Proclaimer Blog
Report – Spring Wives 2018 [Carolyn Lacey]
Last week I had the privilege of being with 100 or so other ministry wives at the PT Spring Wives’ Conference at Hothorpe Hall. This was my 18th PT conference and, as always, I loved it!
I’m married to Richard who is the lead pastor of Woodgreen Evangelical Church – an FIEC church in Worcester. We have 2 teenage children and have been in full-time ministry for 18 years. We’ve been part of the church family in Worcester for nearly 12 years and love living and serving here.
The Wives’ conferences have been significant in equipping me to support my husband and love my church family. I come each year because I need the encouragement and support of other wives who understand the joys and pressures of ministry life. I love hearing stories of how God has answered the prayers we’ve prayed together over the years. It’s a privilege to be able to weep with those who are struggling and celebrate with those who are rejoicing. Every conference is a mingling of laughter, tears, encouragements, shared ideas, and testimonies of God’s grace.
This year, Christopher Ash and Carrie Sandom shared the teaching and their messages complemented each other beautifully. Carrie spoke from Mark 8-10 on the cost of following Jesus. She challenged us to think about where we see the cost in our daily lives and reminded us that the sacrifices we make are worth it – especially when we consider the eternal cost of not following Jesus faithfully. She also encouraged us to uproot the pride we all struggle with and to serve our church families with humility.
Christopher taught from Psalms 37, 69 and 137 – Psalms of Indignation. He showed us how these Psalms can both encourage us and shape our prayers as we struggle with the frustrations of helplessness, despair and injustice we face as believers and, particularly, as ministry wives. It was refreshing to study poetry and to linger over the images and emotions the Psalmists use in response to suffering. I think many of us will find this an ongoing help as we seek to voice our own struggles honestly but with an eternal perspective of hope, justice and deliverance.
The seminars were great for discussing issues specific to ministry. I was especially helped by Christopher’s thoughts on how to listen to our husband’s preaching well – I hope to be more of an encouragement to Richard in this area. There was also plenty of time to pray, rest, relax with a book, walk, chat, eat cake and laugh! I’ve come home refreshed and energised for another year of ministry, thankful for my church family, and grateful for the privilege of serving Christ and his church alongside my husband.
The Spring Wives’ Conference provides a great opportunity to establish friendships, to take time away from the busyness of everyday life for refreshment and encouragement, and to hear faithful Bible teaching applied specifically to ministry life.
If you’re a ministry wife wanting to grow in your love for Jesus and his church, as well as your own husband, it’s definitely for you!
Please pray for the Woodgreen Church family as we seek to reach our community with the good news of Jesus Christ.
We have several evangelistic events planned over the next couple of weeks, and we’d love to see many of our friends and neighbours respond to the gospel.
Please also pray for our follow up Christianity Explored/Life Explored courses.
Proclaimer Blog
Songs from Spring Wives 2018
There are always a lot of people of people who ask for a list of the songs from our conferences.
Here is the song list from Spring Wives 2018 from last week.
- Behold the Power of His Word – Co-Mission
- By Faith – Keith & Kristyn Getty
- Everlasting Arms – Lou Fellingham
- He Will Hold Me Fast – Matt Merker
- It is Well – Horatio Spafford
- No other Name – Trevor Hodge
- O Great God – Sovereign Grace
- Rejoice – Dustin Kensure
- Salvation’s Song – Stuart Townend
- Thank you for Saving Me – Martin Smith
- There is a Higher Throne – Keith and Kristyn Getty
- This is Amazing Grace – phil Wickham
- We Rest on Thee – Edith G. Cherry
Proclaimer Blog
Appointment of Carrie Sandom full-time from September
The trustees of The Proclamation Trust are delighted to announce that Carrie Sandom will be working for the Trust full-time from September.
Carrie has been our part-time Director of Women’s ministry since 2015, whilst also working for St John’s Tunbridge Wells. Carrie already runs our Women in Ministry conference and a number of training events for women, and oversees the women on the Cornhill Training Course.
Given the recent growth of Cornhill in particular, and the wider need to train women who hold a complementarian view of ministry, the trustees are clear that a part-time role is no longer sufficient, and are delighted that Carrie has agreed to join us full-time.
If you missed Jon’s recent interview with her (published on this blog), you can find it here.
Proclaimer Blog
St. Helen’s North Kensington – Cornhill Mission 6/7
The Core (final year) Cornhill Students recently went on Missions mostly in the UK but also overseas. It is a chance for them to experience different ministry contexts and be blessed by a local church congregation and be a blessing to them in return. We asked the mission teams to write a short report about what they got up to.
We had a great week at St Helen’s in North Kensington. It was the first mission week the church has had since 1986, and they had planned a super week of events themed around the idea of Friendship with God.
We were able to go alone to the monthly Ladies Friendship group, where we enjoyed chatting with the regular attenders and a massive plate of cheese and cake! On Saturday, we held a gala dinner in the church, again, with lots of food and a evangelistic challenge at the end of the evening on how friendship with God is possible. It was great to be part of a week that geared the church up for it first mission in a long time and to meet the regular congregation who were inviting their friends and work colleagues to Christian events for the first time!
Please pray forSt. Helen’s Church North Kensington and also for our Core Students as they consider their next steps after the summer.
If you are interested in applying to Cornhill for Sept 2018, then please click here.
Proclaimer Blog
Grace Church Brockley – Cornhill Missions 5/7
The Core (final year) Cornhill Students recently went on Missions mostly in the UK but also overseas. It is a chance for them to experience different ministry contexts and be blessed by a local church congregation and be a blessing to them in return. We asked the mission teams to write a short report about what they got up to.
“What if we were made for love?” was the title of the evangelistic Bible study, led very ably by Richard, to conclude our 4 day mission week on the theme of love.
To see how different, and how much more desirable, the Bible’s account of the purpose of our existence is compared to the modern day orthodoxy that is naturalism. It was helpful and illuminating to go back to the beginning and to the beautiful creation account in Genesis 2. I am sure I can speak on behalf of all the leaders present in saying that the 14-18 year old participants were a real encouragement in their engagement with the Bible study and with the subsequent “Grill a Christian” panel (which could have gone on all night!).
We could thank God for similar encouragements at Fiona’s evangelistic women’s event, where she gave a talk on love in Luke 7 to a number of guests, as well as my evangelistic youth talk on John 3:16.
During the day, we had been doing home visits and praying for God to be working through us and in the hearts of those we were able to engage with at their front doors. Praise God that as a result of those visits, a few came to the evangelistic events and we pray, as a result of the continuing witness of Grace Church Brockley, that God’s word will continue to be sown in people’s hearts, to grow and yield a hundredfold ! (Luke 8:8).
Please pray for Grace Church Brockley and also for our Core Students as they consider their next steps after the summer.
If you are interested in applying to Cornhill for Sept 2018, then please click here.
Proclaimer Blog
Nepal – Cornhill Mission 4/7
The Core (final year) Cornhill Students recently went on Missions mostly in the UK but also overseas. It is a chance for them to experience different ministry contexts and be blessed by a local church congregation and be a blessing to them in return. We asked the mission teams to write a short report about what they got up to.
Luke Cornish and I (Toby Martin) had a great time serving on a Crosslinks/Langham Preachers’ Training Programme in Kathmandu, Nepal! The church is growing rapidly, with increasing numbers of indigenous pastor-teachers and evangelists, but very few of these gospel workers are trained in expository preaching. So, Neil Watkinson has been running these weeks of training in Kathmandu for a number of years.
The programme is an introduction to expository preaching, and includes a Bible overview, sessions on theme and aim sentences, sermon structure. There are also workshops where groups work together on theme and aim sentences for Bible passages, and model expositions on those passages. Luke and I were asked to give a ‘chapel talk’ each (similar to Cornhill morning expositions) and two ‘model expositions’ each. The course was attended by a combination of undergraduate students at Bible college, and gospel workers (pastors/evangelists).
I was hugely encouraged by the growth of the church in Nepal. At a time when we are told that evangelical churches in the UK are at 0% net growth, it is very heartening to hear many stories of people coming to Christ from Hindu and Buddhist backgrounds in Nepal – praise God!
But it was also wonderful to see how much people value this kind of training. One evangelist from the east of Nepal, Dinesh, said to me that his journey home would be 17 hours on a bus, 11 hours in another vehicle after that, and a 4 hour walk to finish off. He was full of joy at the training he had received and was eager to preach to people when he got back. Others on his team said they were going to share the training with several others on their evangelism team.
And yet, as we were reminded as we walked along the streets, there were idols everywhere. From our hotel we could see a large Buddhist temple, and there were images of Hindu gods in many of the shops by the side of the road. So there remains much work for God’s people in Nepal. But praise Jesus that so many people are coming to the obedience of faith!
Please pray for Nepal and also for our Core Students as they consider their next steps after the summer.
If you are interested in applying to Cornhill for Sept 2018, then please click here.
Proclaimer Blog
St. Anne’s Limehouse – Cornhill Missions 3/7
The Core (final year) Cornhill Students recently went on Missions mostly in the UK but also overseas. It is a chance for them to experience different ministry contexts and be blessed by a local church congregation and be a blessing to them in return. We asked the mission teams to write a short report about what they got up to.
We had a fantastic week helping the team at St Anne’s Church in Limehouse with their mission.
It’s a massively diverse area with seasoned East Enders, young city-working professionals, a huge Bangladeshi community and everything in between. The events ranged from evangelistic discussion in a coffee shop, to a family film night, to a men’s breakfast on life to the full, to a night with pie and mash and a rapper come pastor, as well as a great evangelistic Sunday service with Rico Tice.
The team helped reach the local area through door-knocking, teaching at the local school, speaking at all the events, helping setup and serve at the events, praying, and getting alongside people to talk about Jesus throughout. It was a great week of getting out of our comfort zones, seeing what God is doing in another part of London, hearing amazing testimonies about God’s grace, and growing as we served as different parts of Christ’s body together. What a week!
Please pray for St. Anne’s Limehouse and also for our Core Students as they consider their next steps after the summer.
If you are interested in applying to Cornhill for Sept 2018, then please click here.
Proclaimer Blog
Grace Church Sydenham – Cornhill Missions 2/7
The Core (final year) Cornhill Students recently went on Missions mostly in the UK but also overseas. It is a chance for them to experience different ministry contexts and be blessed by a local church congregation and be a blessing to them in return. We asked the mission teams to write a short report about what they got up to.
We give thanks to the Lord for a packed few days at Grace Church Sydenham. Our trip included a Vegan and Superfood Bistro event, coffee cart street evangelism and church family ‘billet’ dinners.
As a team we learnt about the importance of being ready to suffer for the gospel. There were lots of occasions where we were rejected by people at their front doors, or rejected while flyering in the freezing cold and rain. However amidst this hardship we also had the absolute joy of sharing the good news of Jesus with others who were seemingly more open – there is a profound joy in evangelism!!
We were also greatly blessed by the incredible hospitality and rich fellowship we enjoyed with the church. This taught us much about the unity that strangers experience when they have Jesus in common – we were so grateful to them for welcoming and loving us so warmly.
Please pray for Grace Church Sydenham and also for our Core Students as they consider their next steps after the summer.
If you are interested in applying to Cornhill for Sept 2018, then please click here.
Proclaimer Blog
Sherbornes with Pamber – Cornhill Missions 1/7
The Core (final year) Cornhill Students recently went on Missions mostly in the UK but also overseas. It is a chance for them to experience different ministry contexts and be blessed by a local church congregation and be a blessing to them in return. We asked the mission teams to write a short report about what they got up to.
Our time at Sherbornes with Pamber (just north of Basingstoke) was filled with a wide variety of events, both big and small, where we were able to speak of Jesus and share the gospel, under the theme of Hope in a Hopeless World.
We enjoyed being put on the spot during the question time at the local primary school, and later that evening at the event in the local pub. Some of us visited a local care home, whilst others joined the Mum’s and Young Children for the afternoon tea. Over the weekend, there were parties for all the children and youth that we were able to join in with. Saturday morning was spent helping at a men’s breakfast, followed by a women’s coffee morning and finished with a Saturday night quiz. Our Cornhill team ran the entire Sunday morning service and this was followed by a bring-and-share lunch.
It was great to be able to encourage the church in proclaiming the gospel and living for Jesus, and for ourselves to be encouraged by the ways that Sherbornes with Pamber is going this. It was also a great reminder that we do not always have time to prepare an answer, but can always give the reason for the hope that we have when asked.
by Kirsten Parker
Please pray for Sherbornes with Pamber and also for our Core Students as they consider their next steps after the summer.
If you are interested in applying to Cornhill for Sept 2018, then please click here.
Proclaimer Blog
Down not Out – [Chris Cipollone]
Here is a book written not by a Psychologist but by a sufferer – a Christian sufferer. Cipollone is a Christian Minister who has experienced and continues to live with anxiety and depression. Chris uses his personal story to walk the reader through the process of understanding and addressing the multi-faceted nature of mental illness. He asks the hard questions that every sufferer and their carers ask. He tackles openly and honestly the issues that are sometimes taboo: Brokenness; feelings; attack; idols; suicide; healing and more.
Whilst Cipollone shamelessly shares his own story, at each point he also speaks God’s Word of truth into each situation. This is not a book that revolves around the author, it is a book that points to Jesus and reminds the reader of their Identity in Him. This is not done in a heavy, preachy way, but with accessible sensitivity and compassion. Cipollone carefully draws on passages from a variety of biblical genres to provide teaching, correction, empathy, encouragement and hope. By dividing this short book into small bitesize chunks with one word titles, the author has made this book an easy read for the person already feeling “down”. He clearly understands the limited capacity of the sufferer and the need to speak eternal bitesize truths into a particular moment in time.
As someone prone to having “downs”, I found this book extremely helpful. It is honest and real about how bad it feels and yet uncompromising in speaking the truth of the gospel of Jesus. This is what we all need and Cipollone does this with empathy and grace.
The brevity of the book does mean that there is a danger of a lack of depth. This can be read all too speedily and then quickly forgotten. However, each chapter ends with “Reflection” which no doubt aims to slow the reader down and digest each bite.
If you are looking for a more clinical book with definitions, causes, symptoms and treatments – look elsewhere. This is a book for a Christian sufferer and those who love them and who want to better understand how the great gospel of Jesus speaks mightily but gently into the hearts of those with a broken mind.
by Rebekah Brown
Reading level: Very accessible and easy to read.
Price: RRP £7.99
ISBN: 9781784981419
Publisher: The Good Book Company
Rating: *****