Zimbabwe – Meet Brian Oldreive

Agriculture, Christian ministry, Good Practice, News, One to One interviews, Poor, Zimbabwe
About 30 years ago Brian Oldreive, a former Zimbabwean test cricketer, was farming tobacco when he and his wife Cath became Christians. He is now well-known for being the visionary behind Foundations for Farming, formerly Farming God’s Way. In this interview you get to meet him and to learn something of his background, and why he changed from tobacco to food. You will also sense his passion to see the Kingdom of God advance in Zimbabwe and the whole of Africa, and his great heart for the Poor.   One to one with Brian Oldreive from Newfrontiers on Vimeo. If this video has inspired you and you wish to become involved in Operation Trumpet Call there is a day of prayer for Zimbabwe on September 26th. More details will become…
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Ministry Report 3 – Foundations for Farming Conference

Christian ministry, Good Practice, Ministry Report, News, Poor, Training, Zimbabwe
Saturday January 30th saw 80 people gather in Swindon, UK for a Vision Day on Foundations for Farming. We were greatly privileged to have Brian Oldreive, the visionary who has developed Foundations for Farming, with us for a day of envisioning and impartation of the Biblical principles around which Foundations for Farming has been developed. Tobacco or Food? Foundations for Farming, formerly Farming God’s Way, has been developed by Brian over the past 3 decades in Zimbabwe. Having been a very successful tobacco farmer he was challenge one day by his daughter, ‘Daddy, why do you tell us never to smoke and yet you grow tobacco?’ He was so convicted that he never grew another tobacco plant! As he shared his personal history and walk with God we were conscious…
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Administration in the Church and Ministry with the Poor: Index ~ June – December 2009

Administration in the Church, Biblical Administration, Christian ministry, Equipping, General, Good Practice, HIV, India, Kenya, Ministry Report, Poor, Zimbabwe
I have been writing this blog for about 6 months and am aware of a growing following, so some may have missed the early material. To help you find that material it seems appropriate at the turn of the year to Index these 6 months. Clicking on the Topic will take you to the first in the series. There have been 3 main series on Biblical Administration and The Poor. There are also some Ministry Reports and National Reports, and two on Conference Administration which punctuate these Series. Series June 17th – Aug 29th Lessons from Jesus the Administrator in Mark 6. Jesus - The Administrator! Sept 3rd – Oct 22nd Some ‘good practice’ Indicators when ministering with the Poor. The Poor deserve the Best - part 1 Oct 26th -…
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The Poor deserve the Best – part 12 – Sustainability

Christian ministry, Equipping, Ghana, Good Practice, Planning, Poor, Relief and Development, Training, Zimbabwe
We have been considering Key Indicators of Good Practice under the title The Poor deserve the Best and now come to the final 2 of 20. 11. Sustainability Much charitable work relies on continual fund raising. Called Donor Dependency this makes a ministry very vulnerable. However, Donor Dependency introduces a measure of insecurity and puts the permanence of the ministry in doubt. It can also lead to the compromise of values in order to obtain funding. Further, Donor dependency may diminish the dignity of the ministry, but sometimes is a necessity. To mitigate against this a thorough assessment should be made of the reliance on outside funding and how this may be reduced. Appropriate practice should then be implemented to make the ministry as self-sustainable as possible. Clearly certain ministries…
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