02Nov 2011 by Nigel Ring

Teams that work – pt 6. Spiritual Gifts

Equipping, Newfrontiers, Team
The role of the Spirit When Jesus returned to the Father he said to the disciples that it was good that he was going away so that the Holy Spirit would come (John 14). How is the Spirit manifest? Apart from his speaking to us and drawing our attention to Jesus in worship he gives us grace gifts for the benefit of the church to be exercised on a daily basis. Being entrusted with specific spiritual gifts is no credit to us any more than the delivery man takes credit for the present you may have been given by a favourite aunt for your birthday. His job is to deliver it safely to you so that you can benefit from it. Likewise, our job is to deliver the gifts He…
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10Oct 2011 by Nigel Ring

Teams that work – pt 4. Building a team

Equipping, Newfrontiers, Team
Together > Equipped > Achieve > Mission Working backwards through the TEAM mnemonic - Together > Equipped > Achieve > Mission - we have dealt with Mission and Achieve. We now need to examine how to determine the makeup and dynamics of the team to allow us to be best equipped to achieve our mission. Diversity of People... We are all made in God's image. Isn't that amazing? So the infinite diversity of characteristics, personalities, temperaments etc of people merely reinforce how wonderfully diverse God is in all His attributes. ...complementary gifting Nevertheless, a good team contains members who complement one another. No football team would have great success if all were goal-keepers. Strikers and mid-field players are also essential. Sometimes, when creating a team, it is tempting to draw…
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19Sep 2011 by Nigel Ring

Teams that work – pt 2. What is it for?

Equipping, Newfrontiers, Team
As we continue to consider some of the features of working as a team we must start by knowing what we are aiming to achieve. The word ‘Mission' sounds very biblical but it is also widely used in the secular world, often quite loosely. ‘Mission statement' is another term widely used in the corporate world. ‘Vision' is sometimes used almost interchangeably with ‘mission' as, occasionally, is ‘purpose'. So rather than trying to get into the minutiae of semantics let's agree that I have used the word here because it fits my mnemonic of TEAM rather than because I am going to define it tightly! Know where you're going... Mission implies that we know where we are going, that the end point or direction is defined. Jesus' ‘Great Commission' (Matt 28:19,…
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19Jul 2011 by Nigel Ring

Together on a Mission – the final one

Conference Administration, Equipping, Leadership, Ministry Report, Newfrontiers, News, Together on a Mission
The final one Last week marked the end of the TOAM conferences in Brighton, the home city of Terry Virgo, founder of Newfrontiers. The first biennial Leadership Conference was in 1990, but after the Stoneleigh Bible Week ended we started to hold them annually, from 2002, combining them with Students and Twenties under the banner of Mobilise. Three years ago Mark Driscoll, our guest speaker from Seattle, USA, challenged us to prepare for transition to the next generation of leadership. He suggested allowing five years to accomplish this. Prophetic leading Obedient to what we believed was a word from God we have worked steadily seeking Him for guidance and planning for the future. This final TOAM marked an important turning point in that process. There is still much to do…
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12Jul 2011 by Nigel Ring

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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