Julie Ann Read - God Has Opened Up Many Opportunities
I have been quite busy since starting The CMS certificate in Pioneering Mission in September 2022.  I started the training along with another 15 people, and the Pioneering Mission training was launched with a residential weekend from Friday 16th to Sunday 18th September 2022 at a wonderful retreat and education centre, called The Greenhouse at Barnes Close. So far I have attended and completed Modules;1 to 4. I am very much looking forward the next module which will be on Community Development and will be led by Newbigin Pioneering Hub leader Rev Dr Ash Barker.

The funding that I received through LWPT has enabled me to attend each of the residential weekends and also travel to the Newbigin Pioneering Hub, located at Lodge Road Community Church, Winson Green, Birmingham for the Learning Circle times between each of the module sessions.

Through Sutton Coldfield Methodist Circuit I have also had the opportunity to support a new venture called Xseed, which meets once a month at Erdington Methodist Church, and is based around a café style church option. And as a member of Four Oaks Methodist Church I am a Steward and involved with the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team, and support a number of events that we hold each year. One of these events I personally head up, called the Easter Seeking Trail, which started in lockdown and has now been going for the past three years! And this year I have completed training as a Local Preacher for the Methodist Church and will be commissioned in July.

Recently I have also been talking with other members of the Sutton Coldfield Circuit, regarding Pioneering work and being a part of the NPNP (New People New Places) group run through the Methodist Church.

I cannot tell you just how much God has opened up opportunities since taking a leap of faith and registering on the CMS certificate in Pioneering Mission, which without the financial support through LWPT would not have been possible! Thanks be to God, who will make a way where there seems to be no way…Amen!

Tom Boulter - God is on the Move
'We are Tom and Jenni, and it is our privilege to serve on the leadership team of this church. We believe God is on the move across our city, and long to see lives transformed here in Lord’s Hill, Lord’s Wood, and beyond. We are a community built around Jesus, led by his Spirit and fed by his Word. We are a church where every generation is welcome, each person brings what they have and receives what they need. We hope and pray that you find a home here, and join us on our adventure.'

 Chrisie Richardson - Keeping Christ as the Focus for Those Who Need Help with their Mental Health
Hello guys, I just want to let you know what I have been up to since joining WTC. I have released my new Podcast where I aim to help and inspire people to know God and hold on to Him. On the first three episodes we talk about students coming to faith, our current Student Pastor explaining the meaning of fearing God and I share a very tough experience I went through with church & my journey of healing. I will have new and upcoming episodes later this month where I will speak on depression, anxiety, bringing down the barriers that cause rifts between denomination and glorifying God. We will be confronting difficult issues such as human trafficking and gender roles etc later down the line as well as inspiring with testimonies. 

 I am trying to start up support groups for PTSD, Depression, Anxiety and keeping Christ as the focus. I would welcome any advice, strategies to get funding for these and most of all, I would hugely appreciate your prayers. 

I am also in the Process of setting up a Faith and Reflection Centre in Solent University, Southampton. I am doing this as a joint effort with my current Student Pastor and a lovely Catholic sister called Devy. This will provide a space for students to practice their faiths but we aim to listen to them, read the Word of God with them, mentor some of them and pray with/for them. 

Yvonne Hallam - Bags of Hope

Studying through covid was harder than I had planned. I began my study in Theology and Ministry September 2019. With the help of LWPT, supporting me with a grant that paid for my books that would be needed over the coming time.

I absolutely loved working through each unit, completing study on the old and New Testaments, culture, gender, wisdom to name a few.

Studying gave me so much more new knowledge and understanding but also confidence, confidence to ask questions and to now answer them.

Whilst studying I also helped in our local church, which I’ve been apart of for 18 years, but during covid this looked very different.

I decided to use the mission work I had been doing at college to impact our community. I set up bags of hope people could collect or we could deliver if people knew anyone struggling, craft bags every 2 weeks for kids, messy church had shut so we wanted to give our families new things they could do with the kids. My family and I set up a facebook group to do services. This brought in new people from our community that had never been in church before.

Now there is more normality in the church, I am doing some family work organising events for our community, just doing one for Easter. We thought around 20 may come but we had 67, praise God. We are now looking at what new things we can support our community in. 

My studies have been of great value in my growth, understanding, knowledge and confidence. Many thanks for your help and support.

Heather Pocock - Building Church and Community

My Masters modules studied at WTC this year have had a significant impact in my ministry at Kerith Community Church. In February 2023, I moved from a role as Farnborough Pastor, to become the Teaching Pastor at Kerith, responsible for preaching content delivered across our four locations as a church community. My role is to create the curriculum of sermon topics, shape the individual preaching series and resource preachers with message drafts, commentaries and summaries. The subjects that I have studied at WTC have resourced the teaching that the congregations have received greatly.

Studying Haggai in my Old Testament module provided an entire series of content to inspire the congregation. Since we, like so many, are still rebuilding our community after the Covid pandemic, and we are also in the middle of a church building project, Haggai offered many familiar parallels that resonated with us: the Israelites were returning from Exile, only a portion of the Israelites returned post exile, and the Israelites were undertaking a building project to rebuild the temple. This often-overlooked minor prophet offered prophetic encouragement for where we found ourselves to be as a church community.

Similarly, we have launched a campaign educating the congregation about the importance of creation care and ecology in our worship as Christians, and I was able to draw from content in my Ethics class, and studies in Genesis that I had been reading.

Another area that has proved useful has been my module on Ethics. In Autumn 2023, I was asked to preach at all four locations on divorce as part of a preaching series on relationships. This module offered me a framework in how to faithfully read what the bible says about divorce, and also provided me with the spectrum of views and counterarguments. After shaping and delivering the message, I had many divorced individuals come and share that they had never heard a preach on divorce before, that the silence from the wider Church or traditional judgment about divorce had left them feeling condemned, shame and rejected by Christians, thus they felt the Spirit use the message to bring healing.

Rachael Shalloe-Cooper - Raising Funds and Raising Hopes

I am a church leader for a small church plant in a town that is severely deprived. The town is 84th out of 318 of the most deprived towns in the nation, of the people that live here rates for suicide for those aged 10+ are above the regional and national average, all of which is linked to drug and alcohol abuse, poor mental health, and poverty. To develop further I felt God calling to apply myself to church leadership and study theology. I started to study with WTC Theology in September 2021, and at the time of enrolment, I was able to obtain Student Finance. Part way through this option was removed and I had to look at alternative funding. With the needs that our ministries want to meet, it meant that there were no available funds for me from Church and began looking for grants. I’m thankful to LWPT for providing a percentage of this funding to enable me to continue.

Whilst studying I was working with an individual that had suffered a mental health breakdown because of drug abuse in relation to past trauma. I felt as I read and researched this assignment, I was able to apply all I was learning to my ministry to this person. I am pleased to say that following a short treatment in hospital, they are now home and pursuing a relationship with Jesus and I was able to baptise them on Easter Sunday - and I passed the assignment in the practical sense too, as well as the other five. I’m excited to continue next year.

Rev Simon Curtis - The Congregation Cafe

Having left a career in engineering and facilities management, I went to Trinity College in Bristol to study Theology, Ministry, and Mission. After which I moved with my wife, Helen, and five children, Isaac, Joshua, Joel, Ezekiel, and Anna, to Luton, where I was Ordained in 2021 at St Alban’s Abbey. I currently work as a Curate in the diocese of St Albans, at St John the Baptist Farley Hill and All Saints Caddington, where I serve full-time alongside the incumbent and a small team of volunteers across the two parishes, regularly having the opportunity to preach and lead worship.

One highlight for me is that I get the privilege of running a monthly fresh expression of Sunday morning worship in the form of a café style service. Here, having cooked dozens of rashers of bacon, I get the chance to get creative with media, songs, preaching, and reflections to craft a service that aims to allow people to engage and grow with God, whether they are new to church or not. I love to find ways of developing myself and growing in all sorts of ways, during my time at Trinity I was only able to study for a diploma and always had a desire to complete the remaining credits for a degree during curacy.

Thanks to support from LWPT I am currently halfway through my first year of two, studying through The Queen’s Foundation in Birmingham. Being able to complete the degree is an immense help to me in my development, not only in theology, but in preaching as well, giving me time to learn, grow, reflect, and put my learning to immediate effective use. I am still on a journey in growing my style of preaching and leading worship, so being able to enhance this with further, formal, Theological study and reflection is a massive help.

I plan to continue into 2023/2024 to finish the degree, including the writing of a dissertation, and hope to complete my studies at around the same time as I accept my first incumbency. I am really grateful to LWPT for financially supporting me. Rev

James Wilshaw - Reaching Out with Free English Classes

My grant was used to support my course fees for the Ministry Training Course run by the South Central Gospel Partnership Trust. September 2019 - July 2021.  In combination with my time working voluntarily as a Ministry Trainee at Christ Church Southampton this course gave me a wonderful grounding in scripture and ministry practice. And the opportunity to practice writing and giving gospel talks.

With lockdown striking 3 months into my time as a Ministry Trainee most of my waking hours went into online video production to aid the meeting and teaching of the church through lockdowns and in person as we slowly opened back in person as rules allowed. Spending much of my time behind the camera, or on zoom I’m afraid there are few action shots, I’m not sure if I could dig any out after so long.

But as an MT I was co-leading small group Bible studies in our international ministry, and also co-leading our Free English Classes outreach. Since being an MT and having moved away from Southampton I’ve continued to be actively involved in ministry. Serving in the Kids team at Keswick ministries and serving my new church family in various ways including giving the odd gospel talk and leading the odd Bible study. The ministry training course has been a great blessing equipping me with and helping me to develop many of the skills I use to read and understand the Bible as well as teaching it to others.

Anthony Parkinson - Practical Engagement with the Local Community

Your grant facilitating my studies enabled me to have a direct impact in the way we think about community mission as a church. We have shifted from an events and programme driven model to a much more holistic and incarnational model.

This thinking is a direct result of modules taken at undergrad and now postgrad level considering contemporary mission paradigm. This has impacted my thinking about mission, the way I preach and the way we are beginning to actively engage with our local community.

One example is our Foodbank which has transitioned from a very transactional over the counter delivery model with minimal opportunity to genuinely engage with people to a community hub giving both practical and spiritual support developing relationships and including opportunities for ALPHA and other introductions to the Christian faith. We are blessed as a church because of this.

Tom Boulter - Planting a Church

Having received your grant and completed my studies I have been able to take up a position as Curate at Saint Mary's Church Southampton, and this September I am going to take the lead on a church plant from there to the Lord's Hill estate in Southampton. My studies have helped me to feel equipped for a wide range of ministry and mission including preaching, leading Alpha, overseeing the internship programme, preparing families and candidates for baptism, social action projects, and now planting a church.

 Ben Putt - ‘Show Don’t Tell’ Gets the Message Across

Completing my studies in Apologetics has enabled me to address questions in my preaching that the folk listening are asking - I’m in a much better place to try to help people wrestle with issues around suffering, the presence of evil, arguments against the veracity of scripture etc etc. 

Many Christians continue to have questions and doubts, even though they are sure of their salvation, and being able to help them in that wrestle is invaluable as a Pastor. I don’t want to be the guy who just says ‘have more faith and get on with it’;

I want to be able to show people how they can grow in their understanding of God and his purposes, and become increasingly able to stand firm against the challenges the world throws at them. It’s such a blessing to be able to show people that their faith is reasonable and beautiful - that science doesn’t disprove God and that the Bible’s sexual ethic is pure etc etc. In turn I think this then equips our folk to answer questions with their mates too. 

Julie Ann Read - On a Mission to Motivate a Community

Since starting the Pioneering Mission course back in September 2022 I have had my original thinking changed in so many ways!  This course has really opened up my eyes and my heart to what Pioneering and Mission are truly about.

I have found myself looking at simple ways in which to engage with the community and the people of such diverse and varied backgrounds within my local area.

At this point in time as part of the course we are covering ‘Mission and Community’. And part of our course work is to engage in conversations with local people of different ages, backgrounds and cultures to learn more about the things that they are passionate about, concerned about, like to do, gifts they have, things they stand for…and what they would consider being involved or interested in doing?

Then looking at what is termed as the A,B,C,D? Which is Asset Based Community Development. So rather than looking at what is ‘Missing’, looking at the TREASURE that is already available.

I have really been blessed with this task, and so far have found a wealth of knowledge, capabilities and willingness to do things that will bring the local community closer together… but also showing them how God intended us to act and be towards our neighbours, no matter who they might be, amen.

I do hope this is helpful to know that with the support from LWPT, that mustard seed of support will…with Gods help, grow into something wonderful.

P.S. My commissioning service as a Local Preacher, will be on Sunday 2nd July 2023…praise God, for without his strength and grace it would not have been possible! 

Joshua Ludlow - Developing Skills in Preaching and Pastoral Minitry

Receiving a grant and continuing/completing my studies with the help of LWPT has, and will continue, to develop my skills in both preaching and wider pastoral ministry. 

Wycliffe Hall offers training in preaching through oratory classes and opportunities to preach in chapel. My studies have also helped me to preach better through the taught classes which have covered apologetics, Bible teaching and theological reflection on current issues. 

Therefore, not only is the style, method and delivery of my preaching being formed, shaped and improved, but also the content of my sermons have grown in breadth and depth. 

Furthermore, Wycliffe Hall focuses its attention not only on excellent academic practice (being a part of the University of Oxford), but on the holistic spiritual and ministerial formation of its students. I have had been surrounded by wise and experienced pastors and missionaries, had many questions answered and grown so much in spiritual maturity. 

Therefore, receiving LWPT’s help has allowed me to study at Wycliffe Hall and develop in these areas, making me into a more well-rounded, experienced and developed preacher and pastoral carer. I look forward to seeing further doors open in the coming years as I trust the Lord to provide the finances for my studies. 

Scott Hamilton - Hitting the High Notes

As a church family in Edinburgh, the staff team wanted to treat our corporate singing as a Word ministry, shaped by God’s Word. In the same way that you might see someone overseeing student work, or youth work, the church staff team wanted to give someone the responsibility of the music ministry. They wanted someone set apart to raise up new leaders, to train the current musicians, and ultimately equip the church to understand the importance of teaching and admonishing one another in song when we meet on a Sunday.

The grant from the LWPT enabled me to serve in that role and helped me to focus on encouraging the church family to sing gospel songs that were rich and clear, and to express the God-given creativity and skills that we’ve been graciously given by Him as we do so!

Alisa McKinlay - Table Talk

One of my favourite ways of using my newly developed skills has been a regular student outreach event at my university.  Each week, there is a talk and discussion around tables based on a gospel passage. I’ve spoken a few times now, even after having left university, and I’ve loved crafting a talk that is both expositional and evangelical. The feedback has been very encouraging, and it’s been great to hear the conversation on tables following what I’ve said.
My studies, facilitated by the grant, gave me the foundations of preaching and biblical exposition, and that has allowed me to find wonderful new ways to share the gospel.

Cathy Madavan - Self-empowerment

Studying for a master's degree in theology after many years of ministry has been refreshing, empowering and invigorating. I feel as though my preaching, teaching and leading have been given a new lease of life and I have discovered deeper wells of theology to draw on every day. I am so grateful of the support that enabled me to study. It really did make all the difference. 

Oliver Hargreaves - Helping the Youth

Since finishing uni I'm working for Christians against poverty as a debt centre manager and also work as a field officer for Time for God, helping 18 to 25 year olds on placements in ministry. I preach regularly, and am active in my church. One day I hope to do church planting and perhaps a masters, but due to family life I cannot complete at the moment. With a 6 year old and 15 year old (at 32) it's full on. But God has been good to us. Thanks to your grant I discovered my gift for grant application and have raised 50k for the charities in work for which has helped the most vulnerable people have access to care and support.

Joanna Leach - Ever Growing Confidence

I have become a regular on the preaching plan and also been invited to speak at a women’s creative conference. I have been asked to run the Arts Venue at a major Christian Festival called Creation Fest this year. The leader of the church has commented on how I have been a support to him in terms of planning and teaching. 

In terms of mentoring I have been able to mentor others in the church who have also decided to study with the same theological college following my success and enjoyment. This has been really fruitful. I have been asked to preach in other churches also, including other denominations. 

As a trustee for a local Christian Theatre Company I have spoken at Churches Together Breakfasts and following on from this I have been asked to speak at a community Catholic Business owners group. 

The confidence I have gained from my studies and training has become a key part of my character and the calling God has placed on my life. 

Chris Boden - Creative and Interactive Preaching

In my preaching, I have used my studies to find inventive ways of teaching core spiritual ideas in fun ways. For example, teaching about kataphatic spirituality, I got everyone at church to write names for God on the floor with chalkboard markers, creating a beautiful rainbow of God’s names (thankfully it all mopped clean afterwards). In my work, as stewardship officer for the Diocese of Worcester, I have been able to use my studies to talk to congregations about their giving and how it is part of the bigger picture in the history of Christianity.

I have one more module left this year, on Bonaventure and Angela of Foligno – so more Franciscans, and from a recent publication, I would like to write about what they can teach us about trauma theology. Then next year it is my dissertation, looking at Franciscan attitudes to money and financial stewardship – is it about my personal tithe, or our ability to work together as a church?

Thank you again to LWPT for their grant, which has allowed me to engage with my studies.

Sarah Jones - A Career in Compassion

I am an independent student at Trinity College, Bristol, studying in order to nurture and enrich my faith – so that I may be of service to others and thereby participate well in Missio Dei. I began in 2014 with the Level 4 Certificate in Theology, Ministry and Mission, then progressed to the Level 5 Diploma – both now successfully completed. This would not have been possible without the financial support of the Leaders of Worship and Preachers Trust, for which I am very grateful.

I am now approaching the final year of the Level 6 BA Hons, covering my tuition fees myself, having found employment in a Christian setting – a counselling agency providing affordable counselling in Bath, Frome and Wells. Also a registered charity, Focus Counselling’s services are delivered within the context of ‘a Christian ethos which takes people’s spirituality seriously [yet] respects the views of those with other faiths or no faith.’

My role involves providing administrative support to counsellors, helping to enable them to focus on their counselling work. I also provide an interface between clients and the agency in respect of payment issues – a role that requires sensitivity and compassion towards clients, whilst bearing in mind that, to some extent, the organisation’s capacity to provide affordable counselling to those in need relies on the donations of those who are able to make them. It is a job, therefore, that tends to the needs of individuals whilst bearing in mind the organisation’s wider purpose to serve the many.

Next year, in an extended learning project, I am hoping to explore ways in which Christian practice seems to bypass the needs of certain groups, almost as if there are ‘blind spots’ that need addressing. My explorations will take place within my workplace – my hope being that this will enable me to be of greater service within the organisation, particularly as regards the agency fulfilling its mission to provide counselling to those in need. My aim, in this respect, is to serve, yet also to support (perhaps empower) others to serve more fully – if that doesn’t sound too inflated!

Hannah Richards - Deeper Biblical Understanding

The grant that LWPT gave me has enabled me to deepen my preaching and to engage biblically in greater depth with sermons around Philippians, Ephesians and Marks gospel in recent months.

Through working with lots of different Christians at college I have shaped my theology and feel more confident in engaging with people in our community who don’t know God and/or who have different experiences of church.

This course has encouraged me to take a deeper dive into some of the topics that I didn’t get a chance to explore in my studies. I’ve been encouraged to do some lifelong learning which I know will greatly benefit my ministry in my church and beyond.

Robert Savoiu - Opening Doors in the Community

In recent times, and to keep you up to date, college is going great, I am finding friends and support there, with more in-depth learning about God and ministry. I have now finished my first year, and I am looking forward to seeing the results form my final assignments which should be back soon.

The church I am the pastor of is getting more involved in the community, and we see different doors being open, as we open ourselves more to the outside world. We have things such as Messy Church going on where families come and have fun with us and discover more about Jesus, we are getting involved in everything that the community around us is doing (Christmas light-up, Coronation BBQ, providing ice lollies to children in the primary school in the hot weather) just to name a few.

Cara Gibbs - Bringing Ministry to Mums

In 2017 I applied for a vocational grant from the Leaders of Worship and Preachers Trust. The grant was to buy books to help with my studies (I am dyslexic and so having the books at home meant I could read and absorb them at my own pace, rather than rush through them in the library). Alongside my studies, I was working in a boys school in central London and despite my dyslexic difficulties, I didn’t feel I could justify spending the money on books, especially when we had a good enough library at college. I received the grant and it was an invaluable gift in helping me complete my studies. 

I completed my studies in 2018, was Ordained at St Paul’s Cathedral in June 2019 and then did my curacy at St Dionis Church in Parsons Green, all whilst being mum to two young children. My particular focus was on ministry to mums with young children and supporting the children’s and women’s ministry. 

In September 2022 I was licensed as Assistant Priest at The Ascension Church in Balham, where my husband is the vicar. I help lead services and Alpha and support other ministries where I can, whilst also running around after 2 young children. 

I am so thankful for the grant from the Leaders Worship and Preachers Trust. It relieved a lot of pressure at the time and it enabled me to complete my studies. Thanks LWPT and thanks be to God.

Zachary Leach - An Overseas Adventure

I have come across to America with my wife, Kate and one-year old daughter, Lydia, to study at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina. The course is designed to equip men with the skills they will need for lifelong pastoral ministry. The course has a wide range of subjects, to give students a foundation that can lead to lifelong study. In the last year, I have completed courses in Biblical Greek, the Gospels, the Pauline Epistles, Philosophy, History and many others! Perhaps the most interesting class has been a counselling class called 'Trauma & Abuse' - I took the class as an elective, knowing that abuse in the church is often present, but having no understanding of how to deal with it, if I encountered it in my ministry. The calss has equipped me to both be able to identify abuse cases, and respond appropriately as a pastor. 

Alongside my studies, I work as an intern for Christ Covenant, Matthews. I have been particularly involved in ministry to the seniors community, which has included preaching monthly at an evangelistic service at an Old People's Home. It has been a delight to preach a simple gospel to those who need to hear it so desperately.

Currently, our aim is to return to the UK in 2025 and enter into church planting, seeking to bring Christ into the more gospel-deprived parts of England. Please pray for us, that the Lord would equip me with the skills needed, and would lead us to the place he has prepared for us back in the UK. 

David Germon - Extra Care for People with Disabilities

A few months before I began studying in 2020, our youngest daughter Lydia passed away at the age of 4 after hospital treatments caused damage to her brain. While this devastated our family and made doing just about anything difficult, I have been grateful that this course has given me something to focus on and a sense of purpose. I am grateful that Union lecturers have been patient with me trying to study at a time when I was often not at my optimal best.

Life experience and study have helped me prepare for further service to the church and people with disabilities in the church. I know from the experience of caring for Lydia with the disabilities she had, that the church could improve our care for people with disabilities. I was relieved and delighted to have completed my dissertation recently titled “Should the second great commandment" in Matthew 22, to love your neighbour as yourself, be applied differently to people with physical disabilities in the contemporary British church?”

John Gapelbe - Helping Those Dealing with Trauma

First of all, I want to say thank you for the support you gave toward my continuous study in Christian leadership. I have now completed the reading part of the Doctorate course in Christian Leadership and well into the research and dissertation side of the study. The purpose of undertaking the course is to equip myself and gain the confidence to serve in Bible college and engage with the Christian education in general. This course has exposed me to a variety of material that has challenged and stretched my thinking.

One element of the course I engaged with has to do with the awareness of a staggering number of people in church suffering from trauma and the realisation that few churches are trauma informed. The urgency of equipping leaders with essential information and the skills in this area to support the members is compelling. I feel I am personally concerned by the need for trauma informed church. I am motivated to commit myself to be part of the solution for trauma informed church and will explore this issue when I complete this program.

I am also motivated by another element of the course that described Jesus as an example of a leader who makes others and that a church is one generation away from extinction if leaders don’t create other leaders. There is the challenge of multiplying leaders who make other leaders.

The realisation of these challenges made me to think more strategically about my involvement with the local church. I do feel encouraged in my pursuit of preparation to equip others for ministry. I can confidently say that I am glad I took this course and the goal is being achieved as the course is effectively transformative.

Lloyd Owen-Reece - A New Church at a Care Home

After a little online searching I found LWPT and completed my application. To my surprise and delight they immediately provided full funding for the first year for my residential study weeks, and at the end of year one when I reapplied prayerfully, again they provided all my funding enabling the course to be completed.

At the end of this time, I applied for ministry and the selection panel agreed that I was now a Minister In Training, which was two years ago. My ordination will be in one more year now, but in the meantime, I have planted a church within a very large and very lovely elderly care home, with over twenty attendees every Sunday, and over a dozen every Wednesday evening for devotions. I preach in various churches of different denominations, including Baptist, Pentecostal, Congregational and Apostolic as well as Salvation Army. I also attend evangelistic events in Wales, usually as a part of the ministry team.

Although currently in secular employment, the church national body are now considering me for full time paid ministry roles.

Ceri and Gavin Duffy - Growing Together

Although challenging, we have found the assignments to be very beneficial through applying the principles taught, to our lives and seeing the fruit develop over the months. We feel that we are growing in the giftings that God has bestowed upon us, as we learn through the teaching from MIT. These giftings have been put into practice whilst serving in Bethel church where we are currently part of the leadership team.

We have been busy using what we have learned so far to help encourage, build up and equip the body of Christ in our local area and have been honoured to be able to speak for various events. Gavin has recently spoke at our Maesteg campus (Bethel) for the Good Friday service, which was a great time of reflection, gratitude and repentance. I had the honour of speaking for a local Mother’s Day event at a church in South Wales (Hope church) through a relationship formed with students who are also on the MIT course. We are so grateful for the funding and support from LWPT to be able to study with Assemblies of God, and are so excited to continue the journey to become more like Christ and keep growing over the next few years.

Will Harvey - Encouragement for Younger People

I finished my studies at Oak Hill College 3 years ago and have since been serving as Full Time Elder at Woodlands Church in Derby. My particular role is as Children's and Youth Pastor, and this will usually include preaching to the church family at least once a month, as well as teaching children and youth multiple times each week. I'm so grateful for my training which has equipped me to understand, digest, and then communicate the Bible to those I'm teaching.

I've still got lots to learn and improve in, but by the Lord's kindness my preaching and teaching seems to be well-received and bearing fruit. The training that LWPT helped to fund helps me to prepare talks and sermons that are clear and engage hearts, remaining faithful to God's Word. Without the training I received, I think my teaching and preaching would be much less clear, following whatever track my own mind followed, rather than (God-willing) reflecting the content, feel, and shape of the passages of Scripture God has given us, guided by God's inspiration and not just my own.

I hope to keep serving the Lord where I am for many years to come, and pray that the training I've received will enable me to be as sharp a tool as possible, in order to "equip the saints for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up!" So thanks LWPT for contributing to my growth and development, to the life of our church family, and ultimately, by his grace, to the glory of God and his Kingdom.

Peter Shears - Using Art to Grow Community Engagement

In terms of my involvement with my church, St. Anne's in Lewes, I have used my knowledge and understanding of art and Christianity to inform my sermons; on Christmas Day 2022 for example I preached on the Word using the opening lines of John's Gospel as my text and referring throughout to an icon of Christ as Word, copies of which I distributed to everyone attending.

I also led a four-week Lent course in which I used artworks as a theological medium for exploring episodes from Matthew's Gospel. These sessions were very well received by those who attended; we had 20-24 people at each session, and it was wonderful to see how the artworks served to open discussion and self-revelation. The MA has also enabled me to apply successfully for a place as a volunteer member of the Methodist Modern Art Management committee; this will involve developing the use of the Methodist modern Art collection in schools and colleges throughout England.

The grant from LWPT has given me access to a whole new way of thinking and talking about my faith through enabling me to study part-time for the MA. The course has transformed my approach to preaching and to ministry in general by enabling me to use artworks as a means of enabling people to make connections between their personal experiences with stories and ideas from the Gospels through discussion and exploration of Christian-themed images. I know from the feedback I’ve had that people have valued and benefitted from my work. I am immensely grateful to the LWPT for their support and encouragement in enabling me to make so many discoveries about art, my faith, and myself.

Becca Taylor - Pre-School Age Bible Classes

Carrying on with my studies at Cornhill, thanks to a grant from LWPT, has given me the skills to be sharper in my Bible handling, and to teach others well. I recently helped to teach the three and four year olds at Revive, the annual co-mission festival in Canterbury. This makes a big difference, allowing parents of those age kids to know they can drop their kids off and go enjoy the big top sessions themselves, in the knowledge their children are receiving sound teaching. 

I also regularly help teach the same age group in my church, as well as those up to the age of about 8. With Cornhill training under my belt, I can handle a passage well, work out how to dissect it and make it simple enough for a child to understand without changing the meaning. 

I've used my Cornhill training with adults too - through the English Conversation classes I've helped run for the last two years, and in reading one to one with people linked to the church, either members or seekers. I've also helped run Hope Explored courses, and Cornhill training is a big help with that. 

Tom Murray - Bringing Parsishes Together

I am a church of England associate minister in Oxford who leads a church plant into a part of the city called Cutteslowe. It is a Bishop’s Mission Order church plant, which means that three parish churches are working together to plant a new church across parish boundaries.

The grant money that I was given was used to purchase commentaries to help improve the depth of sermons that I was preparing for the church. I am grateful for the support which helped develop the teaching series that we are currently in looking at the book of Ephesians. I have also been able to share these books with our preaching team who are helping preach through the series. Thanks for your partnership in the gospel and your ongoing support.   

Carol Jack - Bible Conservations to Bring Churches Together

The reading, lectures, residentials, material and precious time in a theological library, have had a huge transforming impact on me and therefore on my church and its community.

My preaching goes deeper, I believe partly owing to the spiritual transformation modules, which are inspirational; I believe God uses all of this learning for His glory.

I recently started a fortnightly Bible Conversations course for our circuit, comprising 13 churches, based on the 5 women from Jesus’ geniality. We began with Tamar and these conversations have been thrilling, opening up the Old Testament wonderfully for those who were nervous about it.

The feedback has been amazing and I wouldn’t have been nearly as confident doing this without the Old Testament modules in my first year at WTC, which you guys helped to fund!