What is Family Matters?
Every family carries stories: some filled with strength and laughter, others marked by pain and loss. Many Indigenous families long to rebuild what’s been broken and create homes filled with safety, unconditional love, and purpose.
Family Matters is a six-session workshop created by a team of Indigenous leaders for Indigenous families, to bring hope, healing and practical tools for everyday life. Through honest stories, shared wisdom, and faith-filled teaching, Indigenous couples share how to build stronger relationships, heal from the past and pass on strength to the next generation.
Centred around the core concepts of creating homes where everyone knows they are safe, loved no matter what, called and capable, and responsible for their actions, Family Matters offers a powerful framework for building lasting strength in Indigenous homes and communities.
(Special thanks to Connected Families for allowing us to adapt these core concepts for this workshop.)
After testing the workshop with live presenters, we recorded all six Family Matters sessions with a film crew in April 2025. The videos are now ready, and we’re thrilled to make this freely accessible to First Nations communities from coast to coast.
You no longer need a live presenter to teach this workshop. All you need is a facilitator to gather people in a home, a community space or church classroom and run the workshop using the videos, the Facilitator’s Guide and the Workbooks.
How to Get Free Access
For free access to the video series and Facilitator’s Guide, please contact Rennier Hernandez, Intercultural Ministry Director, at Indigenous@familylifecanada.com.
We’ll soon be printing a new batch of workbooks available for a small fee. In the meantime, partners can receive access to a printable PDF version.
Our heart is for Family Matters to spread to every First Nation in Canada, bringing help, hope and healing to Indigenous families everywhere.
Session Summaries
Blending biblical truth with cultural sensitivity and storytelling, these six sessions are taught by Gord and Bev Mills and Mark and Ruth Anne Dana, respected leaders who bring wisdom, authenticity and hope for healing in families.
Each session includes real stories, practical insights and encouragement for parents and caregivers who want to build homes of safety, love, purpose and accountability.
Session 1 – A Vision for My Family
Every family has dreams of what home could be. This session invites participants to imagine that vision, name the struggles that stand in the way, and make a commitment to fight for what truly matters: their family and the generations to come.
Session 2 – A Safe Family
What does it mean to create a home where everyone feels safe, physically, emotionally and spiritually? This session helps families build trust, improve communication and take steps toward making their home a place of refuge and belonging for every member.
Session 3 – Loved No Matter What
Love is more than words. It’s how we show up for each other every day. In this session, families explore what love looks like, learn practical ways to express it, and discover how to make sure every person in the home knows they are loved no matter what.
Session 4 – Called and Capable
Each person in the family has been created with purpose and gifted with unique strengths. This session helps families recognise and affirm those gifts, overcome old lies or wounds, and learn how to call out and encourage one another’s God-given potential.
Session 5 – Responsible
Taking responsibility is key to healthy family life. This session explores what it means to own our words and actions, make things right when we’ve done wrong, and teach responsibility in ways that lead to maturity, respect and restored relationships.
Session 6 – The Centre of Our Family
At the heart of Family Matters is the truth that lasting healing and strength come when Jesus is at the centre. This final session introduces who Jesus is, how He understands our struggles, and what it means to invite Him into the centre of our homes and families.
Get Free Access Today
We’d love to help you bring Family Matters to your community. Reach out to Rennier Hernandez, our Intercultural Ministry Director, to learn more about accessing the free video series and Facilitator’s Guide at Indigenous@familylifecanada.com.
Meet the Presenters
Gord & Bev Mills
Gord and Bev Mills reside in Sudbury, Ontario. They celebrated 40 years of marriage on July 3, 2022 and are the proud parents of two children and three fabulous grandchildren. Gord is originally from Moose Factory, Ontario, and is a member of the Moose Cree First Nation and has been a Christian since 1978. He has always been involved in many communities and churches. Bev joined Gord in retirement in March 2022 and their lives have been filled with family activities, travel, and speaking at various churches and conferences in Canada and abroad.
Mark & Ruth Anne Dana
Mark is a member of Penobscot First Nation. He grew up in Maine, the oldest of four children, enjoying extended family, the outdoors and sports but by his teen years things changed.
“The things of the world and friends meant more than family,” recalls Mark. He moved to New York City for Art school and found himself “lost in a philosophical maze, searching for real meaning in life.” Through an uncle and a search through the Scriptures Mark discovered Jesus was the missing piece.
Mark and Ruth Anna met while serving with NCEM in 1981 and were married not long afterwards. Since then, they’ve served with NCEM in both Quebec and New Brunswick. Mark also serves as a prison Chaplain. They love to share their faith and have a desire to offer help and hope to First Nation Families throughout Atlantic Canada.