01Feb 2017 by Nigel Ring

Pathways Care Farm

Agriculture, Farming, News, Poor
I have not met many alpacas – in fact I had not met any before I met Boris. But he was a good representative of his species and quickly made me feel at home. I was visiting Pathways Care Farm in Lowestoft, UK, founded by Geoff Stevens. I came to know Geoff when he was exploring an initiative within the Relational Mission sphere of Newfrontiers, Pathways from Poverty, now led by Julia Miller. Geoff knew nothing about farming when the opportunity arose to start a care farm but he and his team have achieved an astonishing amount in just two years. Walking around the farm with him I found he is bubbling with ideas – ‘we’re going to put a bird watching hide here’, ‘we will create an arts and crafts room…
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25Jan 2017 by Nigel Ring

Leading a church to minister with the Poor pt 4. Money

Finance, Poor, The church
In this concluding interview with Andy Cottingham we talk about money. What are the possible sources of funds including the pros and cons of gift days in the church and charitable grants? How to make a ministry sustainable. What about overseas giving? What are the pitfalls and the damage that can be done by unwise giving? What is success? In these discussions two books are mentioned which I recommend: When Helping Hurts and Toxic Charity. Both address the issue of damage that can be done if giving is not wise.     In concluding this series I want to encourage church leadership teams to watch these interviews again together and apply them to your own situation. Andy raises many questions that you may not have thought of. They should stimulate good…
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18Jan 2017 by Nigel Ring

Leading a church to minister with the Poor pt 3. The structure of a ministry

Charity, Equipping, Poor, Social Enterprise, The church
We have now looked at two topics: how to make church life more accessible to those who are poor or in need so that they can 'hear' the gospel, and how to identify what particular ministry we should be carrying out in our church. In this interview Andy Cottingham considers some matters related to running the ministry. Form a Charity? The church is an integral part of the community. A charity has a separate life. So it is with great caution that a church should consider forming a separate charity and there must be safeguards in the governance to prevent any such charity becoming independent of the church. Andy addresses this in the talk below but I have also written about it in a previous series. Relationship with other agencies Typically there are several agencies…
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12Jan 2017 by Nigel Ring

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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04Jan 2017 by Nigel Ring

Leading a church to minister with the Poor pt 1. Changes in practice for gospel impact

Church culture, Equipping, Newfrontiers, Poor, Simon Pettit
Happy New Year! As we begin a new year I want to share with you over the next few weeks videos I made during a discussion with Andy Cottingham. Andy has been in church leadership both in the UK and South Africa for many years. Churches in which he has been based have always had significant ministries to reach out to those who are poor or in need. In these discussions I asked him to share wisdom from his experience which may help other church leaders, though his responses will be of interest to anyone involved in ministering with the poor since they address underlying values. In this first interview (there will be three more) he addresses some matters to help make the practices of the church more accessible to 'outsiders'. Change If we…
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14Dec 2016 by Nigel Ring

Are you listening? Pt 5 – Listening with your mouth

Equipping, Listening
In the last two postings I have highlighted the place for the ears and the eyes as means of listening. Now I will come to the third, the mouth. Your mouth is also an important part of communication of course, but how can it help you to listen? There are a number of ways your mouth can help you listen but the most important is to know when to keep it shut! Shut up What do you feel about silence? Does it embarrass you? Somehow it makes you feel vulnerable as you either don’t know what to say or because you feel awkward for the other person as they gather their thoughts. The temptation is to fill it with your own talk. This is particularly true of the extrovert who…
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