19Jul 2010 by Nigel Ring

Ministry Report 5 – Crisis Pregnancy and Post Abortion

Christian ministry, Good Practice, Health, Ministry Report, Poor
From time to time it is my pleasure to use my blog to draw people's attention to ministries which I consider demonstrate 'Good Practice' among those who are in some way disadvantaged. This report has been written by the team leaders of Alternatives Pregnancy Counselling Centre in Brighton, UK. This ministry demonstrates great love, compassion and excellence. Called to Care Sarah Pooley and Claire Godley Often when we think of caring for the poor, practical ministries to people living in poverty in places like Africa and Asia come to mind. It’s easy to forget that there are people who are ‘poor in spirit’ and struggling with huge emotional issues in every street in the UK. One such group are women facing an unplanned pregnancy. In 2009 women living in England and…
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17Jun 2010 by Nigel Ring

Country report – Kenya pt 2. The forgotten tribes

Christian ministry, Cross-culture, Kenya, News, Poor, Relief and Development
Manyangalo In 1924 people from 8 tribes were brought together in the centre of a 160,000 acre (250 sq miles) game reserve. They had been brought there to care for the area and tend the animals. Over the next 80 years the land changed ownership several times, the most recent being in 2004. The new owner no longer wanted these people (now numbering several thousand) on his land and began to take steps to remove them. But they had no other home - several generations had been born and raised there! Lawyer saved At about this time Martin Mithega, a senior lawyer in Meru, became a Christian in Edward Buria’s church. Having previously had no time for the poor (as they could not pay substantial fees) he now felt he…
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19Apr 2010 by Nigel Ring

Effective Meetings pt 1 – Overview

Administration in the Church, Administrative Skills, Biblical Administration, Christian ministry, Equipping, Meetings
The future of Time Management I still have one more Time Management posting to make about PDAs but am not yet ready to do so. In the meantime I want to begin a new series on meetings. I hope you will find it helpful. Meetings in abundance Do you ever feel that the Lord got it wrong?! When he says he came to give life in abundance do you sometimes feel that he must have meant meetings in abundance? We all seem to attend so many! I am sure that many in leadership feel that their lives consist of attending meetings. I don’t mean worship meetings, but planning and strategy meetings, finance and administrative meetings etc. It is obviously vital that such meetings take place in order for your church…
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25Mar 2010 by Nigel Ring

Time Management pt 12 – Progressing the Do it list 2

Administration in the Church, Christian ministry, Equipping, Good Practice, Planning, Time Management
The symbols we use to monitor progress are During the planning process: * Urgent [J] Delegate (e.g. to Jan) ( ) Reference For Monitoring progress: ^ In Process / Completed > Transferred x Dropped Symbols used in the planning/prioritising process In the last post we saw that * highlights urgency. This is used at the time of planning the day’s priorities, as is the delegation symbol [J], where the initial refers to the person to whom the activity will be delegated, in this case my excellent and efficient secretary, Jan. How does this operate? If, while planning, I find an item on my Do it list that can be delegated, particularly if this allows it to be done sooner than if I undertook it myself, I will bracket the initial of the person concerned. The priority still…
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16Mar 2010 by Nigel Ring

Zimbabwe – Meet Brian Oldreive

Agriculture, Christian ministry, Good Practice, News, One to One interviews, Poor, Zimbabwe
About 30 years ago Brian Oldreive, a former Zimbabwean test cricketer, was farming tobacco when he and his wife Cath became Christians. He is now well-known for being the visionary behind Foundations for Farming, formerly Farming God’s Way. In this interview you get to meet him and to learn something of his background, and why he changed from tobacco to food. You will also sense his passion to see the Kingdom of God advance in Zimbabwe and the whole of Africa, and his great heart for the Poor.   One to one with Brian Oldreive from Newfrontiers on Vimeo. If this video has inspired you and you wish to become involved in Operation Trumpet Call there is a day of prayer for Zimbabwe on September 26th. More details will become…
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12Mar 2010 by Nigel Ring

Time Management pt 11 – Progressing the Do it list 1

Administrative Skills, Christian ministry, Equipping, Good Practice, Planning, Time Management
Now that we have dealt with prioritising and have the Organiser organised it is time to bring practical application to your Do it list. When you write the list leave two imaginary columns on the left side – in other words indent the items. In the column nearest the list you write the priorities, A1 etc. So a list may look like this: |  |  |Phone John Smith 019234 567890 |  |  |Plan the Conference meeting agenda |  |  |Complete ministry proposal for the elders’ meeting |  |  |Brief staff about holiday arrangements |  |  |Report back to staff on trustees meeting |  |  |Monitor progress with Sally about Easter outreach |  |  |Ask Mike to set up meeting with local press officer Note the ‘2 columns’ of space beside…
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