Fully equipped?

8/23/2015

Have you ever had a sinking feeling when you’re doing some kind of ‘Christian activity’ (children’s ministry / evangelism / leading a Bible study / praying for others / leading praise / reading the Bible etc.) that you don’t really know what you’re doing?  At the risk of turning this into a personal confession (or of inviting responses from those I’ve served with or ministered to of ‘I knew it!’) I must admit that I have (too many times!)  Christian service begins with a realisation that we are saved to serve and that God has a part for us to play in His purposes in the world in every dimension of life – family, study/work, community and church.  The only problem is that it’s not always easy to connect our God-fuelled desire to serve with the needs of people in the twenty-first century.  When it comes to the nuts and bolts of doing God’s will we can feel like something’s missing from our toolbox.

In short, we need equipping for faith, for church and for life.  But where can we be equipped?  The obvious answer is, and should be, the church.  Pastors, ministers, elders and others have been given to the Church in order to equip God’s people for service and they do a great job at it.  Their faithful teaching of God’s word, gracious encouragement and wise counsel is invaluable and we should take time to thank God (and maybe even thank them?) for it.  Great as teaching and training in the local congregation can be, however, there are some reasons why it can benefit from being supplemented elsewhere:

Smaller churches and busy leaders can’t provide training in everything people need.
Leaders themselves need refreshed in their passion and knowledge.  Who equips the equippers?
Sometimes there is a level of expertise that local leaders can’t be expected to have.
Learning in a place that is not so ‘close to home’ can offer fresh ideas and allow you to reflect on your experience more effectively.
There is no better context to acquire principles and skills for service than among people who share your faith but who come from different churches and places.  Your ideas will be challenged, refined and strengthened as you learn together.

That’s there Belfast Bible College fits in – not as the complete answer, but as one part of equipping you to serve God.  We want to serve you as you serve God where He has placed you.  That’s why we have a range of courses at different levels in which experienced teachers provide relevant teaching and practical training.  We’d love you to come as an individual, a church leader or a ministry team and access some of our courses.  We hope you’ll find what you need in our programmes, but we’d also love to hear from you if there are things we could offer to meet your needs.  Our vision is of God’s people fully equipped to serve Him in faith, in church, in life!