From this coming September, a new training course for all kinds of lay ministry is being set up to serve churches in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire – Four Counties Ministry Training Course, or 4CMTC.
The course is being overseen by local church leaders in the Bedford area at the instigation of the successful TEAM (Training for East Anglia Ministry) course which has been running in Cambridge for many years. 4CMTC is intended for anyone who is already involved in regular Bible-teaching ministry of some kind – in Sunday School, children’s or youth work, leading house-group Bible studies, or occasionally preaching – and who has been encouraged by their church leaders to seek training for further ministry in the future, but it would also be of interest to Christians who simply wish to deepen and extend their knowledge of the Bible.
Course Director Shaun Atkins, currently Associate Minister at St Mary’s Church, Wootton, says: ‘The aim of the course is to allow the Bible itself to do its work of training in righteousness, so that the man and woman of God in a local church may be equipped for the good work of ministry. We share the conviction that correctly handling the word of truth is essential to all effective Christian ministry, in pastoral counselling just as much as in preaching and teaching.’