‘Music in the local church’ was originally developed as a three week course, but this is the supersonic version in two seminars. To get the balance of the material, it is best to come to both sessions, if possible, on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon.

Part 1 (Tuesday afternoon) is designed to help musicians and leaders with issues which can get in the way of public worship. It will touch on the role of a worship leader, the planning of services, and how to work well with others.

What is your gender? Facebook suggests 50 possible responses to that question, from ‘agender’ to ‘trans man’. Homosexuality and transgenderism are commonplace in contemporary media and the prevailing story is of liberation of misunderstood communities from discrimination. The pace of change in social attitudes has been breathtaking, leaving the church seemingly out of touch – the foremost of the past oppressors – and individual Christians confused. How should we speak and act? This seminar will get to grips with what is behind these issues. It will paint a positive biblical vision of sex and gender and will explore appropriate pastoral responses.

There’s no doubt that sport is a massive part of our culture. More than 10 million people play competitive sport in 150,000 clubs and teams across the UK. The call from Jesus Christ in Matthew 28 is clear – “Go and make disciples of all nations...” The question is, how can your church engage with those from this 10-million plus mission field who live near you so that sportspeople everywhere hear the good news of the gospel? Or how can you as a church leader, envision, equip and encourage the Christian sportspeople within your church to be on this disciple-making mission for Christ in their sporting context?

This session will support, equip and inspire those who recognise God’s heart for families within their churches. We will consider what the scriptural responsibility of the church family is. Based on in-depth research amongst churches and Christian families, we will explore a wealth of practical ideas for how churches can best support discipleship in the home context. We will also explore together how to make best use of small windows of time, how to engage families most effectively within our churches and how the church can empower Christian parents. Ultimately, how can we pass our faith onto the next generation most effectively?

Many years ago, the leadership team of Perimeter Church realised that personal, life-on-life missional discipleship was accounting for a unique and unmatched depth of spiritual growth and heart for outreach within the individuals involved. With 50 years of discipleship experience, Randy will share some of his key learnings regarding life-on-life missional discipleship and how it can transform your ministry.

Randy Pope is the founding and lead teaching pastor of Perimeter Church in Johns Creek, Georgia. Randy and his wife, Carol, have four children and 14 grandchildren. Randy is a graduate of the University of Alabama and Reformed Theological Seminary. He and his family moved to Atlanta in 1977 to plant Perimeter Church. Randy is the author of four books and a discipleship curriculum used globally entitled ‘The Journey’. His latest book is entitled ‘Insourcing: Bringing Discipleship Back to the Local Church’.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are followers and learners of a good shepherd who is our perfect model of care. But is ‘caring’ not just for the specialists? What does Paul mean when he writes to the Corinthians of ‘every member care’ in the body of Christ? And what would it look like in practice? This seminar and discussion aims to consider how we can grow in what Jesus called the defining characteristic of His followers – “by this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).

Dr. Andrew Collins works part-time as a consultant psychiatrist in the field of psychiatric intensive care. He also works part-time in the field of Christian counselling from his home in Portadown, Northern Ireland. As well as offering this service, Andrew has provided teaching and training on pastoral and mental health issues for churches and conferences. Andrew is an elder in Killicomaine Evangelical Church where he is involved in the ministry on a regular basis. He is married with five children.

The world has changed and so has mission. In this seminar, we will look at some of the changes affecting mission today, and examine our role in getting our own congregations excited about mission. We will share our own experiences with ‘missionaries’ and teams, and ask how we can make mission a more integral part of our church life. We will look at how we can better support the missionaries we already know of, and how we can better use short-term mission trips to enrich the lives of those who go on them and those who don’t, not to mention those who host them. We will think about the increasing number of people from other faiths who now live on our doorstep, and on how we can engage with them.

Stephen McIlwaine is married to Roz and they have three teenage children. Stephen and family spent two years at All Nations Christian College, followed by 13 years living and working in Jordan as partners with Interserve. In Jordan, Stephen worked mostly in secular development work, while Roz worked firstly with refugees and then as a school teacher. They returned in 2012 and are still getting used to life in Ireland. Stephen is an elder in Fitzroy Presbyterian Church, Belfast, and works as an environmental advisor to projects in developing countries.

Few subjects cause as much disharmony in the church as the issue of music and praise. But is it all purely a matter of taste? Are there theological considerations we need to apply? What about the non-musical elements of worship? Given the strong emphasis on preaching in our tradition, and the time spent by preachers in preparing this aspect of the service, how much time should we spend putting together the other elements? In a culture where the ‘worship leader’ has assumed a prominent role in many emerging churches, what biblical principles govern this role. How can we encourage creative artists and musicians in a way which neither relegates their contributions to the periphery of worship nor elevates their role beyond what is appropriate? This seminar looks at the biblical and practical issues surrounding the putting together of corporate worship services within the PCI tradition.

David ‘Monty’ Montgomery is a Presbyterian minister currently working as Director of Christian Unions, Ireland, coordinating the work of over 30 CUs in the university campuses of Ireland. Previously he served in Stormont, Knock and Greystones Presbyterian churches and with PCI’s Board of Mission in Ireland. He has a doctorate from Covenant Theological Seminary, and has been published on a range subjects. He is married to Gwen, supports Manchester City and relaxes with crime fiction and the Times crossword.

The rapid changes in our culture often leave Christians feeling confused and vulnerable. We need to raise up disciples of all ages who can think biblically about the issues of our time so that they can serve God faithfully and share the gospel confidently. We need to get beneath the surface of how people live and speak to understand how behaviour reflects ultimate beliefs that are either true or false. This seminar will explore the centrality of transformed thinking to whole-life discipleship. It will present a biblical worldview that challenges alternative ideas and provides a foundation for confident faith and persuasive evangelism. We will explore together both what this means for individual Christians and how, in practical terms, teaching in our churches can develop disciples who engage thoughtfully in the world.

Paul Coulter is a native of Lisburn. He left a career in medicine to work in cross-cultural pastoral ministry with the Belfast Chinese Christian Church. He subsequently directed youth and equipping ministries in Glenabbey Church before pursuing his PhD in Divinity. Currently he teaches Practical Theology and Missiology at Belfast Bible College, advises several Christians organisations, podcasts and writes online articles at www.paulcoulter.net, and preaches in churches across Northern Ireland. He is husband to Gar-Ling, father to two children, and fast becoming a ‘mamil’.

When God made human beings He made us with a very specific purpose in mind. He made us “in His image” to show the world what He is like. When Jesus developed the theme with His disciples He told them that they were “the light of the world.” For too long the image has been hidden away…the light has been kept under a bowl.

In this seminar we will be thinking about how our churches can become discipling communities that equip people for the whole of their real lives…not just Sundays, Monday to Saturday too…not just church, but all the places where they work and play. We’ll see how there is no such thing as ‘the Christian life’ or ‘spiritual life.’ There’s just life… ‘Life to the full’ Jesus called it…the kind of life that will draw a watching world to Him.

Christoph Ebbinghaus is a disciple who works as minister of Kirkpatrick Memorial (previously as accountant with PWC) and plays at running, cycling, hiking and the like. Of late he’s taken to chopping wood, lighting camp fires and loves nothing more than a good chat around a fire with friends. He’s husband to Claire and dad to Patrick, Sophie and Ruby.