Student Conference 2009 A Life's Work: Programme

Programme

The Student Conference has the aim of helping people to ask the question; ‘Should I go into full-time gospel ministry?', to demystify what gospel ministry is and to give a feel for what it is like. To this end we provide an environment which has a healthy mix of teaching from the Bible, practical seminars on different types of ministry and particular issues, one-to-ones with experienced church leaders, and time for informal chat with those church leaders and other delegates.

Provisional programme (subject to change)

Friday	Saturday	Sunday
6:30pm Arrive from now	8:30am Breakfast (Time for ‘Quiet Times')	8.30am Breakfast (Time for ‘Quiet Times')
8:00pm Supper	9:30am What is ‘full-time gospel ministry'?	9.30am What if ‘full-time gospel ministry' isn't for you?
9:00pm Bible Reading	Small groups	10.45am Coffee
Small Groups	11:15am Coffee	11.15am Seminars (3)
	11.45am Seminars (1)	12.30pm Lunch
	1:00pm Lunch	1.15pm Where to from here?
	4.15pm Tea	2:00pm Depart
	4.45pm Seminars (2)
	6:00pm Supper
	7.30pm How do you know if 'full-time gospel ministry' is for you?
	Small groups
	Some light relief...

Talks

Ian Garrett, Assistant Minister of Jesmond Parish Church in Newcastle, leads this conference and will give two of the main talks. Other leaders, mainly involved in student work at churches around the country, will give another three talks. The talks will comprise one Bible reading on the principles of gospel ministry, and four talks on gospel ministry itself: what it is, who should do it, what if it isn't for you and what to do next. This quality Bible teaching from the front forms the backbone of the conference on which everything else is based.

Seminars

The seminars are designed to demystify various forms of gospel ministry and set foundations for a life spent serving the Lord in any context. Seminars last year were:

Apprenticeships & training for ministry

How can we test out suitability for ‘full time ministry'? What opportunities are there to work in church ‘apprenticeships' to gain experience of, and training in, ministry?

Women's ministries

What roles in ministry does the Bible encourage women to fill? Where can opportunities to work in such roles be found today? [This seminar is for women only.]

Work & the gospel

Deciding between options in the ‘secular' workplace from the point of view of God's priorities, aiming to serve the gospel best - at work and outside work.

Marriage, singleness & the gospel

Applying God's priorities of godliness and evangelism to the way we view singleness and marriage, and the decisions we make in this area.

World-wide gospel ministry

Why go abroad in gospel ministry? What are the needs abroad compared to the needs here? How do you decide between the two? What are the next steps for pursuing this possibility?

Being a Bible student now

Planning your personal study of the Bible and Christian books. Principles, ideas and resources for becoming a life-long Bible student (whatever else you do).

Learning to pray now

Developing good habits of personal prayer and prayer for ministry now, that will stand you in good stead for the future.

Working at godliness now

Much of what the Bible looks for in ‘full-time ministers' is godliness. How can we set ourselves to grow in godliness so that we are ‘useful to the Master and prepared for any good work' (2 Timothy 2.21)?

Delegates choose three seminars after registering for the conference and these are often the highlight for many.