MARCH 2024 / PRAYER UPDATE

Thank you for your continued support of The Bonar Trust. Much has happened since our last update in December; here are some highlights:

Training the Trainers Days

We look back on the Training the Trainers days we co-hosted between January and March with thankfulness to God and with much encouragement. These were delivered in partnership with local gospel church leaders in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Inverness. The events focused on the need to train gospel workers at a local level, building a culture of training, and how a training programme might look.

Even at a numerical level, these events exceeded our expectations, with nearly 50 churches represented and 20 of these having not yet trained in partnership with the Trust. Delegate feedback included ‘timely, compelling and encouraging’…. ‘clear, inspiring and instructive’. We now pray for fruitfulness and a growth in the base of churches training for gospel ministry.

The day-time events were followed by informal dinners in Glasgow and Edinburgh with many of our current-year grantees. They were refreshing and encouraging opportunities for some of our trustees to meet with the next generation of gospel workers and leaders.

Residential Conference

Over a dozen of our Leaders in Training attended our January Residential Conference in Pitlochry. These events are a great opportunity for fellowship, development, and Bible teaching skills for grantees. Passages and teaching were based on 1 Peter. Delegate feedback included ‘encouraging’, ‘sustaining’, and ‘refreshing’.

Gospel Workers for Scotland

In our last update we announced plans for a day dedicated to helping local churches identify and encourage candidates for ministry training. However, whilst good in principle, February was not the right time to run this, and we shall consider it again for later in the year.

Future thinking and planning

We are continuing to think and plan around the three forms of partnership and support the Trust can offer to and with individual trainees, training churches, and training providers. This may lead us to achieving our current goals slightly differently, or even towards new goals. We will share outcomes over the rest of the year.

New website - under construction

Work is ongoing behind the scenes to refresh our website, and its content and navigation. We hope this will allow people to find what they’re looking for, and how the Trust can help and support them, more easily. We hope to have launched the new website by the time we send our next quarterly Update.

DECEMBER 2023 / PRAYER UPDATE

We wish you a Happy and Blessed Christmas-time, and thank you for your support of The Bonar Trust over the year. Much has happened and been planned since our last update in September; here are some highlights:

Training the Trainers Days

Following our inaugural Training the Trainers webinar event in September, we are delighted now to be hosting four in-person days around Scotland. These will focus on the need to train gospel workers at a local level, how to build a culture of training, and how a training programme might look. Each event will give due weight to local needs and priorities and will be led very much with and by local leaders. Planned dates and venues are as follows:

- Glasgow: 31st January
- Aberdeen: 11th March
- Edinburgh: 14th March
- Inverness: 18th March

Invitations have been sent to church leaders and trainers on our database. If you wish to come and have not received yours, or would like us to invite others (with their prior permission), then please write to administrator@bonartrust.org, indicating the venue and date in which you or others are interested.

Residentials

We are looking forward to hosting our next residential at the Atholl Centre in Pitlochry in January, funded by the Trust. These two-day events are key opportunities for people supported by the Trust to meet and grow as preachers and church leaders.

Future Gospel Leaders

We are delighted to be holding our first day dedicated to helping local churches identify and encourage candidates for ministry training. This will be in Edinburgh on Saturday 24th February, and is intended for men and women either in employment, or on a training programme or studying, and who are considering a call to gospel ministry.

We will send out invitations in the new year to church leaders, who we hope will encourage candidates and potential candidates to come along. As always, please write to administrator@bonartrust.org if you would like to find out more beforehand, or to express your interest in coming or encouraging others to come.

Targeted support for churches and trainers

Our plans are developing as to how else the Bonar Trust may support churches with an aspiration to train, particularly those serving in more deprived communities. This is giving extra focus to our support-raising efforts. We are also looking at whether we can help stimulate provision of good quality gospel trainers and training where there is a gap or other need.

Film – Gospel Workers for the Church in Scotland

We are encouraged by the interest our film continues to generate. If you haven’t done so already, you can view either the full-length or trailer versions on our website homepage.

Church Visits

Finally, our Bonar Trust colleagues are undertaking visits to churches around Scotland which are supporting and partnering with the Trust, in order to describe our work to members. Please just drop a note to administrator@bonartrust.org if you would like us to visit your church for a midweek or Sunday meeting, to speak for a few minutes and to show part of our video.