April 2012 – Feeding 5,000 is no picnic…

30Apr 2012 by Nigel Ring

Fulfilling your destiny pt 2. Calling

Last time I urged you to look ahead trying to anticipate where you would be and what you would have achieved in 5 or 10 years, or by the end of your life. If your responses were in obedience to God they represent His call on your life. So now we need to consider: What is a ‘calling'? Calling There are 3 categories: 1. Primary calling (common to all believers) • To live the way of Jesus, to be like him. • To use your God-given talents and gifts. How do you know what these God-given talents and gifts are? You can consider them under 3 headings: a) Natural talents - From birth or acquired through training b) Spiritual Gifts - anointed by the Holy Spirit eg. - ‘Spiritual': Prophecy,…

23Apr 2012 by Nigel Ring

Fulfilling your destiny pt 1. Where are you going?

Destiny, Equipping

Your target What do you expect to achieve in the next 5 years? 10 years? By the end of your life? Recently I was asked to speak to a group of post-graduate students in our church on the subject of 'What next?' and I started with these questions. There are over 50 nations represented at CCK and many have come here to study at one of the universities in the city of Brighton and Hove. For them the question 'What next?' is very real. This material comes out of a very interactive session. To be effective and helpful it requires serious consideration, and the self-discipline to carry out the exercises. It may be relevant for you or your friends, or for others in your church, particularly students in the same…

16Apr 2012 by Nigel Ring

Good Practice in Education – pt 2

Education, Equipping, Good Practice, Poor, South Africa

In part 1 of this report about the multi-cultural Dihlabeng School, situated near the border between South Africa and Lesotho, Margaret Grant, the Founder, Visionary and Principle, shared about the History and Vision. Now she shows how effective the school is at fulfilling this vision, how she has obtained funding and some of the lessons learned from her experiences. This report, taken from my book ‘The Poor deserve the Best' (see side panel), is one of thirteen I included with the intention of being a practical help to others who may be considering starting similar ministries. What is the fruit of the ministry? The school has been in existence for ten years and so there have been a fair number of learners who have passed through the school and gone…

10Apr 2012 by Nigel Ring

Good Practice in Education – pt 1

Education, Equipping, Good Practice, Poor, South Africa

Examples of Good Practice In the last section in my book The Poor deserve the Best (see side panel) I have included reports from various development ‘sectors' to illustrate good practice and to give key considerations for others who may be considering starting a ministry in the same sector. This and the next posting was included in the Education sector. Margaret Grant, Founder and Principal of Dihlabeng Christian School in the Free State, South Africa, shares from her own experience. The Vision Dihlabeng Christian School was started in January 2000 as a part of Dihlabeng Christian Church's desire to bring hope to the hopeless by working with the materially disadvantaged and those from the poorer part of the community. The school aims to provide children with an excellent primary school…

02Apr 2012 by Nigel Ring

Pioneering

Church Planting, Cross-culture, Mexico, News, Serbia

Recently I had the pleasure of being invited to join a Forum led by Mike Betts which gathered church leaders involved in UK, the European continent, Mexico and Kenya. In each session news was shared from particular locations and my notes hint at some of the interesting, diverse and challenging situations in which people in Newfrontiers churches find themselves. Here are some extracts from my jottings: Mexico Bruce and Denise went to Mexico soon after the beginning of the new millennium. Initially they went to work with the street children in Guadalajara through the Oasis en-Gadi ministry. After 4 years contacting boys on the streets they began church planting in a poor area where the main source of income was brick making. Generally there was very bad health due to…