The North West Partnership, South East Gospel Partnership
The North West Partnership was formed by a group of ministers in the North of England following the visit of Peter Jensen to the region early last year. It aims to expand gospel ministry in the North West and to encourage Bible-believing Christians to contend for the faith within their denominations. Last summer 200 people from 25 different churches gathered at St. Andrew’s Leyland for the official launch of the partnership.
Since then the churches of the partnership have done much to encourage one another. Church leaders have met regularly; the North West Children’s and Youth Leaders Conference drew over 300 in November last year and will be repeated this autumn. This year's major event has been the North West Evangelical Ministry Assembly, addressed by David Short and David Jackman.
Two significant additional developments have been in church planting and in the growth of ministry apprenticeships. Members of the partnership are starting new congregations in Manchester and Liverpool, aiming particularly to reach and disciple students In addition, we long to see more and more people committing themselves to full-time gospel ministry: people from our own churches and congregations, and people from outside the region who share this desire. To help make this happen we have been promoting ministry apprenticeships. A ministry apprentice is someone who has committed themselves to learning about gospel ministry as part of a local congregation over one or two years. At the heart of their time is the North West Ministry Training Course, based on the content and structure of the Cornhill Training Course. This is held on one day a week at St. Andrew’s Church, Leyland. In addition they receive practical training through their involvement with a church, which they attend and serve throughout their apprenticeship. If you would like to know more about the North West Partnership then visit our website at www.northwestpartnership.com
Peter Froggatt
The North West Partnership, South East Gospel Partnership, Top
Foundations for the Future – SEGP
More than 400 people from up to 100 church leadership teams gathered at the ‘Foundations for the Future’ conference in central London on Saturday 7 th February for the launch of the South East Gospel Partnership. Leading Anglican and Free Church Evangelicals urged them to work together in gospel partnership for the sake of the lost.
William Taylor, Rector of St Helen Bishopsgate, began the conference with a talk outlining what the partnership hopes to achieve. He said that it is “unashamedly a gospel partnership”, and described it as ‘Bible-centred churches committed to the authority of God’s word’ and concerned with the ‘evangelising and gospeling of the perishing in the south-east of England’. He related the region’s statistics on churchgoing, commenting that they make ‘very sobering reading and suggest a more or less wholesale melt-down or collapse within the south-east in the last 50 years.’ William Taylor accepted that this might be God’s hand of judgment and that gospel ministers might have the job of Isaiah in preaching to those God has deafened. But he went on to cite the example of Paul, who despite witnessing wholesale abandonment of the gospel in Asia urged Timothy to train up a new generation of gospel workers.
Jonathan Stephen, Pastor of Carey Street, Reading spoke immediately after Taylor on the need for unity in contending together for the gospel. David Jackman, Director of the Cornhill Training Course, led the prayers alongside Angus Macleay of St Nicholas Church, Sevenoaks and Andy Paterson, FIEC President. Liam Goligher from Duke Street, Richmond closed the day with a call to action: ‘Christ is not known in the south-east and our passion is to make him known’.
Sessions by Vaughan Roberts and Richard Coekin on recruiting and training gospel workers, and the need to strengthen and multiply gospel fellowships, stimulated much wrestling with the issues in the question time.
Tapes of the ‘Foundations for the Future’ day are available from the Audio Partnership by emailing audio@shmedia.org.uk or telephoning 020 7407 0563.
Brian O’Donoghue
The North West Partnership, South East Gospel Partnership, Top