2021 Bible Teachers and Preachers Foundational Network

The church is always at its healthiest where there is a passion for the preaching of God’s Word.  Across the world there is a growing movement of church leaders and lay preachers who are committed to biblical, clear, engaging, and relevant Bible teaching and preaching.  This movement transcends denominations and brings together people with a passion to feed the church and spread the Gospel through effective presentation of God’s Word.

This year’s Bible Teachers and Preachers Network will again be split into two levels. Each level will incorporate the dynamics of a learning community to enable participants to learn together and grow together as Bible teachers.  Both levels are driven by a commitment to understanding not only the mechanics of Bible teaching and preaching, but also the theological heartbeat of effective ministry.  They will share a passion for practical training as well as a determination to understand the Word and expound it clearly, relevantly and engagingly, in our European context.  

The Foundational Network is designed to be an introduction to bible teaching. All those who teach the Bible, (whether in a local church setting, on university campuses or elsewhere, whether from the pulpit or not), are welcome to join us.  While the primary focus will be on pulpit preaching, the principles of handling and communicating the Bible will apply in multiple ministry contexts.  

Prior preparation will be set for all applicants.

NETWORK LEADER

Peter Mead is the director of Cor Deo, a ministry training programme in Chippenham, England. He is also part of the leadership team of Trinity Chippenham, a church Peter helped to plant back in 2014.  Peter is a lecturer for Union School of Theology.  He studied at Multnomah Biblical Seminary before getting his Doctor of Ministry degree under Haddon Robinson at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in the area of expository preaching. Peter is the author of The Little Him Book (10Publishing), as well as Pleased to Dwell, Lost in Wonder, and Foundations (Christian Focus), and the preaching blog: BiblicalPreaching.net.  He is married to Melanie and they have six children.

NETWORK SPEAKERS

Mike Chalmers works at Cor Deo as a mentor, and also with UFM as an administrator. Previously, he was a Staff Worker in Wales with UCCF. He enjoys preaching and discipling and continues to support and encourage university students by speaking at training events and missions. Mike is an uncle to three nephews, a brother to one sister, and married Susana last summer!

Stefan Gustavsson is a member of the European Leadership Forum Steering Committee. He is the director for Apologia – Centre for Christian Apologetics and makes his home in Stockholm. He was the founding General Secretary for the Swedish Evangelical Alliance. Stefan travels widely with apologetic teaching and training and is often involved in university evangelism and public debates. He is the author of several books on Christian apologetics and the Christian mind. Stefan is married to Ingrid and they have three grown children.

Andy Hamilton is originally from Northern Ireland but has lived in Italy for most of his life. Andy obtained a Bachelor of Divinity and a Master of Theology from Queen’s University Belfast through Belfast Bible College.  Following his studies Andy served as Youth Pastor of Scrabo Hall in Newtownards, Northern Ireland and was member of the steering committee of a discipleship and missions training programme called FirstServe (first-serve.org.uk). He currently lives in the outskirts of Rome and is involved in church planting in a town called Monte Porzio Catone. Andy also teaches and coordinates the distance-learning programme at I.B.E.I. (Istituto Biblico Evangelico Italiano – Italian Evangelical Bible Institute). He is married to Ruth, and they have two children, Isaiah and Hollie.

Fraser Kay has been Pastor of North Swindon Baptist Church for the last 10 years. Before then he was teaching within Christian Education. While he did some basic seminary training in his early twenties, his main learning has been ‘on the job’ in the rigours of ministry. He and his wife, Casey, have been married 21 years and his bio would not be complete without referring to her faithful partnership with him in the gospel. They have 2 children, one of them in adulthood now. Fraser’s passion is preaching to see men and women behold Jesus Christ and his kingdom, being transformed as they grow in relationship with Him.

Steve Mitchell is part of the leadership team at Cornerstone Church in Swindon, a church plant in the rapidly expanding north of the town. Steve is passionate about seeing God’s people equipped to share God’s Word wherever they are. Previously, he worked in the IT industry and spent 4 months in Uganda with Mission Aviation Fellowship. Steve is married to Jackie, they have three adult children and no grandchildren (yet).

Peter J. Williams is the Principal and CEO of Tyndale House, Cambridge. He was educated at Cambridge University, where he received his MA, MPhil, and PhD in the study of ancient languages related to the Bible. After his PhD, he was on staff in the Faculty of Divinity, Cambridge University (1997–1998), and thereafter taught Hebrew and Old Testament at Cambridge University as Affiliated Lecturer in Hebrew and Aramaic and as Research Fellow in Old Testament at Tyndale House, Cambridge (1998–2003). From 2003 to 2007 he was on the faculty of the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, where he became a Senior Lecturer in New Testament and Deputy Head of the School of Divinity, History, and Philosophy. Since 2007 he has been leading Tyndale House, and he is also an Affiliated Lecturer in the Faculty of Divinity in the University of Cambridge. He is a member of the Translation Oversight Committee of the English Standard Version of the Bible. Most recently he has been assisting Dr Dirk Jongkind in Tyndale House’s production of a major edition of the Greek New Testament.

NETWORK PROGRAMME

Day 1

The Pastor’s Bible

Andy Hamilton

The Bible is God’s instrument of change, transformation, and, above all, a revelation of His heart. We should expect that whenever the Bible is opened and faithfully taught, lives will be changed and transformed. This session will consider the importance of the Bible in the life of every disciple and the local church. How should the teacher/preacher approach the Bible in order to see transformation in their own life as well as in the lives of those who hear?

Shaping a Message: From Text to Ideas

Mike Chalmers

How do we move from personal Bible study to preparing a message that is biblical, clear, engaging, and relevant to our listeners? This session gives an overview of the steps from the study of the text to understanding the main idea. A group exercise will engage the process with a specific biblical text.

Day 2

Shaping a Message: From Idea to Message

Mike Chalmers

This session gives an overview of the steps involved in shaping a message based on previous study of the text.  Following the presentation, we will work in facilitated groups to apply the learning to a biblical text as we move from text to sermon.

Preaching with Variety: Narrative, Poetry, and Discourse

Peter Mead

The Bible God has given us is overflowing with variety.  It was written by over forty authors, in three languages, on three continents, over a couple of thousand years, and yet is united by the Spirit into a single masterful work that points us to Christ.  The Bible is anything but dull.  The Bible God has given us is what you might expect from the kind of God we find in it: creative, diverse, and fully united.  It doesn’t remain aloof and abstract, but engages with real life in all its fullness.  This session looks at the main three types of literature in the Bible: narrative, poetry, and discourse. If we can rightly understand the types of literature, we can tap into their unique strengths to make our preaching the best it can be!

Day 3

Sermon Exercise

Mike Chalmers and Steve Mitchell

Working together as a learning community we will seek to reinforce the learning that has already taken place as we work with examples of the different genres introduced in the previous session.  How will a different genre of passion change the approach we take to shaping our message when we preach?  How can we make sure that the main idea is effectively communicated, and how can we be certain that God’s inspired genre influences the message we fashion?

Preaching the Bible Evangelistically

Stefan Gustavsson

The Bible God has given us is overflowing with variety.  It was written by over forty authors, in three languages, on three continents, over a couple of thousand years, and yet is united by the Spirit into a single masterful work that points us to Christ.  The Bible is anything but dull.  The Bible God has given us is what you might expect from the kind of God we find in it: creative, diverse, and fully united.  It doesn’t remain aloof and abstract, but engages with real life in all its fullness.  This session looks at the main three types of literature in the Bible: narrative, poetry, and discourse. If we can rightly understand the types of literature, we can tap into their unique strengths to make our preaching the best it can be!

Day 4

Interview with Peter J. Williams (Combined with Advanced Network)

hosted by Peter Mead

This combined session with both Bible Teachers Networks will offer a unique opportunity to hear and learn from Peter Williams as we bring questions to him about the plenary Bible teaching, as well as the rest of God’s Word too.

Preaching in a Context of Suffering (Combined with Advanced Network)

Mike Chalmers, Andy Hamilton, Steve Mitchell, Fraser Kay

Preaching is not only about the message, but it is also about the context of the listeners.  In this final session we will think together about preaching in a context of suffering – whether it is a global pandemic, local tragedy, or the hard grind of normal life. How can we preach God’s Word in a way that will be heard by those who are hurting?  We will also use some of the session to conclude the week together.