2027 Marriage and Family Ministry Network
- Image
The Marriage and Family Ministry Network's vision is to see families transformed and become instruments of restoration and reformation. The Network will train and encourage Christian leaders who want to grow in their own marriage and family relationships and help other marriages and families be healed and transformed. Participants in the Marriage and Family Ministry Network will receive specialised training at the Forum Annual Meeting as well as helpful resources and mentoring opportunities.
What Network Participants Are Saying
- "I was encouraged when I saw so many leaders and ministries together with the same goal to spread the Gospel and revive the church in Europe. It is very powerful to understand that we are not alone and we can share resources, equip one another, and encourage one another."
- Daniel Lavric, Pastor, Romania - "Attending ELF is a real battery charge for my soul and ministry. It's a place for continuity of learning and growth. Over the past years, I have had the opportunity to deepen my skills in discipleship, apologetics, homiletics, and church revitalization. This year I am taking part in the Marriage and Family Network to learn how to more effectively serve and mentor young university couples. I was not able to attend ELF for the last 3 years and I felt like there was a huge gap in my growth and development. So even more I appreciate the chance to be here with such a wonderful crowd of saints. ELF is boosting me for the upcoming challenges and ministry."
- Leszek Wakula, President of Polish Bible Society, Poland
Through the Marriage and Family Ministry Network, leaders will be equipped to help families be transformed by the power and presence of God’s amazing grace into instruments of restoration and reformation.
Network Leadership
Network Speakers
Pastor David Fleming served the local church for nearly 30 years, most recently as Sr. Pastor of Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. Under David’s leadership, the church grew to become a large multi-cultural and multi-site congregation that also planted churches across the US and… Read more
Sharon James studied history at Cambridge University, theology at Toronto Baptist Seminary, and has a doctorate from the University of Wales. Sharon is married to Bill, who is Principal of London Seminary. They have two grown-up children and eight grandchildren. She has taught history in the UK… Read more
Jay Mosser has served in pastoral roles for 43 years – about 20 years in various assistant pastor capacities and the rest as senior pastor. Through those years he has served in three churches ranging from smaller (less than 50) to larger (about 1,000). Along the way he has worked with children,… Read more
Dave Patty has been involved in training youth leaders and leading national and international youth movements in Europe for over 30 years. He serves as the president of Josiah Venture. He is also a founding member of Concentric, which mobilizes and equips youth ministry trainers in over 60… Read more
Kristy Williams has 19 years of experience as a full-time missionary in the context of youth ministry and leadership training. She serves primarily in Ukraine, though her love for training leaders takes her to different places across Europe with her missionary organization, Josiah Venture.… Read more
Network Programme
Sunday, 23 May
Whether we like it at the moment or not, God uses our marriages and families to humble us and to rescue us from ourselves. Christian community—and especially the family—is presented in Scripture as an essential part of our spiritual growth toward becoming more like Jesus. In this session, we will learn about and celebrate the role of our closest relationships in pressing us toward Christ.
Children are a blessing. Our culture often gives the idea that they are a burden: disposable if they get in the way of adult self-fulfilment. We will look at the current attacks on God’s design for family life, as well as some of the cultural pressures on children (including the assumption that all children have the ‘right’ to sexual pleasure and to decide their personal gender identity). We will consider the harm done not only to children, but to society. Finally, we will consider how we, as Christians, should respond.
Monday, 24 May
Our homes can be a fertile breeding ground for conflict. Whether it's a disagreement with our spouse, a battle of wills with our children, or repeated clashes with an extended family member, relational tensions in families are inevitable. This seminar explores the nature of conflict in the context of family and proposes a biblical model for resolving (or at least managing!) relational conflict.
Tuesday, 25 May
Adolescent brain development is highly sensitive to particular inputs, including social media. Research has shown a decline in adolescent mental health since 2012, the same year that key changes occurred with the large social media platforms. This session will look at the effects of social media and persuasive technology on brain development and addiction in order to consider how we can better shepherd the next generation.
The battle for your attention is relentless. Every day, AI and social media invent more sophisticated methods of force-feeding you information. In these troubled times, we need ancient wisdom to guide our way. The book of Proverbs is full of short, pithy insights, but together they are designed to build four overarching ‘wisdom habits’ into your life. What are these four habits, and how can you use them to cultivate wisdom in yourself, your children, and the people you lead? This seminar will give you an overview of the core habits and help you become more deliberate at practising and teaching the path of wisdom.
Wednesday, 26 May
God’s design for womanhood includes the capacity for motherhood. Some may be called to fulfil that calling by means of “spiritual motherhood” (throughout church history there have been hosts of wonderful examples). But the Bible teaches that marriage and motherhood is a blessing. All too often, our culture pushes in the opposite direction. We will look at current cultural assaults on motherhood, and also look at the negative impact of that on both family and society. Finally, we will consider how we, as Christians, should respond.
In this last session, we will explore the following questions:
- How can we apply what we have learned to our own marriages and family relationships?
- What can we take back to our home churches and ministries to teach and encourage others?
We plan to end the Network by reflecting on lessons learned this week and putting together a personal action plan. We will form cohort groups to keep one another accountable to the plans we've made and to spend some time in prayer.