The idea of transitioning to another culture seemed relatively simple. Turns out it isn’t.

At 20schemes, we offer summer internships which have proved to be very popular and are vastly oversubscribed. Each year we wade through many applications, weeding out any potential muppets and giving priority to our church partners or people who have been on previous mission trips. They arrive mid-June all fresh faced, bushy tailed, and ready […]

I got this book from a pal who handed it to me saying: “Not quite sure what this was all about. Have a look and let me know.” Let’s just say that it wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement! What I discovered was a book about leadership, influencing and“creating in a cultural storm” that opens with […]

Church planters and pastors of all ilks are united by the fact that they (normally) have strong personalities. This is doubly so for those of us who work in housing schemes and/or other similar situations. We have to lead, often make snap decisions, and carry/encourage/develop/mentor a group of people seeking to live for Christ in […]

Long-time followers of this blog will be only too aware of my opinion(s) on the reason we have such a shortage of healthy gospel churches and trained, indigenous leadership in the poorer areas of the UK. Pretty much all of the internships, training pathways, and leadership development initiatives are aimed at, and packaged for, the […]

1. Make sure that your personal walk with Jesus is firing on all cylinders. Take the time each day to be with God in his Word, meditate on what the Spirit is saying to you, and pray that he would fill you and keep you in step with his will for your life. 2. Remember […]

Despite lots of discussion on working with the poor and mercy ministry in many evangelical circles, not much is said about the ‘undeserving’ poor. In other words, those who purposely do not want to work or better their current situation. Shouldn’t Christian ministry focus its attention on those who ‘deserve’ our kindness, particularly in housing […]