about us
Our convictions
Biblical. Expository. Preachers.
We believe the Bible is God’s written word and that, by the work of the Holy Spirit, as it is faithfully preached, God’s voice is truly heard.
Biblical. Expository. Preachers.
Central to the preacher’s task is correctly handling the Bible. Seeking to discern the mind of the Spirit in the passage being expounded through prayerful study of the text in the light of its context in the biblical book and the Bible as a whole. The divine message must then be preached in dependence on the Holy Spirit. To the minds, hearts and wills of contemporary hearers.
Biblical. Expository. Preachers.
The public proclamation of God’s word by gifted leaders is fundamental to a ministry that honours God, builds the church and reaches the world. God uses weak jars of clay in this task who need encouragement to persevere in their biblical convictions, ministry of God’s work and walk with Christ.
about us
What we believe
Our Vision
The fundamental conviction underlying the work of The Proclamation Trust is that when the Bible is taught God himself speaks, and his voice is heard clearly today.
The main aim of the trust, therefore, is to teach the Bible to preachers in order that they can in turn teach it to others. A further aim is to provide a fellowship of like-minded evangelicals across the denominations for encouragement in an exacting work.
We are unashamed to follow the whole truth of biblical Christianity, and are committed to the paths of Christian orthodoxy/evangelical doctrine.
We are unashamed to recall ministers to the work of Biblical preaching and teaching, believing that this alone will equip the saints for the work of ministry.
We are unashamed to witness to the sufficiency of Scripture and the power of the gospel as the only hope for genuine Christian unity.
Doctrinal Basis
We believe in:
▪ the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in the Godhead.
▪ the sovereignty of God in creation, revelation, redemption and final judgement.
▪ the divine inspiration and infallibility of Holy Scripture as originally given, and its supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
▪ the universal sinfulness and guilt of human nature since the fall, rendering man subject to God’s wrath and condemnation.
▪ the full deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God; his virgin birth and his real and sinless humanity; his death on the cross, his bodily resurrection and his present reign in heaven and earth.
▪ redemption from the guilt, penalty and power of sin only through the sacrificial death once and for all time of our representative and substitute, Jesus Christ, the only mediator between God and man.
▪ justification as God’s act of undeserved mercy, in which the sinner is pardoned all his sins, and accepted as righteous in God’s sight, only because of the righteousness of Christ imputed to him, this justification being received by faith alone.
▪ the need for the Holy Spirit to make the work of Christ effective to the individual sinner, granting him repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ.
▪ the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in all those thus regenerated, producing in them an increasing likeness to Christ in character and behaviour, and empowering them for their witness in the world.
▪ the one holy universal Church, which is the Body of Christ, and to which all true believers belong.
▪ the future personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge all men, executing God’s just condemnation on the impenitent and receiving the redeemed to eternal glory.
about us
Leadership team
The Leadership Team
Vaughan Roberts is the Chairman of the Trustees and has served as Director of the Trust since 2009. He leads the work alongside his responsibilities as Rector of St Ebbe’s, Oxford. Vaughan came to faith as he read through Matthew’s Gospel for himself as a teenager. After studying law at Cambridge University and a brief spell doing student ministry in South Africa, he moved to Oxford to study Theology at Wycliffe Hall and has lived in the city ever since. Vaughan is author a number of books including True Friendship, True Worship, Battles Christians Face, Faith in a Time of Crisis and God’s Big Picture. In his spare time Vaughan plays cricket and golf.
Nigel Styles has been the Director of the PT Cornhill Training Course since September 2016. He was previously senior minister of Emmanuel Church, Bramcote and Director of Training at the Midlands Gospel Partnership.
Jon Gemmell joined the Trust as Associate Director of Conferences and Resources in May 2017. Before coming to London, Jon was Senior Pastor of Bruntsifeld Evangelical Church in Edinburgh, Chairman of the East of Scotland Gospel Partnership and previously a Director of Edinburgh City Mission.
Carrie Sandom has been the Director of Women’s Ministry since 2015 and took on the role full-time in September 2018. She has been involved in women’s ministry for over 20 years and is author of Different by Design: God’s blueprint for men and women. She is a regular conference speaker and active member of St John’s, Tunbridge Wells.
Neil Watkinson is International Director of the Proclamation Trust, a role which starts in September 2015. Neil was a Crosslinks Mission Partner in Singapore from 2008 to the end of 2014, and was involved in training expository preachers in Asia as well as working part-time on the staff of St George’s Church, Singapore. Neil will continue as a Crosslinks Mission Partner, but his responsibilities will now include planning and leading the international work of the Trust. Neil is an active member of St Mary’s Maidenhead.
The Trustees
PT is constituted as a charitable trust, and is a registered charity, and the trustees are ultimately responsible for the oversight of the work. Together they form a team of ministers and laymen who are committed wholeheartedly to the ongoing mission of PT and are closely involved, meeting regularly with the senior staff for encouragement and support.
Andrew Green is Chairman of the trustees. He has worked for many years in the City as a Fund Manager and is a lay preacher and elder at an independent evangelical church in Danbury, Essex.
Richard Cunningham is Director of Student Ministries for UCCF and is widely known for his evangelistic and apologetics ministry. He and his family live near Oxford and are involved in Churchill Parish Church.
David Jackman established the Cornhill training course and was its first director. In ‘retirement’ he has a teaching ministry around the UK and abroad.
Vaughan Roberts is Rector of St Ebbe’s Church, Oxford, where he leads a church team which has an extensive ministry amongst students.
John Samuel is the minister of Duke Street Baptist church in Richmond.
William Taylor is Rector of St Helen’s Church, Bishopsgate, which trains many associates for ministry and is committed to the development of new church plants in London.
Robin Weekes taught on the Cornhill training course for three years before taking up the post as incumbent of Emmanuel Wimbledon in spring 2013.
about us
History
How it all began
In the summer of 1981, 40 men engaged in a preaching ministry gathered at a conference centre (Fairmile Court) in Surrey for a conference on ‘expository preaching’. Dick Lucas, then Rector of St Helen’s, Bishopsgate and Jonathan Fletcher his curate (recently retired minister of Emmanuel Church, Wimbledon) held this conference with the aim of examining and learning what particular Bible texts actually say.
The birth of E.M.A.
Residential conferences continued informally and proved extremely popular, and in 1984 it was decided to hold a larger non-residential conference, which became known as the Evangelical Ministry Assembly (EMA).
From small beginnings the EMA now attracts over 1000 delegates involved in ministry, and speakers from all over the world have included Don Carson, John Chapman, Os Guiness, Jim Packer, John Stott, Phillip Jensen, Sinclair Ferguson and Tim Keller.
PT established
In May 1986 The Proclamation Trust was formed officially, in gratitude to God for the 25 years which Dick Lucas had spent teaching the Bible from the St Helen’s pulpit.
The birth and growth of Cornhill
In 1991 David Jackman, former minister of Above Bar Church, Southampton, joined the staff of PT to pioneer the Cornhill Training Course.
PT has grown over the years under the good hand of our God. The Cornhill Training Course (CTC) now trains about 90 students each year for diverse roles in ministry.
Our home
A building in Borough High Street, near London Bridge, became the home of PT in 1998. It was named Willcox House after Ronald Willcox, whose support made this move possible.
Our work today
Alongside EMA we run an extensive program of residential conferences for ministers, theological students, women in Word ministry, lay preachers and ministers’ wives. Our growing PT Resources provide training and instruction throughout both the UK and many other parts of the world, and Project Timothy seeks to bring our resources to developing countries.
about us
Giving to the Proclamation Trust
We are thankful to God for His continued goodness in providing for us. Operating costs are kept under tight control, but while operating out of London has many advantages, it is also very expensive. Our prices for conferences only cover the venue costs; we depend on donations to continue our work.
In addition, the majority of Cornhill students now only study for one day per week, which has allowed us to reach many more people (over 200 students), but has also caused costs to rise faster than income.
We are always grateful for new enquiries about giving to support the work of the trust, and particularly thankful to those who are able to consider giving on a regular basis which helps us to budget responsibly.
You can donate online here.
If you would like further information, please feel free to email us and we will be happy to advise you.