North England Conference Training days: Manchester, 20 January 2008; Birmingham, 28 January 2008.

"Today has been a very successful day," commented Pastor Egerton Francis at the end of an intensive six hours of worship, training and motivation at the first of two North England Conference training days. As Conference President, he was delighted to see over 200 leaders from across the North of England joining together at the Manchester Central church. This was a new venue for 2007 due to increasing numbers and was the largest attendance for such an event in the northern part of the territory. Some leaders had started early traveling 160 miles to be there.

In his devotion, Liverpool pastor, Barry Stokes reflected on the parable of the talents, ensuring that no church leader in the congregation would dare hide their one talent, but that together the talented people who had come to learn would make a real difference for God's kingdom.

Following a short presentation emphasising the needs of Child Protection and policies on Keeping the Church Family Safe (KCFS), workshops for a whole range of church leaders took place across the many venues of the church. There was a positive spirit and people were keen to learn. Some workshops overran their time as officers soaked up the information and resources available to them.

The story was then repeated the following Sunday with a larger group at Camp Hill Church, Birmingham. Pastor Patrica Douglas of the Walsall church shared a powerful message on the Love of Jesus based around John 13 and the embarrassment he caused his disciples in washing their feet. The unconditional love of Jesus should motivate our mission as church leaders and members.

As the day closed people were excited. The head deaconess at Wolverhampton Pendeford stated how beneficial the training had been for her. "Ours is a young church and it's the first time I've held this office. What I learnt was very important." Camp Hill had a good representation at the communication workshop where participants developed journalistic skills in an all day session that took them through the whole remit of the Communication Secretary. There was much scribbling and note taking along with laughter and fun as they learnt to take quality photos, shared the points of writing a news release and looked at ways to raise the profile of the church in the community. Patrick is just one participcant now planning a Communication day for his large and vibrant church. Expect to hear more in the local and Adventist media!

[Story and Photos: Victor Hulbert]