24Jun 2019 by Nigel Ring

Where Mercy and Justice meet

Poor
A day with Jubilee+ I always find it tremendously refreshing and envisioning to spend a day annually with the Jubilee+ core team, and this year was no exception. They gather annually for three days of prayer and strategising, and invite different people to join them for one of the days both to communicate progress and to share in prayer with them to seek God’s mind for the coming year. This year I was one of a group of about 30 who gathered on Day 1, all of us from across the seven Newfrontiers apostolic spheres in the UK. A changing environment We began by recognising that the environment in which we are seeking to help churches in their engagement with the needs of those in poverty in the UK has…
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05Jun 2019 by Nigel Ring

Embracing difference – Pathways Care Farm. Pt 1 – Being there for the one…

Poor
I have known Geoff, a member of a church in Relational Mission, for many years and have always recognised that he has a huge heart for those who are poor or in need. I have watched with great interest as he has acquired and developed what is now called the Pathways Care Farm in East Anglia, UK. Two years ago I had the real joy and privilege of visiting as subsequently reported on this blog. I believe he and his team have set a model for helping people that others could emulate and it is for that reason that I asked him to write for my blog. There for the one Jesus was always ‘there for the one’. So are we! But let me first give you some background. Having been…
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10Apr 2019 by Nigel Ring

Hope at Home: A Church Response to Modern Slavery

Poor
On two occasions I have been involved in Christian ministries which have sought to help women who have been trafficked into prostitution. Accordingly I am pleased to use my blog, written by the visionary founders, to publicise a ministry which helps provide homes with a family to those who have been enslaved in some way as they get back onto the road to independent living. This is also a request for more people to open their doors to help. What is Hope at Home? Hope at Home is a hosting scheme for survivors of modern slavery in the UK.  We train and support Christians to welcome a survivor into their homes for an agreed time period. The size of the problem It’s estimated that there are 136,000 people in slavery in…
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03Apr 2019 by Nigel Ring

Conference – Empowering the Church to Empower the Poor

Equipping, Poor
I strongly commend this conference to you which is organised by Pathways from Poverty, an initiative of the Relational Mission apostolic sphere of Newfrontiers led by Mike Betts in the UK. Its purpose is to encourage and equip everyone to be part of a church that welcomes the poor and sees lives transformed, as people are empowered to walk on pathways out of poverty. The Need In the UK and across continental Europe, the church is finding itself coming face to face with an ever-growing tide of needs within its local community. From food and fuel poverty, to loneliness, isolation and relationship breakdown, and from debt, to housing insecurity, long term unemployment and addictions. These issues are robbing people of hope for the future, damaging the mental health and well…
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12Mar 2019 by Nigel Ring

Social Enterprise 6 – Reinvesting resources through Social Enterprises

Poor, Uncategorized
Nick Priggis concludes this series by considering how to reinvest the profits from social enterprises. Reinvesting Profit Some of the most interesting and innovative historical enterprises that Christians have been involved with have come from the Quakers. Due to their non-conformity Quakers were prohibited from much public life and service, save for the business world. Much of their creativity and faith was therefore focused on growing businesses with Christian integrity and ethics through peer-reviewing business proposals and, where needed, lending money to invest in those businesses. The tremendous social impact of Quakers such as Cadbury and Rowntree is well documented and provides an historic model for Christian Entrepreneurs today. What is less well-known is the story of the Moravians and Basel Mission Society. Both these historic missionary movements intentionally invested in…
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07Mar 2019 by Nigel Ring

Social Enterprise 5 – Raising resources through Social Enterprises

Poor
Nick Priggis continues his series on Social Enterprises by looking at funding. One of the key components of a successful Social Enterprise is, to my mind, to release resources through profitability. In order to become profitable businesses often require a considerable amount of investment. How a Social Enterprise develops its financial strategy will also affect its sustainability and its ability to reinvest its profits. A Strategic Financial Plan An interesting aspect of a Social Enterprise is that it has social transformation at its heart. Whatever the legal set up for your Social Enterprise, you will be able to access grant-funding if you can demonstrate the public and charitable benefit. This type of funding provides Social Enterprises with a very low risk form of investment. However, it also depends on the…
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