Into all the world Stories of Oak Hill students now in ministry
John Taylor welcomes students and young adults to the Wednesday night Bible study at Christ Church Southampton.
For details about programmes of study at Oak Hill, including part time and Flexible Learning options, and how to support the College, see: oakhill.ac.uk
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Ministry for the real world
What difference does it make to study theology and train for ministry today? For this booklet, we went to two city estates, in Battersea and Birmingham, to a group of villages in Bedfordshire, and to an area of Southampton which borders on the university campus. We wanted to catch up with several former students of Oak Hill who are now engaged in ministry in these very different fields of work. We especially wanted to know how their theological formation and
training had prepared them for the realities of ministry in today’s world. After all, each of them took time while they were in College to study God’s word, to grow in faith, to be equipped for ministry, to be rooted in Christ. So our question to them was: Has all that time of preparation laid good foundations you can build on for the work you do now? Jason Roach (see page 4), who began his ministry working with MPs and civil servants, and now works with young people in danger of being recruited into gangs, describes the flexibility of his theological training in preparing him for ministry in two such different contexts. He says: ‘One of the things I really appreciated about my Oak Hill education was that it always put theology into the context of the real world. When I came here to Battersea, just as when I was in Westminster, I was able to see how
to connect the dots between the theology of our trinitarian God and the people in front of me. What I love is that I’m able to speak to people who are from very different contexts. I’m grateful that Oak Hill encouraged me to communicate the unchanging message of the gospel, with courage and humility, in language people can understand.’ I hope these stories of ministry in the real world, and the theological training which makes them possible, will encourage you if you’re considering ministry training, or if you’re thinking about supporting the work of Oak Hill College. Johnny Juckes President of Oak Hill
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Westminster to Battersea JASON ROACH
A FEW YEARS AGO, I was involved in ministry to politicians and civil servants in Westminster, but I was living in Battersea next to a council estate. As I walked around the estate, I saw a lot of young people who had lost hope. Just this year, three young people have been killed through gang violence. I started to ask myself: Is there any way we can work with these young people to
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give them a sense of hope for the future? One of the things I learned at Oak Hill was that if I really wanted to reach out to people who knew nothing about the Lord Jesus, I needed to have a conviction that the gospel is true, and I also needed to have the courage to step out of my comfort zone into places I hadn’t gone before.
Revd Dr Jason Roach studied at Oak Hill on the MTheol programme in 2006-10. He is now senior minister of The Bridge, a community church in Battersea, and is an adviser to the Bishop of London on young people.
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In my last year at College, we went down to the local bus stop every week and shared something of Jesus with people. That simple thing stood me in great stead for walking up to people on the estate and saying, ‘I’m here to share something of Jesus. What can we do to help you?’ That was really the start of our work here. Our area has many of the problems you get on housing estates. There’s the abdication of men – we have lots of single parent families. It’s quite normal for people to walk into the building covered in blood, or for the police to be at people’s doors. That’s just normal stuff here. That often means it’s much quicker for people to get to the point of recognising and admitting that we are people who struggle and who need help. One of the difficult things is a number of young people growing up in really tough situations, where it’s hard for their mums to support them. Very soon they’re thinking, ‘How am I going to make ends meet? How am I going to support my siblings and my mum?’ There’s huge pressure at that point, and when there are gang members offering you easy money, it can be hard to resist. So one of the ways we’re trying to help them is to show where their choices might end up. We started to develop a scheme to help them through the transition between primary and secondary 6 oakhill.ac.uk
school. It seemed that people aged 11 wanted to be astronauts, but by age 14 they wanted to earn money in gangs. We wanted to help them to keep aiming high, to keep supporting one another, and to link up their families to form a basic support network, and that’s how Rise Leadership Academy came about. We meet every week to help them develop some extra skills, and we share the gospel so they see something of the best leader there ever was. We help them learn to lead like Jesus, with service and self-control. One of the things I really appreciated about my Oak Hill education was that it always put theology into the context of the real world. When I came here to Battersea, just as when I was in Westminster, I was able to see how to connect the dots between the theology of our trinitarian God and the people in front of me. I’m grateful that Oak Hill encouraged me to communicate the unchanging message of the gospel, with courage and humility, in language people can understand. Battersea and Westminster I’ve had the privilege of working alongside parliamentarians and civil servants in the Palace of Westminster. I was the minister of Westminster@One, which offered
Malachi was someone I just met on the street, who saw me talking to one of the other people involved in Rise Academy, and said, I want to get involved in this as well. So I ended up speaking to his mum, and he decided to join up and become part of what we are doing. It’s partly by simply being available that this work has flourished. Jason Roach
lunchtime Bible studies every week for MPs and peers, a weekly service for civil servants, plus one to one meetings to encourage Whitehall workers in their faith. My connection with Westminster has continued, because I’ve been able to join the team of advisors working with the new Bishop of London, advising her on young people, and supporting her in her parliamentary work. My focus is on what we can do strategically to help protect the lives of young people across London, so they have the opportunity to grow and mature
and, most importantly, hear about Jesus. We’re thinking about how the churches in London can work together to help young people stay off the streets and be protected from the scourge of youth violence and knife crime, which so affects our city. We think churches can play a vital role, by keeping their doors open at key times of day, providing education for young people, giving youth workers training into how to help people affected by youth violence, and helping people who are slipping through the safety net.
See the video of Jason Roach’s work in Battersea on the Oak Hill website: oakhill.ac.uk/intoalltheworld
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Rural parishes, forest church FIONA GIBSON
I LOOK AFTER three small rural parishes in Bedfordshire. One of them, the village of Moggerhanger, has only 600 people living in it, while the other two, Cople and Willington, each have about 800 people. They have their own individual identities as villages and parishes, and yet the three of them work well together. I love the fact that at Morning Prayer every week, people will pray for the other parishes and the other churches, as well as their own. It’s my privilege to lead, teach and pastor the people in these villages in a way that introduces them to Jesus. My role here is to help people grow in their faith, to the point where they are confidently living a life of discipleship wherever they are, and sharing their faith with the people they come into contact with. I’d never been part of a small church before I was vicar here. Some of the congregations I minister to, week in, week out, are the size of a small group in one 8 oakhill.ac.uk
of my previous churches – and actually, that’s good. I’ve really learned to love that, because you know people so much more closely. When I’m preparing my sermon, I’m not just thinking about the Bible passage, I’m also thinking about each person I’ll be preaching to, which is harder to do when you’re leading a big church. I’ve got specific people on my heart I’m praying about, so as I prepare, I’m also thinking of those individuals.
Revd Fiona Gibson is the Vicar of the Benefice of Cople, Moggerhanger and Willington in Bedfordshire. She studied for an MTh at Oak Hill and graduated in 2012.
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Fiona really helps me think about how the scriptures are relevant to my everyday life, rather than being just a big dusty book. She explains things in a way that helps me reflect back on my week, think about what I’ve done, and prepare for the week ahead, in an encouraging and supportive way. Karen Joynes
In a small church, we do the oneanothering stuff really well. The pastoral epistles tell us to love one another, bear with one another, forgive one another, and shoulder one other’s burdens – and that just happens here all the time. It happens in large churches, too, but it’s often just a few people who do the shouldering of burdens. Here, we all look after each other. Small doesn’t mean failing. People might say, ‘Oh gosh, there’s only 12 people, close down that church!’ But something can be small and healthy, and something can be large and healthy. So I try to look at things in terms of health rather than size. That’s why I really like being part of a small church, because there’s something much more personal, rooted and intimate about it. I’m loving wedding and funeral ministry, because it’s a great chance to get to know people at really key
See the video of Fiona Gibson’s work in rural Bedfordshire on the Oak Hill website: oakhill.ac.uk/intoalltheworld
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moments of their lives, and some of them have then become embedded members of our congregations, which is just wonderful. It feels like we’re seeing the beginnings of growth, and we’re really excited to see what God will do next. One thing that is endlessly surprising and also slightly daunting about my type of ministry is that you never ever know what you’re going to be dealing with next. You don’t know who is going to call to ask about something – from a query about a churchyard, to ‘Can I get married in your church?’, to a member of the congregation whose child has just had a major accident. I’m often asked, ‘What does God have to say about that?’ I’m always thankful that I’ve been taught and trained not just with the knowledge I have – though I am very grateful for that! But also that I was taught how to think, how to listen, how to respond, how to try to hear the question behind the question. And then to have confidence to tell the person, ‘I do have something to say, God has something to say, let’s look together at what he says in his word, let’s pray about this together.’ And to tell them, ‘It’s all right, there is an answer.’ Forest church We’ve recently started forest church, for people who might find church buildings a bit intimidating.
We’re in the middle of all this countryside with fields, forests and woods, and so we thought we could try meeting outdoors, in God’s creation. It’s just right for people who are inquisitive about God, but don’t feel comfortable coming into a church. If you ask them to come to the woods, toast some marshmallows on a fire, have fun and eat together, and learn about God and who he is, people often respond, ‘Yes, I could do that.’ These are early days for us. We’re still developing the forest site, and developing the relationships with people, and we’re all learning together. We’re expectantly waiting to see what God does, and who he sends us. Forest church is a great mission opportunity, because we’re working with some people who don’t have many links with any of our existing congregations. I love being here. Talking about faith in this context feels so natural. The wonderful thing is that the appetite in our parishes is for growth. People are prepared to make the changes needed for growth to happen, and forest church has grown out of that open attitude.
Jason Roach, Minister, Westminster@One.
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Planting and pastoring JOHN JAMES
CROSSWAY, OUR CHURCH here on the estate of Northfield, in the south of Birmingham, is a community church revitalisation project. The original church was planted here in the 1930s, and had a flourishing past, but it went into decline and was struggling with a handful of active members. Our small team of planters arrived in 2010, and since then we’ve been working together to see how we can reconnect with the local community and share the love of Jesus with them. By God’s grace we’ve grown slowly but steadily ever since. Our philosophy has been long term, low key, and relational. We do lots of very simple things, which create a context for friendships to develop and for the gospel to be shared in an informal way among friends. We run a mums and toddlers group on Monday, a community café on Thursday and youth clubs on Friday. Beyond that, we do a lot of one-to-one discipleship, meeting informally 12 oakhill.ac.uk
through the week with folk who live locally. That’s how we’ve reconnected with the community and seen people come to faith. Crossway is a local community church for Northfield, and that’s where we’ve seen fruit, which is tremendous, and a real answer to our prayers. We are the only community facility in this estate of 4,000 homes, and the only Christian presence in terms of bricks and mortar. We do a lot of community surveys, talking to people door to door, and we’ve found that even if people don’t necessarily regard us as their church, they’re really thankful that we’re here. They think of us almost as their parish church. My training at Oak Hill has helped me pastor people in a community where there’s significant social need. It’s remarkable how often I draw on the deep theological truths we wrestled with at length in College. Professions of faith happen quite frequently, but it’s much more
John James is the pastor of Crossway Church in Northfield, Birmingham. He studied at Oak Hill on the BA (Hons) programme in 2006-10.
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of a struggle to help people live with Jesus as Lord of their lives. I rely on my theological training to help our church discover together what it means to follow Jesus. A church planting city The new plant and revitalisation of Crossway Church was part of a bigger movement of collaborative church planting across Birmingham called 2020 Birmingham. In fact, Crossway was the very first plant, and our vision was to see 20 church plants happen across the city by the beginning of the new decade. God has been incredibly gracious to us, and we’ve now seen 19 of them planted. One of the things Oak Hill instils among its students is a missional mindset, so that wherever people go, they are thinking about how to contextualise the gospel well. In a
See the video of John James’ work in Birmingham on the Oak Hill website: oakhill.ac.uk/intoalltheworld
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city such as Birmingham, where the contexts are varied and changing over time, there are all kinds of geographic and demographic differences, which call for adaptability in applying the gospel faithfully and effectively. Over the past few years, I’ve seen people come back to us after training at Oak Hill, and it’s wonderful to see the way they’ve been equipped for mission. They’re able to get plugged in with a deep conviction that the gospel is at the heart of all they do, and they’re also able to articulate the gospel in a way which connects deeply with the people they’re hoping to reach. Another thing Oak Hill does which feeds into what we’re trying to do in Birmingham, is to give future leaders real generosity of spirit towards people who land in different places on secondary issues. During my own time as a student, I was in a cohort of people from very different churches and backgrounds, including Independents and Anglicans, and we learnt how to respect one another, recognising the unity we had in Christ. I think that as you grow and reflect more deeply on the gospel, you realise what level of generosity is possible. That attitude has been a massive blessing for 2020 Birmingham, because our planters need to work together for the gospel despite their differences.
When John came here, we didn’t have any children, just an older congregation of about 10 people. John’s got a very good gift of reaching out to the community, and we’ve now reached full capacity. I praise God for that, because you’re looking at a church that was on the verge of closure, but which is now thriving. Ray Tilley
Partnering at a city level, and seeking to be generous across some of our old tribal boundaries, has a huge impact on our local churches. At Crossway, we’re excited by what’s happening in other corners of Birmingham. That’s because we’re praying for those churches, where there are people we know, and because some of our congregation are volunteering for projects there. It’s wonderful to know that even as a local church in Northfield, doing what God
Above: John James with Neil Powell, founder of 2020 Birmingham. Their jointly-authored book, Together for the City: How Collaborative Church Planting Leads to Citywide Movements (IVP Books, 2019) is based on their experience of planting churches across Birmingham.
has called us to do locally, we can also be part of a bigger vision, encompassing all that God is bringing about in our city. oakhill.ac.uk 15
Rooting our 20s in church JOHN TAYLOR
OUR LOCATION IN Southampton really shapes the way we work. Our church offices are based in the local public library. North of us is an estate which is more deprived than most places in Southampton, and we gather on Sunday mornings at a school there. South of us is the Highfield Campus of the University of Southampton. Literally tens of thousands of students come from around the world to study here, and it’s an incredible opportunity to be right at the heart of it. In many ways I’m a straightforward pastor – I preach, I lead, I welcome people into the church, I help them when they’re struggling. But I also have specific responsibilities for our 20s ministry. The heart of that ministry is the Wednesday night Bible study. We meet in the library, have some food together, and then we get into groups, study the Bible and pray. We also have one-to-ones, where people meet up with older, wiser Christians to study the Bible and get to know each other. 16 oakhill.ac.uk
We want to equip our young adults to do the Christian life well at this stage in their lives. We’re very aware of how difficult life can be for people when they leave home and go to study somewhere, and they’re faced with so many pressures and temptations. But it’s equally pressured, and equally a difficult time spiritually, when people arrive somewhere in their 20s to start their careers. Anxiety is increasingly troubling this generation, and it’s part of our duty as a church to
John Taylor is the Associate Pastor at Christ Church Southampton. He studied on the MTheol programme at Oak Hill in 2010-15.
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John’s been really helpful in our spiritual growth, and also in how we minister to others. I work with young people, and he’s been especially encouraging, not just in teaching good Bible handling, but also how to have a really good dynamic in small groups, and how to deal with the big questions of people from unchurched backgrounds. Sarah Ebenezer, ministry trainee
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support and encourage them, and equip them to live their lives in a Christian way. That’s why we want to root our 20s in a local church, disciple them well for a lifetime of service, and help them as they try to reach their friends for Christ. My time at Oak Hill sharpened some simple core convictions as to what ministry is about. It’s about knowing God deeply through his word; it’s also about knowing people deeply, and knowing how to communicate God’s eternal word to them as they live in the 21st century. I’m no longer in my 20s, but I spend lots of time getting to know people who are, and understanding their issues and what discipleship looks like for them. I’ve found that teaching them from God’s word and thinking about things from a biblical perspective has given them strength and encouragement as they’ve tried to live for Christ in their different scenarios.
While I was at College, I gained a vision for training and raising up leaders, and so it’s great that I’m also able to do some training with our ministry trainees. We’ve got seven of them this year, and every Thursday we think about practical ministry, theology and Bible handling. My hope is that we’re growing the next generation of Bible study leaders, family leaders, and church leaders, all of them equipped to serve God and his church. Student work and planting Christ Church’s student work in the university is run by Pete BentleyTaylor, our student pastor. Every year we see an influx of Christian students who are thinking about the big questions of life. Pete helps equip them to live the Christian life at university, through one-to-one discipleship, and he helps them
with their theological problems, and counsels them in their dayto-day lives. He also has a fruitful evangelistic ministry – we’ve seen a number of people come to faith and be baptised through the student ministry. The very next Sunday after I arrived at Christ Church, we sent out Jonny Clifton (like Pete, he’s a former Oak Hill student) to plant a church in Winchester with a launch team of about 50, including many
young adults who were already living or studying in the area. It’s been great to see how ministry has been thriving there over the past year. They’ve seen people come to faith and be baptised, their numbers have been growing, and students have been coming along to check out what the church is doing.
See the video of John Taylor’s work in Southampton on the Oak Hill website: oakhill.ac.uk/intoalltheworld
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‘I draw on my theological training to help our church discover together what it means to follow Jesus.’ John James
‘Oak Hill taught me how to think theologically and gave me a framework for approaching issues that is robust and reformed.’ Zim Okoli
‘Being at Oak Hill is an opportunity to understand God more and to learn and grow in faith.’ Hannah Dobson
‘Oak Hill helped me connect the dots between the theology of our trinitarian God and the people in front of me.’ Jason Roach
‘My theological training equipped me to be a life-long learner.’ Neil Powell ‘College has made me realise how much more there is to scripture, the world and the church, and the warmth of the community has helped me flourish.’ Anna Barrett
‘Being in a community where the lecturer’s prime concern wasn’t the content of your head, but the content of your character, was a great preparation for ministry.’ Phil Chadder
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‘Oak Hill gave me the theological foundations for a lifetime of ministry.’ Mark Smith
‘I spent my time at Oak Hill walking in God’s word, and thinking about how to walk with others through God’s word. It’s such a benefit to what I do now.’ Gabrielle Samuel