Over 150 people gathered near Milton Keynes in January for The Hub Conference, an annual gathering organised by The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC), designed for those on their journey into Free church ministry.
Those considering the call to be pastors, pastors’ wives, youth and children’s workers and women’s workers enjoyed seminars, worship and Bible teaching from Paul Mallard. The Hub also gave representatives from UK training colleges the chance to engage with people on their ministry journey. Delegates were able to meet with experienced ministers and ministry couples from Independent churches to pray with them and receive help and advice.
Loving, learning and longing
In the main ministry this year, Paul Mallard took the titles ‘Loving God’, ‘Learning from Pain’ and ‘Longing for Holiness’ as he preached from Ephesians, Romans and Philippians.
Danny Elliott, one of the delegates, said: ‘The seminars were so helpful in giving practical advice. I was reminded to be thankful for the incredible support we have; I was challenged by Spurgeon (and the Apostle Paul) on the idea of being compelled to preach; and I found great wisdom in the words of those talking about what family life in ministry looks like. My wife Sarah and I had a ‘two-to-two’ with an experienced ministry couple which was also helpful – getting a chance to talk to someone outside of our situation and being able to glean from their questions and answers was a highlight of the weekend. Thinking about going into ministry became a secondary issue for me over the course of three days; I was just thrilled to be taught from God’s word, moved deeply and challenged relentlessly.’
