Lost Sparrows Trauma Conference

In 2021, Lost Sparrows hosted our first annual conference on developmental trauma. Two hundred and fifty people sat through a long, but encouraging and informative day of speakers addressing various issues surrounding trauma. We felt like it was a great start, but we could do better. So we are excited to share that we are hosting our second annual Trauma Conference this October 14-15 in Winona Lake, Indiana.

Lost Sparrows Trauma Conference is for anyone wanting to learn more about developmental trauma and the impact of early childhood adversity. We hope you will join us as we learn from leading experts more about the human experience, the impact of traumatic experiences, and how to better help those in pain.

Education

Our focus on trauma education is twofold. First, we want to empower those with trauma to recover and to understand the impact their trauma has had on them. Second, we want to equip everyone with the knowledge and tools to help others that are hurting. All of us endure hardship and adversity on some level, and the more we understand its impact, the better we all will be.

Connection

A sense of interconnectedness and belonging are vital to the resilience of any person, family or community. We want our attendees to connect with each other in a meaningful way. We believe we’re all stronger when we are not isolated, but connected and sharing the experience of life together.

Community

It seems our world today continues to bring new challenges, and the impact of broken relationships and childhood adversity are felt by all of us. As Bryan Post said in his opening session at the 2022 conference, “We are all interconnected, and your pain is my pain, and my pain is your pain.” That is why we chose the theme Lean On Me. We all need someone to lean on at some point. Our conference will allow us all to connect with each other, and learn how we can better support each other.

Keynote Speakers

Dr. Adam Sáenz

Psychologist, author, trainer

Tori Hope Petersen

Bestselling author, child welfare advocate

Stacey Gagnon

Foster/adopt parent, educator

See all speakers

The following was shared by one of our conference attendees. We appreciate her sharing her thoughts.

As I’ve studied scripture on parenting and read endless books on biblical parenting, I could not for the life of me figure out why I couldn’t measure up. Why this task seemed EXTRAORDINARILY difficult until I stumbled across Lost Sparrows… I remember standing at the conference frozen and staring off into space thinking “You got to be kidding me,” ALL this time this is what is going on? Trauma??? I rarely thought of the word trauma before and certainly didn’t really apply it to myself or my children. Since the conference I have deep dived into trauma, shame, the way the brain is affected by trauma, and my son and I are in the midst of trauma counseling (EMDR) because I believed everything I heard at this conference, and it has been life changing (to say the least). I have been able to break free from sin that had been so confusing for me for YEARS. I am eternally grateful for Stacey Gagnon and the life work she does! Seriously! I encourage ANYONE that has childhood trauma to attend. Seriously! I especially encourage anyone who works with people in a church, school, or other vulnerable place to attend. Be curious, be open minded. Not everyone grew up in safety and nurturing situations like you. God’s word is sufficient, but He uses beautiful, wonderful tools to help us break through hard things in this world.

Amy - 2022 Trauma Conference Attendee

What other attendees had to say...

Thank you so much! I loved the focus on the caregivers/adults being aware of what their "stuff" is so that we can be prepared to help regulate and hold space when kiddos are struggling.

We really enjoyed the format of this. You kept us involved. Very good information that was passed on. We feel more confident and made some contacts.

Amazing speakers, genuinely good information, and well organized. I am ready for the next one and will be bringing others with me. Thank you for all of the hard work!