Things to consider before booking a speaker

Below is a list of things to consider when making a booking request, and then please complete our online form.

Please note our focus is on the mental health of Christian leaders, and so these are the kinds of events we prioritise.

• We no longer offer general talks for your church on the topic of mental health, there are other good Christian organisations that can provide this.
• If we can't speak at your event or if your event is not for leaders, we have prepared a number of resources to help you put on your own event. Please do consider this - it's not as hard as it might seem.
• You can see previously recorded training or other organisations we recommend on our training page. 

What is my event about?

The directors generally undertake speaking engagements that directly address the issues of the emotional or mental health of Christian leaders, although some also preach or speak more widely on related topics. When they do speak in secular contexts, it is only on the understanding that they are not restricted from making reference to their Christian faith if they deem it appropriate to do so. The directors also prefer to speak into settings where there is a clear plan for follow up after the event, and for continuity of good practice regarding mental health and wellbeing.

How many people will the event connect with?

Due to the substantial pressure on their diaries and their own professional commitments, the directors aim to speak at events which have a significant impact beyond the event itself. Whilst no event will ever be dismissed on the basis of size, it is important to consider what the reach or impact of the gathering will be. For example directors can rarely undertake invitations to single churches, but would address a churches together group/network, or regional invitational events.

What costs are involved?

We understand that the financial situation of different organisations varies - as do the arrangements for events. We would never wish financial constraints to determine what we could or could not support, but as a guideline we'd generally ask that speakers are offered an honoraria/gift of around £175 for a talk of around one hour to cover their time and preparation. This may need to be adjusted if an event involves significant travel, and does not include travel/accommodation costs should they be incurred.

We'd also ask you to continue to consider this as a guideline for online events: the time and work involved in speaking online is considerable and we think this is a fair value of what our team will put into your event. 

It is usually our hope that a donation or collection might be undertaken in support of  The Mind and Soul Foundation payable after the event has taken place. We recognise that not having people present in person makes this more difficult but if you are able to ask people to consider donating to us we would appreciate it. They can do this via our website.

What about books?

All of the directors are authors and have a number of relevant books available to buy. Should you wish to facilitate the sale of relevant books, in most instances this is best managed either by a church bookshop or in conjunction with a local Christian retailer. If this facility is not available, books can be ordered directly from our publishers or a request made that the speaker bring a number of books along with them. If this is the case, the event will need to provide a person to manage these sales during the event.

What about other Resources?

We provide a number of free resources, podcasts, films and articles on this website that your delegates can be directed towards, and our social media platforms via @mindandsouluk. It would be appreciated if the event host is able to point atendees towards these.

What about publicity?

The event host will be responsible for the creation of event publicity. However, if this an event where one of our directors is the main speaker, the relevant director would gladly be involved in the process. This ensures that the talk title, logos and any biography lines accurately reflect the director’s brief of the event and professional experience, so we would appreicate open communication on these topics. We are usually happy to publish event flyers/links across our social media streams if the event host requests us to do so.

What about event recording and media created at the event?

We are happy for the event hosts to publish the talk recordings after the event, unless they have specifically requested that this not be the case. We would ask that if a recording is made, it be made available to us in MP3/MP4 based format for hosting on our online platform. Social media is welcomed within events and we would appreicate you tagging posts with the relevant handle, usually @mindandsouluk.