Over 80 men and women from all over Scotland gathered for the inaugural Pathways conference in Glasgow from 30 January to 1 February.
This new venture is a partnership of church leaders and training providers with a vision to help men and women from across all church groups who are considering going into gospel work.
Andy Hunter (the Steering Group chairman and FIEC’s Scotland director) opened the conference, informing delegates that the number of conservative evangelicals in Scotland was estimated to be around 1% of the population. Many communities lack any meaningful gospel witness and the need for a new generation of gospel workers is urgent.
Andy Gemmill (Cornhill Scotland) preached from Acts 20, giving the challenge that gospel work is never easy, and demands confrontation. Robin Sydserff (Chalmers Church, Edinburgh) gave a helpful overview of the Gospel of Mark, showing how gospel ministry must be Word based, and Trevor Archer (FIEC’s Training Director) examined the qualifications for elders from 1 Timothy 3, highlighting that gospel work is primarily about character.
A series of 12 seminars unpacked key issues such as what it means to be a pastor/teacher, how gospel work impacts marriage and family, the need for bi-vocational ministry in a cash strapped church environment, and how theological education prepares us for ministry. A key component of the weekend involved each delegate meeting up with a one of the conference leaders, one-to-one, to discuss their call to ministry.
