Leading a church to minister with the Poor pt 2. Identifying and supporting a ministry

Equipping, Poor, The church, Together on a Mission
Last time we looked at some adjustments that may be indicated to help a church become more accessible to those who are not familiar with church and who may even be social outcasts. Now we shall consider how a church decides what ministry to carry out to help those who are poor or in need. How should it be identified - by need? In part 2 of these four interviews Andy Cottingham gives some guidance on how to define a ministry, how to base the leadership of that ministry on the passion of individuals and how to mobilise church members to serve. Andy also talks about what the 'good news' is for an individual who faces great deprivation or need, before speaking about how the elders might bring oversight to such ministries, stressing…
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Terry Virgo reflects on the Newfrontiers transition

Newfrontiers, News, Terry Virgo, Together on a Mission
The start of it all In 1980 Terry Virgo was urged by a friend, Bryn Jones, speaker at our second Downs Bible Week, to draw together a team of men around him. Terry was beginning to travel widely within the UK from his base on the south coast, Seaford, and needed others to share the load and complement his ministry.     A team is formed [caption id="attachment_5249" align="alignleft" width="260"] L to R: David Holden, Richard Haydon Knowell, Henry Tyler, Ray Lowe, Alan Vincent, Terry Virgo, Nigel Ring[/caption] In September that year a team of seven met for the first time. A name was required; ‘Coastlands’ was agreed. The prophet Isaiah uses ‘coastlands’ to denote the ends of the earth, a reflection of our heart to fulfil the Great Commission. But,…
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The joy of Serving

Administration in the Church, Christian ministry, Conference Administration, Equipping, Together on a Mission, Together on a Mission
A serving spirit I love being with people who have a serving spirit! Last week we had a great 'away day' with the team who were the ‘behind the scenes' people at TOAM. The purpose was to say ‘thank you' to them and to mark the end of over three decades of running major events for the Newfrontiers family. These began in 1979 with the Downs Bible Weeks (there is a video on this link). They were followed in 1991 with the Stoneleigh Bible Weeks and finally the TOAM conferences which began in 1990 though, in their present form as an annual conference with two streams, Leaders and Mobilise, they have taken place since 2002. We had with us some from Endis, the team who have served us with the…
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Apostolic Administration Forum

Administrative Skills, Biblical Administration, Conference Administration, Cross-culture, Equipping, Finance, International, Newfrontiers, News, Planning, Time Management, Together on a Mission
We are approaching a major transition in the family of churches we call Newfrontiers. As we continue to grow God has shown us that we need to become a network of apostolic spheres (as in the New Testament) rather than be centred predominantly on one person, Terry Virgo, the father of Newfrontiers. In February God spoke to me that I should gather some of those who will be helping administrate these spheres in a practical way, supporting those with apostolic gifting. And so it was my joy to gather nearly 20 men and women for three days at a Forum during the week preceding the Newfrontiers Together on a Mission Conference in Brighton, which begins today, July 12th. Cross cultural exchange The atmosphere of the Forum was ‘everyone a teacher everyone…
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Conference Administration – Debrief

Administrative Skills, Conference Administration, Equipping, News, Together on a Mission
This will be my last blog for the summer. I realise that there are other things on peoples minds such as holidays – in the UK at least. So I am joining them! The importance of debriefing For my final blog before we break let me share with you how we debriefed from the Together on a Mission Conference (TOAM10). Debriefing is a very important part of conference organisation, or indeed of organising any event. For instance, what did Jesus do after the disciples first ministry trip? Debriefed (at least he set out to do so until he was interrupted by 5000 people!). And after feeding the 5000? Debriefed! How else would he have known how many people had attended, how many baskets were left over and so on? The…
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Conference Administration – Behind the scenes at TOAM 2010

Administrative Skills, Conference Administration, Equipping, News, Together on a Mission
We met with God Over 3000 Leaders and Twenties have now returned to about 40 nations and are separated by many thousands of miles having spent last week together with a common sense of vision and purpose at the annual Newfrontiers Conference 'Together on a Mission' hosted by Terry Virgo.   There seems to have been a general air of satisfaction as they returned home having met with God through: • Powerful teaching and preaching both in the Main Sessions, Training Tracks and Seminars (sessions all downloadable >>) • Anointed Worship • Some significant prophetic words • An evening of prayer for the nations • A visit to the Global Zone to see where they could get involved in going to the nations • Strengthening their understanding of Newfrontiers’ Vision and Values through the videos • Refreshing…
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