valerie has worked in some form of administration for many years. Starting in a bustling accounting firm downtown Toronto, to volunteering three years in Human Resources in Akron PA and then almost 20 years for another accounting firm in St. Catharines. Acquiring many skills and experiences that has brought her to where she is today at Insight Biblical Counselling. She loves to respond to a high volume of incoming client calls/emails and oversees the reception area, greeting clients as they come in. Valerie has served with Elisha House and now Insight for 9 years. She resides in the Niagara area and enjoys travelling and spending time with her family and friends.
We are a non-profit.
As such, donations are accepted and appreciated. We have several business and individuals that regularly support us, enabling us to do our work.
If you have any questions, please contact us.
Insight
Internships
Available to college, university, and seminary students
If you feel that you have a calling and a heart for counselling, we would love to share with you how we work. An internship with us is a great way to experience what it means to walk alongside someone in need of help.
Biblical
Counselling Training
Pursue biblical counselling training online
The world is in need of the wisdom found in the Bible. Sharing it with those who need it most is our passion. If you share this passion we encourage you to think about taking our Biblical Online Training.
We are Always Looking for Good People
If you are interested in working with us and sharing God’s hope, please fill out the form below and we’ll get back to you shortly with more information.