Spearhead 2012

SpearheadWinter 2011/12

The ManyFaces ofMission

spearhead2011w.indd 1 19/12/2011 14:02

hristian bookshops across

the country sell armbands

with the words ‘what would

Jesus do?’ emblazoned

on them. These armbands

raise a very important issue,

exactly what did Jesus do

when he came to earth

as God’s answer to the

world’s problems? This is

a key question for mission

organizations because not

only do we understand that

Jesus is the Saviour of the

world, we also believe that he

was the first great missionary sent

from God the Father to impact our world.

Studying the life of Jesus is a

fascinating and worthwhile thing to do. He

was a person of such wonderful grace, yet

determined and strong; someone whose

life was filled with purposeful activity

as he served God in a thoughtful and

deliberate way. Yet, summing up Jesus’

mission activity is not easy because he

was involved in a great variety of things.

In Luke 4:18,19 we are given a résumé or

a purpose statement of Jesus’ missionary

enterprise. Reading from Isaiah, Jesus

declared that he had come to preach

good news to the poor, to proclaim

freedom for prisoners, to bring sight to

the blind, freedom for the oppressed and

to proclaim God’s goodness. All of this

was carried out, and more besides, as

Jesus wandered around the countryside

with his disciples doing good.

Throughout the gospels we see Jesus

perform miracles so that people who

are sick and could not afford or access

medical help could nonetheless find

healing. We also see Jesus spending

time with individuals, sometimes

people who were lonely, rejected and

marginalized by their society. As he

gave them time he was giving them

something of himself, and his obvious

love and care for them impacted and

changed their lives. We also see Jesus

the Evangelist in passages such as

John 3, where he challenges Nicodemus

about his spiritual condition and tells

him firmly but gently that he needs to

be born again. However, Jesus was not

just an evangelist, he was also a great

teacher. The Sermon on the Mount is as

complete and well-rounded a sermon

as anyone could preach. Here in this

sermon Jesus gives his followers a

EuropeanEditionSpearhead is published

twice yearly to report on the

work of GLO in Europe and

around the world and to promote

mission interest. GLO exists to

engage in evangelism, church

planting and training. This is done

in partnership with missionaries and

national leaders in many countries.

There is no subscription rate for

Spearhead but readers are welcome

to send gifts towards postage and

production.

Contents:Spearhead Winter 2011/12 Issue

Editorial

The Many Faces of Mission

by Stephen McQuoid 2

Summer Team Experience

by Stephen McQuoid 4

Reaching the Student World

by Marie-Christine Fave 6

Reaching into Schools

by Brian Hawthorne 7

Partners in Training

by Philippe Perrilliat 8

GLO Bookshop by Andrew Lacey 10

Mission behind the Scenes

by Anna McRobert 11

The Many Faces of Training

by Mark Davies 12

Planting Together by Ian Smith 14

GLO ‘Alive’ in Zambia

by David Lukama 15

C

Faces of The Many

“His obvious love and care for them impacted and changed their lives.”

Speahead Winter 2011/12

Many Faces of Mission

2

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worldview and a code of ethics that they

are to apply to their lives. He teaches

them about the values of God’s kingdom

and enables them to see how true faith

should be lived out in practice. All of

this, his teaching, his evangelism, his

social care, and his healing provide

a template for missionaries today as

they go around doing what Jesus did in

obedience to God’s call to mission. It is

this very call that inspires missionaries

today as they respond to the Great

Commission, making disciples of all

nations, baptizing them and teaching all

that Jesus himself taught.

In the work of GLO, Jesus’ model

of mission very much applies. Our

passion and desire as an organization

is to see people throughout Europe

being reached with the gospel and

churches being planted so that they

can be vibrant witnessing communities

in the world around them. We are

unashamedly evangelistic because of our

deep conviction that people throughout

Europe need to know Christ in a

personal way. But while our heartbeat is

evangelism, we also see mission in its

broadest terms, just as Jesus did. Jesus

taught people and trained his disciples,

so we too are involved in teaching and

training. Just as Jesus spent time with

people, caring for them and expressing

God’s love to them, so we too are

involved in people’s lives in a whole

variety of ways so that we can convey

God’s love and encouragement to them.

The range of different ministries

carried out by GLO workers is

encouraging and exciting. In addition

to evangelism and church planting GLO

is involved in theological education,

local church training, schools’ work,

counseling and a full range of other

activities that are intended to meet the

needs of the church and community in

Europe today. This edition of Spearhead

focuses on the many ‘faces’ of GLO

that can be seen across Europe. Our

desire is that as you reflect on the wide

range of ministries that we are involved

with, it will challenge you to pray more

intelligently for the work of GLO and

perhaps even think of ways in which

you can help us as we fulfill the mission

to which God has called us.

Stephen McQuoid

GLO General Director

Facebook: GLO-europe Stephen McQuoid

Mission

Leaving a lasting legacyMany people have a concern about what the long term impact of their

lives will be on others. As Christians this is a big issue because the

Bible encourages us to live our lives in view of eternity. GLO, along

with many other Christian organisations, benefits greatly from legacies

that people leave behind. It is a way of significantly helping the work

of the kingdom by organising your giving after you have gone.

We have produced an information booklet on the use of legacies and if

you would like to have one then write to:

Stephen McQuoid | GLO Centre | 78 Muir Street | Motherwell | ML1 1BN

“You can help us fulfill the mission to which God has

called us.”

Gospel Literature Outreach

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hort term teams have

always been an important

part of the work of GLO.

Not only are they a key

evangelistic tool, they are also a great

spiritual blessing to the people who go

on them. Despite the difficulties in the

current economic climate, we were very

encouraged to have approximately 130

people on the summer team programme

in 2011. These were, in turn, joined

by an equal number of people in host

churches who worked with the summer

team members to spread the gospel.

As usual, team members ranged in

age from 17 – 60+ and proved to be an

exciting mix of experience and energy.

Over the years lasting friendships have

been formed on summer teams and the

feedback suggests that this year was no

exception. It was also thrilling to see

team members from different countries

working together bringing to the team,

not only different gifts, but also different

languages and cultural backgrounds.

Team locations varied. Some were

based in large cities such as Naples

and Marseille, while others took place

in smaller towns. In each location,

however, there was real spiritual need as

there is throughout Europe. Just as the

locations were varied, so too were the

team programmes. Some teams focused

on a wide range of activities to reach

children and young people.

Others put an emphasis on

literature distribution and door-

to-door visitation to impact as

many people as possible. Many

utilized market stands, open

airs, international evenings

and family fun days. These

activities provided team members with

opportunity to develop and use skills

in music, drama, puppetry, art, sport,

conversation, and public speaking. The

‘Music 4 the Soul’ team in Laval was a

specialised team, which put together

a high quality music programme and a

series of concerts. Another specialised

team was the one that went to Prague to

run English language classes as a way of

making contacts.

For some team members this was their

first experience of a GLO summer mission,

others were regular team members. It is

our prayer that some of them will think

seriously about a commitment to long term

mission and will join us in the work of GLO

as we endeavour to plant churches and

reach out to people throughout Europe.

We were very pleased by that fact that

three of the teams were filled by youth

leaders who block-booked teams and

organised for a group of young people to

go from their church. Phil Davies took a

group from Dunvant Christian Fellowship,

S

“I really enjoyed my time in Newcastle, it was fun sharing God’s Word and what he has done in my life with others. ”

Summer TeamExperience

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South Wales to Romania, Andy Hamilton

accompanied a group from Scrabo Hall,

Newtownards, N. Ireland to Avellino,

Italy, and Iain McCallum took a group

from the YF in Cartsbridge Evangelical

Church, Glasgow to the Czech Republic.

Initiatives like this not only help GLO to

reach people with the gospel, they also

help the youth workers as they disciple

their young people. Reflecting on his

experience Iain McCallum writes:

I believe that forming a team of young

people from the Youth Fellowship to

serve in a cross-cultural context is a

very worthy part of the overall ministry

that takes place during the year. The

galvanising effect on the team was also

one of the primary advantages of the

experience. We met many times on the

lead up to the mission to pray and

plan for our time away. There is also no

doubt that the experience of serving in

a cross-cultural context had a profound

effect on the young people.

Lots of team members have been

in touch to express something of what

the summer team programme meant to

them. Niel who went on the Romanian

team wrote, “For me the over-riding

memory for GLO 2011 in Romania was the

village of Merca. The run down group of

Communist era apartment blocks were

depressing and made me wonder who

would want to live here. As we opened

the car doors the kids ran to us, grinning

and smiling and talking excitedly. They

took the leaflets we had so quickly, we

were left standing around wondering

what to do next, so we chatted to them.

In the end we had to force ourselves to

leave. Each subsequent visit was just as

amazing, so much love, community spirit,

yes, rough and tough but I learnt so

much from them.”

On a similar vein Lizzy Conroy wrote,

“I really enjoyed my time in Newcastle, it

was fun sharing God’s Word and what he

has done in my life with others. Really

excited about next year and where God

will send me.” Another team member,

Christina, stated, “‘We had the most

fantastic time away and I feel it has

been truly life changing.”

As we look back to the summer of

2011 we are thrilled that thousands

of tracts and scriptures have been

distributed, thousands of people have

heard the gospel, and that the lives of

many Christians have been impacted for

God. It is now time for prayer. We need

to pray that all of the literature and the

conversations will challenge people to

think and that we will hear of people

coming to faith in Christ. We also need

to pray for the resident missionaries and

national workers who now have the job of

following up contacts from the teams. We

will be praying for team members for next

year, willing to give two weeks of their

lives to reach needy Europeans for Christ.

Stephen McQuoid


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here are about 2.2 million

university students in

France with approximately

67,000 of these in the

University of Aix, Marseille. The student

population is a distinct group that needs

to be reached with the gospel.

Why work among university students?

Several reasons can encourage us to do so:

Students are going through a very

strategic period of their lives. Many

important choices (career, job, marriage...)

are being made. Their ideas and

convictions are still being formulated. As

one student, Dominique, noticed a few

years after her studies: “I realise that now

I am asking myself fewer questions”.

Students spend one of the most

sociable times of their lives mixing with

many people at university or in the

halls of residence, and are looking for a

group with whom they can feel at ease.

Speaking about our Bible study group,

Natana explains: “Here discussions and

activities are contained within a moral

framework. So we can

be more natural and

feel more at ease with

ourselves.”

“For students who

don’t live at home, church

life is complicated” says

Raphaël, because they spend one part of

the week in one town and the weekend

in another. So Christian activities and

groups can be a help to them.

Among the 10 % of foreign students,

some come from countries which are

not very open to the Christian faith.

What an opportunity to meet them and

share the gospel with them!

A challenge

Starting a new ministry among students in

Marseille represented a challenge for me

as it was the first time I had developed a

work from its beginnings. There were very

few students in the church (Le Cep) at

that time. We created an association which

is called: ESPEVIE (Espace Protestant

Evangélique de la Vie Etudiante).

Food for thought

We try to do some distribution of flyers

in the halls of residence and some

surveys at the entrance to the university.

It is a good way to speak with students,

and share the gospel. Some students

don’t ask themselves a lot of questions

about God. This makes me think about

the vast crowd that Jesus saw in Mark

6:34. Jesus “had compassion on them

because they were like sheep without

a shepherd. So he taught them many

things.” Pray that God will give us

compassion for university students and

opportunities to share the gospel.

A further step ... Bible in hand

We have Bible study groups nearly every

week during term time. Christians and

seekers together look at biblical texts

and discuss them. Natana explains: “It

is encouraging for me to know some

Christians on my campus. I meet others

who present me with spiritual challenges.

We have the opportunity to deepen

our knowledge of biblical texts. She

also adds: “the subjects discussed are

relevant to life as a student”.

Local Church link

The link with our church (Le Cep) and

with another church in Marseille helps to

introduce students to church life.

Training

Before returning home to Gabon, Cyril,

told me: “I appreciated how we studied

in-depth biblical texts together. I want to

take that style of learning back home.”

As for Natana, attending the Bible study

group has been a challenge to share

the gospel during his university years.

Working with students is also preparing

church leaders for the future.

Marie-Christine Fave

“Their ideas and convictions are still being formulated”

T

Student WorldReaching the



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ne of the most exciting

aspects of being involved

in Christian ministry is that

sometimes God leads you

down paths where you never thought

you would go. I say this because, if you

had asked me three years ago whether

I would ever have seen myself being

involved in a youth ministry then I would

have probably have had to say, “no”. I

suppose one of the reasons for this was

that I felt that I would have needed a

much cooler image as well as the ability

to speak a different kind of lingo.

So what changed my mind....well it

was primarily related to my concerns

over losing contact with the children

who were moving to high school. I felt

it would be such a shame to relinquish

some of the good relationships I had

established as a result of over two

years of children’s work and this is

really what led me to consider working

with an older age group.

It was a prayerful step into the

unknown and I probably felt a bit

overwhelmed with the thought of

beginning a ministry that I was unfamiliar

with. On my initial approach to our local

High School, I was really encouraged

by the positive response from the Head

of the Junior Department who openly

welcomed the opportunity to begin an

SU group after the summer break.

I didn’t really didn’t know what to

expect for the first few weeks but I

remained hopeful that through time we

would be able to establish a group who

would come on a regular basis. We

advertised the group throughout the

school and were encouraged by the

initial response from some of the pupils

as well as the support of a Christian

teacher who was willing to provide

her classroom facilities for the group.

Over the year, the numbers attending

fluctuated but we were still very happy

with the 7/8 who attended regularly.

We tried, throughout the year, to do

a variety of Bible related topics mixed

with games and challenges and it

appeared to work well.

As we live in an era of high technology

we have found using videos clips and

music downloads to be successful in

keeping the young people interested.

With most of the group having easy

access to the internet we encouraged

them to source Christian songs and video

clips. Our group discussions are often

lively and thought provoking and this

gives us an insight into how they view

and react to various topical issues.

Perhaps, the real success in it all

is that we have established good

relationships with our group and this

has been highlighted by the fact that

they have returned for a second year.

We are praying that the group will

continue to grow and be strengthened

and that soon, our local high school will

be transformed with a new generation

of young people whose desire it is to

live for Christ.

I would encourage anyone, who is

involved in children’s ministry to think

about the value of those relationships

that they have established and consider

seriously the possibility of investing

further into the lives of those who are

about to embark on the challenges of

high school life.

Brian Hawthorne

O

Reaching intoSchools


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or several years Philippe

Perrilliat has been involved

in the ministry of the

Geneva Bible Institute,

helping to train a new generation of French

leaders and missionaries. In this interview

he shares his experience at the Institute.

Philippe, tell us a little about the

background to the Bible Institute?

The IBG (Geneva Bible Institute) is

situated on the hills around Geneva in a

suburb called Coligny. In 1927 the field

of a large property was sold to Hugh

Alexander, a Scottish missionary, for the

price of a potato field. Since then, times

have changed and today the suburb is

a true Swiss “Beverly Hills” and land is

sold at a very expensive price. The Bible

school was first used as a training centre

for students who had become Christians

during the revival that accompanied

Hugh’s ministry. As a result of the revival

a missionary organisation called “Action

Biblique” was founded. A real turn

around; Calvin had instigated the spread

of the Reform from Geneva into Scotland

in the 16th century and then in the 20th

century the Lord had seen fit to send a

Scottish missionary to Calvin’s country

to start a dynamic Christian work and a

Bible school.

Who actually runs the Bible Institute?

This task was too great for one

organisation on its own and Action

Biblique called upon other groups to

help. GLO was one of the first to grasp

the vision and commit itself. We are

grateful to visionaries such as Samuel

Gibson and David Goold who understood

the potential of this school and worked

alongside Mike Evans, the IBG director

at that time. By 2011 there were 17

Christian organisations and different

church groups who were partners with

the IBG. The present director, Pierre

Klipfel, at a recent meeting spoke of GLO

as part of IBG’s history, as one of the

founding organisations.

Is there any sense in which the Bible

Institute offers something distinctive to

the French-speaking world?

There are other Bible schools in France,

which are more academic and which have

longer courses. The IBG’s approach is

different. French society is an elitist world

where diplomas have a great importance

and “apprenticeship” is not very

favourably looked upon. Nevertheless

in the Bible there is only one Greek

word for disciple and apprentice! The

IBG’s idea was to put practical learning

at the heart of their training. The four

year course, which constantly combines

practical and theoretical learning, is made

up of one year spent at the IBG centre

and then two placements of two years

and one year interspersed with several

weeks of lectures.

F

Partners inTraining



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How did you become involved?

Thirteen years ago when GLO suggested

that I become one of the IBG teachers I

didn’t really feel up to the challenge in

front of me. My apprehension was even

more acute when the IBG committee

asked me to take over the lectures

of John Alexander, the son of Hugh,

the founder of the IBG. John was a

renowned Bible teacher, an author, and

responsible for teaching on the book of

Genesis. Progressively and then entirely,

the 50 chapters were given to me. John

Alexander and I worked together for the

first year and John confided in me that he

felt too old to teach and that his vision

was to pass the baton before entering

into the presence of his Lord. In 2001 I

was officially given the responsibility for

all the lectures. The following year, at the

age of 82, John went into the presence of

his Lord, God knew.

For four weeks (at different times

of the year) I lecture on the book of

Genesis for the first year students,

and also teach on “Discovery groups”

(evangelism) for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th

year students. So over the past 12 years

I have spent 1 year teaching at the IBG!

I have had the privilege of meeting

young people, single people, families,

men and women amongst the 399

students who have completed the 1st

year course, enthusiastic people with

many questions. Some come to the

course to deepen their understanding

of the Bible before returning to secular

employment, with the desire to be

a light in French society and in their

local church. 177 students came with

Christian service in view and now serve

the Lord on a full time basis.

I have also had the joy of mentoring

several students on placement with

me for a period of at least two years,

living our spiritual lives together and

the realities of Christian ministry. One

of them now works in a Christian

bookshop and two have become

pastors. All have remained friends.

I understand your wife is also now

involved in the work of the institute

Just over a year ago the IBG asked Marie,

my wife, to lecture on women’s ministry

which had previously been taught by

Ursula Herrmann. My wife and I will now

be working together at the Institute,

teaching 35 students in our respective

courses. (I think that Marie will come to

my lessons and I will go to hers).

How does the work of the Bible Institute

fit into the ‘big picture’ of life in the

French-speaking world?

Since September 2008 I have been part

of the Bible School council and this helps

me to better understand the challenges

and issues that have to be faced. A large

proportion of existing pastors will soon

retire and many missionaries from the

UK, the States and other countries are

returning to their commending countries

after years of faithful service. Who will

replace them? An additional but good

problem is that the number of churches

in France is increasing. We still need

missionaries to plant new churches, and

trained pastors to take care of existing

ones, working alongside elders. The

challenge that the Master gave is still

valid “The harvest is ripe, but the workers

are few”. This is the reason why we work

freely with 40 other lecturers to train

future leaders who will serve our churches

and, if the Lord hasn’t returned, discern

the French-speaking world’s mission

strategy for the 21st century. The French-

speaking world is made up of France but

also Switzerland, Belgium, Luxemburg,

many African countries, parts of North

Africa, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Indian

Ocean islands such as Reunion Island,

Madagascar, New Caledonia, Fortuna

Islands, countries with which we have

contact. Please pray for this perhaps

largely unknown part of the work of GLO.

Philippe Perrilliat

“I have had the joy of mentoring several students, living our spiritual lives together and the realities of Christian ministry”

“The idea was to put practical learning at the heart of the training”


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he GLO Workers’

Conference at the end of

August coincided with

the re-dedication of the

GLO Bookshop. This brief service, ably

led by John Speirs, marked a major

re-merchandise of the Bookshop carried

out by the staff over the summer

months. The layout of the store has been

‘reversed’, with Card & Gift products

brought to the front of the store, and

the ‘Printed Page’ product moved to

the back of the store. God’s Word, the

Bible, continues to hold the ‘prime’

trading position in the store, and the

shop holds a vast selection of Bibles in

many different translations and formats,

including overseas languages.

The store has been re-merchandised

to respond to the current difficult trading

conditions in the ‘High Street’ that have

seen many local Christian bookshops forced

to close. We are very blessed by the fact

we own our premises here in Motherwell,

and we pay tribute to those who took this

step of faith almost 30 years ago. This has

enabled the Bookshop to continue to be

successful and financially viable, despite

the current problems in retailing. Our recent

developments reflect changes in the market,

and will also enable us to engage more

effectively with our local community.

Some of the key benefits of the changes:

• By moving Gift and Card products to the

front of the store, we hope to encourage

more friends from the local community

to browse these products.

• The range of DVDs and other media

titles has been significantly increased,

and a wide range of audio-books has

been brought in.

• We continue to carry a huge range

of books. This area of the shop now

includes a coffee machine, reading tables

and comfy chairs. DVD players and

computer systems have been provided

to allow customers to sample some of

the resources on show.

• Space is being created to allow a

relevant range of second hand books to

be sold. We are currently appealing for

donations of books.

• In response to customer requests, we

are developing a suitable selection of

local interest and general books.

• The GLO Bookshop is now part of the

‘HIVE’ network of local independent

bookshops. This gives us the ability to

retail e-Books. The HIVE network also

provides access to over 4.5 million

general book and DVD titles at very

competitive prices. We would encourage

friends of GLO to use this facility if they

require ‘general’ books. If you order

from our ‘HIVE’ shopfront, GLO will

benefit from a commission on each sale.

Andrew Lacey

The New Face of the GLO Bookshop

T

“The store has been re-merchandised to respond to the current difficult trading conditions in the High Street”

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Mission Behind the ScenesFor many people in Scotland, the GLO

Centre has been the ‘public face’ of

GLO since the early days. The tower

dominates the Motherwell skyline, and

visitors affectionately talk about going to

‘the GLO’ for a coffee, although some are

unaware of what ‘G.L.O.’ stands for or of

the work that we are involved in across

the world. This Centre with its bookshop,

coffee shop, conference facilities, college,

and admin offices is, nevertheless, a ‘hub’

for the whole community.

Our customers are vital to the work

of GLO as the profits made from the

Business Ministries are re-invested into

the work. However, this is not the

only objective of the Centre; the coffee

shop, bookshop and conference facilities

become an opportunity for ministry and

mission in themselves.

The coffee shop provides opportunities

to reach out to the community offering

a place where customers can find a

sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of

their lives and have ‘time out’ with a book

over a hot cuppa or meet with friends

for coffee and chat. This, however, is the

goal of most coffee shops, so it would be

our desire to be distinct. We not only offer

a welcome, but also wish to provide an

environment where sharing and praying

together is encouraged and offered when

the need arises.

Alongside the coffee shop there is

a conference centre which also seeks

to serve the local community. This

work has grown massively in recent

years and we are grateful for the many

individuals, churches, community groups

and businesses that it gives us contact

with. It is through these groups who

hire the facilities regularly or require a

conferencing service that we are able

to make relationships and share our

lives. Again, the challenge is to make

the conference centre distinctive. It is

our passion to serve these groups in

a personal way, always going the extra

mile, and praying that this practical

expression of Christian love will draw

attention to the One we ultimately serve.

The GLO Centre was previously the

premises of Dalziel North Church and over

50 years ago a prayer of dedication was

written for the purpose of this building.

Here is just a small extract from the

prayer:

“….That the citizen and stranger, young

and old, may find this a place where they

shall meet with the living Lord…”

It is exciting to see how our faithful

God is still answering that prayer today

through GLO and it would be our prayer,

that through the ordinary events of every

day service, God will continue to meet

personally with those who come in.

Anna McRobert

Anna McRobert moves

into a new role at the GLO

Centre as Conference Hirings

Manager in January 2012


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The Training Dimensions of

Tilsley Collegehile our training base is

the college in Motherwell,

the various dimensions of

training mean our students

may be seen in many different situations.

We’ve asked a prospective student to

give you a first-hand report!

In the Classroom …

“Hi! This is Justin Credible reporting from

Tilsley College: I’m here to check out

the standards of training being offered

because I need a theological education

that will empower me for God’s work in

God’s world. I expect that the teachers

will be academically qualified with

experience in Christian ministry. I would

like to study in a residential college

where the facilities are up to scratch and

where the course can tie in with other

training courses. Personally, I am also

looking for a small college, capable of

delivering the goods at the sharp end

so that I can have a formally recognised

certificate that bears my name – Credible!

Tilsley College has a pedigree proven

by the quality of ministry that many of

its past students are now engaged in;

a pedigree recognised by the European

Evangelical Accrediting Association and

British Accreditation Council. Tilsley is

clearly a place where your knowledge,

skills and character can see incredible

development - looks like it may be the

place for me!”

In local churches …

“As part of the course at Tilsley College,

students undertake a series of practical

assignments alongside their academic

studies. There is a range of opportunities

from youth clubs, school assemblies,

and children’s clubs to various social

outreaches such as soup kitchens and

mobile bus ministries. Each year they try

to add new areas to their ‘portfolio’.

This gives Tilsley students an

opportunity to take part in ventures that

may be new to them and in some cases

to realise gifts in areas that they have

gone on to develop after the course.

That’s exactly what I need. It has been

encouraging to hear feedback from

these places and to realise that they

are of mutual help to placement and

student alike. That’s incredible!”

In a learning community …

“Since church is all about community,

I figure this training will be greatly

enhanced as the Tilsley students learn

to function at close quarters with others.

With 16 students living in limited space,

there will be lots of opportunity for all

of us to learn about living in community!

It will certainly reveal to us the aspects

of the “fruit of the Spirit” that we are

lacking! They tell me this can be a real

challenge, but it must also be a truly

rewarding experience. I mean the upside

is that such close community also

allows people to minister to each other

by sharing “each other’s troubles and

problems, and in this way to obey the

law of Christ,” ...right?!”

In overseas placements …

“Every year a couple of the staff take the

whole group of students on a one-week

mission experience visit to a location in

Europe – incredible! I found the group

was just back from a meaningful time in

Naples seeing the church planting needs

of that region as well as visiting ancient

sites of relevance to understanding New

Testament background. Students also have

the additional option of taking their 4-week

individual field term abroad if they want

further cross-cultural experience in mission.

W



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There is also FIRSTSERVE, a

programme where up to six months can

be spent in a cross-cultural mission.

This follows two-weeks of study

preparations at Tilsley College and 4-6

weeks of church work orientation here

in the UK.”

With “Open Access” students …

“Their Open Access provision allows

interested people to come in and join

their full-time students for as little as

one week or for one or two terms. I’ve

seen that college life is enriched by the

addition of these part-time students. This

avenue is obviously beneficial for people

who are unable to take a whole year out

and may be looking for some study in

a specialist subject area or in relation to

on-going personal development.”

In the evenings …

“Tilsley is a versatile college working

closely with local churches and their

leaders. Over the years they have offered

a range of seminars and consultations

from which emerged the Joshua Project

which is a leadership training course run

jointly by the College and local churches.

The course, while providing instruction in

leadership skills, places a strong emphasis

on biblical and theological studies, the

need for personal spiritual development

and an increasing awareness of the issues

facing churches in the 21st-century. It

seems especially effective at engaging

students with their own church leaders

in the training process. The college is

open to the possibility of helping set up

this evening-based course in any locality!

Well... this is just incredible!”

In teaching conferences …

“The college is also involved in an

annual Mini Bible School. This takes

place at Motherwell in January of each

year and provides an in-depth look at a

topical subject, Bible book or doctrine.

Experienced teachers take up different

aspects of the subject. In more recent

years the Mini Bible School has been

held in other locations within England,

N Ireland and Scotland – Tilsley would

be very keen to talk with church leaders

about helping develop this in your area.”

Well, many thanks to Justin for his

comprehensive reporting. Let us just

finish off by saying that we are also...

On the internet

The Learning to Lead course has been

presented in churches across the UK

and beyond and an internet version

is currently being offered. We have a

conviction that the development of a new

generation of leaders is of paramount

importance. This is an area we will

continue to develop in the years to come.

In the meantime, please visit our website

at www.tilsleycollege.com for details of all

our activities or find us on Facebook.

by Mark Davies

On 4th October 2011 a National Training Consultation was held at

Canley Community Church, Coventry by a mixture of church leaders

and organisations linked with the Brethren Movement. Under the

theme of “Connecting the Grid” the purposes were to

• Celebrate what’s happening: Recognise the value of what each of

us are doing in providing training at local church and regional level..

• Make better training connections: Share information which

can facilitate fellowship, networking and mutual encouragement

between leaders of local churches and service groups concerned

about and engaged in training.

• Explore the gaps: Identify more precisely the educational and

training needs, understand how the existing “systems” are seeking

to meet some of these needs, and identify key gaps that need to

be filled.

• Prepare to grow: Develop an action plan that will link-up training

options that can be made available to local churches.

There was a warm spirit of cooperation which helped progress

the good working relationships that exist between our various

ministries. Full details of the reports and discussions are available.

An agreement was made to progress the following:-

• Central Source for training information: establishing a suitable

way of collating and presenting information of training schemes

with clear links to our spectrum of churches should be pulled

together e.g. a website and brochure.

• Develop a training hub or network: the steering group that put

the consultation together should continue to function, drawing in a

few more key church leaders and organisations in the process.

• Meeting again: There should be future opportunities for growing

relationships among those involved in delivering or using training

and to share further discussions in future developments. God-

willing we are planning to meet again next year.

National Training Consultation -“Connecting the Grid”


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artnership and helping

others is vital in today’s

world and one area that

GLO is passionate about

is church planting here in the UK. In

1999, some 12 years ago, the Church

Planting Initiative (CPI) was set up

to encourage and develop church

planting in the UK. Over these past

years this initial vision has grown,

developed and been used to see many

new independent, evangelical churches

started. CPI is made up of four

partner organisations (GLO, Counties,

Partnership & the Church Growth Trust)

who share the same vision to see new

churches established in the UK. To

date, with God’s help, CPI has been

involved in providing support to a

dozen church planting locations where

local Christians wanted to plant a new

church, to ‘re-plant’ in a new location

or re-launch in the same building with

a renewed vision.

I have served on the CPI Board for

the last three years as a trustee and

treasurer and it is very clear that the

priority is not to invest in buildings

but people. One of the founding

principles of CPI is to financially

support church plant workers and not

to finance buildings. We are currently

concentrating our efforts on building a

network of church planters across the

country and are developing exciting

new plans to plant new churches in

the next year or so. CPI’s role will be

to motivate and support these church

planters so that they can bring these

new churches into being.

Planting new independent,

evangelical churches in the UK is vitally

important. It brings life to people and

communities. If you want to know

more about CPI then don’t hesitate to

contact me for more information. Also

look out for our new book on church

planting called ‘Fresh Shoots on Stony

Ground’.

Ian Smith

Planting Together

P “Planting new independent, evangelical churches in the UK is vitally important.”



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In Zambian 2009 GLO Zambia

launched a programme to

facilitate the development

of children and young

people both in churches and our local

communities. It is called ‘GLO Alive’. Our

vision is to empower children and young

people to fulfil their God-given potential

so that they can become what God

intended them to be, in this world and

the world to come. (John 10:10).

Our strategy is to use every means

possible in facilitating young people’s

learning both from life experiences

and their formal education. It is about

becoming all things, to all men, by all

means, in order to win some. (I Cor.

9:22) We believe that every human

being has something to offer and that

in using our abilities, skills, gifts and

experiences, we can all enrich each

other’s lives.

GLO Alive involves various programmes:

Sports’ Ministry

We have a football team and a volleyball

team of young people aged from 12 – 19

years old. This helps us to engage with

the young people and create meaningful

relationships in order to share the Good

News of the Kingdom with them.

Carpentry and Gardening

Many of the young people in our

communities come from poor families

who are unable to provide for

their needs. With lots of charitable

organizations giving hand outs, in

good faith, many young people have

developed a dependence mind-set. We

therefore try to enable them to learn a

skill that will give them a sense of self-

worth as well as a sustainable way of

life. The Carpentry and Gardening projects

are an attempt to achieve this.

Teen Mums

The education of girls continues to be a

big challenge in Africa, and Zambia is no

exception. We see lots of girls dropping

out of schools and getting married at an

early age. Teenage pregnancy in most of

our communities is high. We have girls as

young as 14 with babies, living in terrible

conditions. We train these teen mums

in parenting, tailoring and other related

skills for the betterment of their lives.

Children’s Clubs

We go in the community to run children’s

clubs, using the small group model to

engage and reach out to kids at their

level, in their environment.

Extra Tuition

We provide extra lessons for young

people and children in our community.

Many of them come to us with difficulties

in their studies. We concentrate on

English as this is the official language

and a requirement for Zambian education.

Youth Leaders’ Training

We have an on campus and off campus

course to train youth leaders, expanding

their biblical knowledge and teaching

them practical ways to engage with

young people in order to reach out to

them for Christ’s sake.

Youth Camps

We run two camps every year – a senior

and junior youth camp.

By David Lukama

I

s

1. Pray for the work of GLO Alive in Zambia

2. Plan to come to Zambia and join us in our work.

Remember there is always something you can offer.

Just come with your skill, talent, gift or experience -

they all can be used

3. You can give towards the work.

4. You can tell someone or your church about this work

and envision them for the work of missions in Zambia

“It is easier to build boys and girls than to repair men and women.”

How can you be a part of this?


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spearhead2011w.indd 15 19/12/2011 14:03

Mark Davies [email protected] 01698 266776

Sam Gibson [email protected] 02890 777404

Stephen McQuoid [email protected] 01698 267298

Ian Smith [email protected] 01698 263483

Admin office [email protected] 01698 263483

College Office [email protected] 01698 266776

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Contact Details

For further information or up-to-date details of team places still available please contact Allison Hill or Jenny Smith: Tel: 01698 263483 Fax: 01698 253942E: [email protected] W: www.glo-europe.org

Glo European Members

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Many Face of Mission

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Spearhead 2012