16Mar 2016 by Nigel Ring

Pursuing Excellence in Ministry with the Poor – Pt 3. The Process

Administration in the Church, Equipping, Evaluation, Good Practice, Poor
Having outlined the philosophy of ‘pursuing excellence’ we shall now look at the process of carrying out a Ministry Health Check with a ministry team. 1. How long does it take? Two days, or the equivalent, are needed for the process to be carried out. This may seem a lot of time but to lessen it loses much of the benefit. 2. Initial discussion and information gathering On day 1 I work with the ministry team and facilitate discussions based on statements that are graded individually by each participant according to the extent to which they feel that statement applies to the ministry from their perspective. These statements relate to vision, team support, handling of finances, relationship with the church, and so on. There is always a range of responses. This…
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08Mar 2016 by Nigel Ring

Pursuing Excellence in Ministry with the Poor – Pt 2. Some examples

Administration in the Church, Equipping, Evaluation, Good Practice, Poor
Last time I proposed that a church's ministry with the poor should be excellent. Let me now share some ministries in which I have helped develop Action Plans for further improvement of what were already good ministries. School In Guinea, in West Africa, I helped evaluate a church-based school with which I have worked for many years. Originating out of the Sierra Leonean civil war of the ‘90s and into the new millennium, when many fled over the border to neighbouring Guinea. The school was started out of the church which was planted in the capital, Conakry, to serve the refugees. There are now well over 300 children attending ranging in age form 3-26. Many of the older ones have missed so much school due to civil and political unrest that…
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02Mar 2016 by Nigel Ring

Pursuing Excellence in Ministry with the Poor – Pt 1. Setting the scene

Administration in the Church, Equipping, Evaluation, Good Practice, Poor
In the coming weeks I will share how I believe churches can carry out excellent ministries with the poor. I believe that is on God's heart. It is good At creation we repeatedly read that God looked on all that he had made and declared it to be good (Gen 1:4, 10, 12 etc). Sadly, when the world looks at the church today it expects to find irrelevance or second-rate performance. The media often ridicule the church and Christians. That should not be! On my business card I have as a tag line ‘Pursuing Excellence’. If we are to be witnesses to Him and all that He has done we should expect the world to look at us and all that we do, and be impressed – not by us but by…
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06Jan 2016 by Nigel Ring

Millennium Development Goals – success or failure?

Development, Poor
Look back, look forward 2015 has ended and with it the final date has passed for the Millennium Development Goals to be achieved. How successful have been the efforts to tackle them? Recently I read a helpful article by Chris Hoy on the Overseas Development Institute’s website which gives some indication of areas of success and failure. This is far from the full story but at least gives some indication. The article is brief but for those of us who have been involved working with churches in some of the relevant areas of the world it is both encouraging and sobering to see what has happened.  There is also a helpful short video from the United Nations Development Programme. What were the MDGs?  In 2000, at a UN Summit, the goals were defined with…
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10Dec 2015 by Nigel Ring

Book: Africa – Altered states, ordinary miracles

Africa, Books, Equipping, Poor
Here is a book to request as a Christmas present! It would be naïve to think of ‘African culture’ as homogeneous. Nevertheless, in this substantial book (600+ pages) Richard Dowden, former Africa editor for the Economist, draws from three decades of personal experience to examine several cultural issues which are manifest in many African countries in a way that I found enlightening. He then considers specifics related to fourteen nations from different parts of the continent. Maps To remind the reader of the size of Africa the first few pages show diagrams with substantial nations – The United States of America, China, India – superimposed on the outline of Africa. Each seems relatively small compared to Africa and these serve as a reminder of the danger of over simplification when trying…
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23Oct 2015 by Nigel Ring

Churches that Change Communities

Jubilee+, News, Poor
It was so stimulating to gather with over 250 passionate and like-minded people for the annual Jubilee+ conference! The opportunity to learn about how to be more effective in ministry with those who are poor and disadvantaged, to receive fresh vision, to network with others and to pray together, was an event I was determined not to miss. And my expectations were not disappointed. Jubilee+ Jubilee+ is an initiative that began within the Newfrontiers family of churches several years ago with a vision ‘To increase social inclusion and the relief of poverty through churches engaging with social action, social justice and social enterprise’. This is achieved through ‘equipping churches of all denominations to engage more effectively with our communities and, particularly, to help them increase their capacity to serve the…
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