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Sozo Centre for Soul Care

The Sozo Centre focuses on four dimensions of spiritual formation and soul care: raising awareness for churches and pastors, creating community, equipping and experiencing, and engaging in soul care.

What is “Sozo”?
Watch an introduction to the Sozo Centre
Rev. Dr. Cheryl Ann Beals

Rev. Dr. Cheryl Ann Beals

Director of the Sozo Centre for Soul Care and NL Connector

Sozo Pathways

Sozo has different options to guide you wherever you are

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FreshStart

For Pastors New to Sozo

FreshStart is an encouraging spiritual community for pastors, offering support for them to be proactive about their own soul care. It offers tools for coping with the stressors of ministry and our new normal of complexity. It is a community of 6-12 pastors and a place where pastors can be themselves and experience support and encouragement. Participants can choose from three levels of annual membership

Info Page

Registration deadline:
October 8, 2025

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cover of the book Sozo Journey

Sozo Journey

Pathways to Healing and Transformation

Sozo Journey: Ministry in a Traumatized World is a formation and equipping process for CBAC Pastors and Leaders. The Sozo Journey is online spiritual community. It involves spiritual practices, including Spiritual Direction and retreats, experiential learning, reading and reflecting, and provides tools to support you in your own healing and transformation, and becoming an instrument of God’s healing and transformation for others, including your church.

Info Page

Registration deadline:
September 2, 2025

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cover of the book Sozo Alumini for those who have completed the residence of Sozo journey

Sozo Alumni

For those who have completed the Resilience or Sozo Journey

Sozo Alumni is an ongoing spiritual support for alumni who have finished The Resilience Journey or the Sozo Journey, or both. It’s a community of 6-12 pastors; a place to stay connected with Sozo friends and find encouragement to cope with the complex demands of ministry. But more importantly,  it’s a place to find support for one’s ongoing spiritual formation and spiritual practices.

Info Page

Registration deadline:
October 1, 2025

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cover of the book Fresh Encounter

Fresh Encounter

For Ministry Spouses of Active CBAC Pastoral Leaders

FreshEncounter is an encouraging soul care community, offering opportunities for encountering God individually and in spiritual community. It is based on a September to June membership and has capacity for up to 15 members.

Info Page

Registration deadline:
September 3, 2025

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Sozo (Verb): To Save, Heal, and Deliver

The New Testament word for “Saved” is the Greek word “Sozo” which means “to save, heal, and deliver.” When you combine sozo with sōtēria, the Greek word for Salvation, you get the complete meaning. To be “saved” means to be saved, healed, delivered, preserved, protected, to make prosperous, and to make whole. The word “whole” means to restore, or that nothing is missing and nothing is broken.” (Source)

“I have come that you may have life, and have it more abundantly.” — Jesus (John 10:10)

    Watch “Word of the Day – SOZO” by Rod Ovitt

    Four dimensions of Soul Care

    Raising awareness for churches and pastors

    We need to become aware of our traumatized reality and our needs, so that we can honestly face them. We need to become aware of Sozo, a salvation that includes healing and wellness in the here and now, not just at the moment that we begin to follow Jesus.

    Equipping and experiencing

    Transformation is not just about absorbing information. We need to create sacred spaces where we can be open to God and His transforming power.

    Creating community

    The Holy Spirit uses relationships and community to transform us. Put simply, we need one another. Our aim is to create opportunities for transformation in community.

    Engaging in soul care

    We need to choose integrated life-rhythms that help us care for our souls and the souls of others. We aim to instil a higher value on making space to be with God and allow Him to work on us.