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EUROPEAN EVANGELISM SEMINAR: TRACK 2

Europe is the most relativistic and pagan continent on the earth. Europeans desperately need to hear and understand the life giving word of truth - the gospel. How do we share this message to them in ways that are relevant, biblical and credible? This Seminar's two-year curriculum is designed for evangelists, pastors and lay evangelists who want to be equipped to be more effective evangelists. This Seminar will be led by Amy Orr-Ewing, Training Director of RZIM Zacharias Trust.  Also speaking in this Seminar Track are Michael Ramsden, Nick Chatrath, Vlad Criznic and Tom Price.

The Zacharias apologetics and evangelism training has been running in its current form for several years in Europe. The teaching aims to be academic and serious but at the same time inspirational and life-transforming. A set of comprehensive notes is given out after the session which encourages each participant to take their own notes during the session, but also equips each person by the end to be able to present the material themselves in their own home context. The vision of the training is to fulfill the mandate of 1 Peter 3:15: "Always be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience."

The training aims to equip Christians to reach their friends with the Gospel on a one to one basis, so that in the different workplaces and University settings in our nations, Christians are able to credibly and compellingly answer the real questions of their friends and lead them to Christ. As a result of the training which has taken place, many participants have had the joy of confidently leading work colleagues, family members and university friends to Christ. This is the heartbeat of the course - that ultimately many men and women will turn to Christ, and bring about change for good in the different arenas they are called into by God.

SEMINAR SPEAKERS

Amy Orr-Ewing, the leader of the European Evangelism Seminars at the Forum, is Training Director of RZIM Zacharias Trust and Director of Programmes for the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics (OCCA). She gained a first class degree in Theology at Christ Church, Oxford University, before receiving a Masters degree in Theology at King’s College, London. As well as overseeing the Zacharias Trust and OCCA apologetics training programmes, Amy is invited to speak at many universities, churches and conferences worldwide. Her book Why Trust the Bible? was shortlisted for the 2006 UK Christian Book Awards, and her most recent book, But Is It Real?, was published in July 2008. Amy has co-authored with her husband Holy Warriors: A Fresh Look at the Face of Extreme Islam and Deep and has contributed to the books God and the Generations, Worth Knowing: Wisdom for Women and Beyond Opinion. She is married to Frog (Francis), who is a vicar in the Church of England, and they live in London with their three sons, Zachary, Elijah and Benjamin.

Michael Ramsden, a member of the Forum Steering Committee, has been the European Director of RZIM Zacharias Trust since its foundation in 1997. He grew up in the Middle East, returning to the UK to work for the Lord Chancellor's Department and to study. While at Sheffield University doing research in Law and Economics, he taught Moral Philosophy and lectured for the International Seminar on Jurisprudence and Human Rights in Strasbourg. Michael speaks to a wide variety of audiences worldwide and is involved in a number of initiatives to equip and train emerging leaders and evangelists throughout Europe. He has contributed to the book Preach the Word! and has written a series of articles for Idea magazine, giving an evangelical response to some of today’s most challenging issues. He is married to Anne and they live in Oxford with their three children.

 

Nick Chatrath is primarily an evangelist and apologist and also has experience in business (McKinsey and various directorships). His main focus now is academia. Building on masters degrees in Theology and Islamic Studies, he is pursuing a doctorate in Islamic History at the University of Oxford. In early 2010, he had his first article published in a peer-reviewed academic journal.  He is one of the leaders at Emmanuel Church Oxford, is married to Tanja and lives in Oxford.

 

Vlad Criznic leads the RZIM Zacharias Trust Romania Office, and his primary responsibility is to serve as an evangelist and apologist for Romania and Eastern Europe.  His role with RZIM has recently led him to speak in such varied countries as the Ukraine, Serbia, Croatia, Moldova, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Azerbaijan. In 2008, he completed studies at the Bible College in Romania.

 

 

 Tom Price is an Academic Tutor at the OCCA and an Associate speaker of the RZIM Zacharias Trust. He holds degrees in Christian Apologetics (MA) and Philosophy (BA). Tom was the founding Editor of the University and Colleges Christian Fellowship's world class apologetics website bethinking.org. Tom regularly lectures and speaks on Christian Apologetics, at events such as Spring Harvest, the European Leadership Forum, Hungary, and 24-7 Prayer's Transit. Tom is also the Student Resources Coordinator for the Damaris Trust - an educational charity that seeks to help people across the world explore spiritual and moral issues underlying their contemporary culture. Tom's specific interests include: meta-ethics, analytic and continental arguments for God, faith and reason, suffering, cultural apologetics and C.S. Lewis. Tom is married to Caroline and they live in Oxford.

SEMINAR PROGRAMME

Day 1

 

Isn't Religion Dangerous?

Nick Chatrath

 

‘Religion is historically and currently the cause of much conflict and evil in the world!’ This is an objection commonly leveled at Christians, and is persistent in the arguments of many popular atheists today. But is it fair? This session will examine the foundations of this objection and others like it and will consider how, as Christians, we can respond to and counter the assertion that Christianity/religion is dangerous.

 

Suffering + Questions and Answers (Tracks 1 and 2 Combined)

Michael Ramsden and Vlad Criznic 

 

Here we discuss the most difficult questions that non-Christians ask and help each person to begin thinking of different ways of answering them. This interactive session is designed to help each person grow in confidence in their personal evangelism.

 

 

Day 2

 

The Divorce from Reality

Michael Ramsden

 

In this session we look at a number of influential philosophies and ideologies which have influenced our culture. We turn our attention particularly upon the idea that reality is inaccessible to us and the implications of a divorce from reality. We then build a Christian response and answer to this most fundamental of issues.

 

Worldview and Popular Culture

Tom Price

 

We live in the grid. It is all around us, and it is inside us. We are often unaware of it. As we actually do evangelism we will observe that something being exciting, persuasive, or meaningful to one person, is no guarantee that a different person will not be left completely cold, or untouched by the same. Why is that our experience? In this session we will think about how different underlying worldviews affect evangelism, then we'll look at how we can help people to uncover and examine their own worldview. We'll then give a practical model for how we can exploring and enjoying the stories in contemporary popular culture - particularly secular film - and how these can provide us with one way to have natural, yet subversive conversations with sceptical people about the gospel and the challenge of the person of Jesus.

 

Day 3

 

Questions and Answers (Tracks 1 and 2 Combined)

Zacharias Trust Team 

 

Here we discuss the most difficult questions that non-Christians ask and help each person to begin thinking of different ways of answering them. This interactive session is designed to help each person grow in confidence in their personal evangelism.

 

Why Trust the Bible

Amy Orr-Ewing

 

In this session we will look at the most commonly asked questions about the integrity, relevance and reliability of the Bible. The aim is to equip each participant to answer any question about the Bible from a non-Christian friend with confidence.  

 

Day 4

 

The Nature of Truth

Amy Orr-Ewing

 

The very concept of truth is under fire in our time from many different directions. In this session we seek to give a biblical understanding of truth and to equip each participant to defend truth in the marketplace of ideas.

 

Commission and Prayer (Tracks 1 and 2 Combined)

Nick Chatrath

 

This session will consist of a short talk followed by prayer for one another.