03Mar 2014 by Nigel Ring

Administrators Conference – reminder

Administration in the Church, Administrative Skills, Biblical Administration, Discover and Serve, Equipping, News
Administration is a key ministry in helping churches achieve their God-given commission. It is often a ministry that is under-valued and 'below the radar'. This one-day workshop seeks to raise the profile of administration by envisioning, equipping and networking. The day will include opportunities for prayer and prophetic input to individuals (see programme below). Although the workshop is primarily for those involved in Church Administration it will also be of benefit to church leaders in understanding how administration can help them to be more effective. It would be of great value for teams to attend together, particularly if they represent both Leadership and Administration. I do urge you to be there (sorry if you are reading this from outside the UK - though you would still be very welcome!). There…
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11Feb 2014 by Nigel Ring

Discover and Serve pt 26. Heart’s Desire – practical outworking

Discover and Serve, Equipping, Serving
Heart's desire in practice As I look at our church I am aware that there are many ministries that have arisen over the years that have started with individual members of the church who have had a ‘heart's desire' to see something happen. These are most conspicuous in ministry with people who are poor or in some way in social need or disadvantage. Unplanned pregnancy One evening more than twenty years ago Sue was sitting at home when she felt God tell her to go to Brighton station. She was someone who had a heart for those who were experiencing unplanned pregnancies. In reluctant obedience she drove to the station. After a short whole she saw a woman carrying a small suitcase leave the station and begin to walk in…
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06Feb 2014 by Nigel Ring

Discover and Serve pt 25. Heart’s Desire – what the Bible says

Discover and Serve, Equipping, Serving
Why do people serve? When people serve they can do so for a variety of reasons. Let's name some: They feel they ought to out of a sense of duty. Nb ‘Ought' is a dangerous word. Analyse why when you are tempted to do something out of ‘ought-ness'. God loves willingness. They want to please the leader or may even feel sorry for him as he has a problem to solve with inadequate resources They want to be recognised in the church There could be many other reasons and the above are all negative. I believe the most authentic one is out of a ‘heart's desire'. Heart's Desire What do I mean by having a heart's desire to serve? As we have already seen God has given each of us…
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23Jan 2014 by Nigel Ring

Calling all Administrators (and others)!

Administration in the Church, Administrative Skills, Equipping
The New Life Church in Milton Keynes is holding an Administration Conference once again this year on March 22nd at the Ridgeway Centre. They have graciously invited me to speak once again. They are wanting to serve the church widely and this is open to churches from any stream or denomination. Last year's conference was very popular and so they want to encourage you to book quickly and have introduced an 'early bird' booking fee with a 40% reduction. A full description and online registration are here.
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21Jan 2014 by Nigel Ring

Education in Ghana – New Nation School

Education, Equipping, Ghana, News, Poor
Recently I had the joy of visiting my old friends John and Alex Kpikpi in Ghana. John brings apostolic oversight to Newfrontiers churches in seven nations in West Africa, most of which he has planted. As well as giving some training in various administration matters to the church and school staffs, and some one-to-one mentoring, I offered to make a new video of their school to replace the one I made in 2008. New Nation School was founded over ten years ago and now numbers over 500 students from 3-18 years. The children are trained in an atmosphere of unconditional love and reach high standards. In the recent International GCSE exams they attained an amazing 99% pass rate including the top mark in the whole of Ghana for mathematics. In…
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16Jan 2014 by Nigel Ring

Discover and Serve pt 24. Calling pt 2

Discover and Serve, Equipping, Serving
When faced with a dilemma that challenged his pre-determined plan, Jesus used his calling as a guideline to weigh whether a change of plan would be a distraction from or a contribution to fulfilling the main flow of his calling. How does this apply to us? Over the past few months we have been gradually building a serving profile to help people identify those aspects of their lives and personality which they can harness to serve in the church. Leaders should be very committed to getting all their church members into an effective place of service; this is what all are called to do - bear fruit (Jn 15:16). But in addition to this general call, which applies to all believers, some have a very specific call. Specific calling A…
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