Since we were commended to full-time ministry in 2004, our primary focus has always been biblical preaching and ministry training. We are passionate about equipping others to dig deeply into God’s Word and know Him personally, so this tends to be the focus of what we do. Let me try to describe our ministry in a nutshell:
1. The Foundation: Our Local Church
We believe that it is healthy and right to be engaged in the life and work of a local church. During our first six years in England, Peter spent a lot of time in itinerant ministry, as well as serving in our local church (Oakhall Church in Caterham, Surrey). However, we really desired to be more rooted in one place so we could invest more deeply into one group of people and be more stable as a family.
To this end, in 2010 we moved to Chippenham to plug in at Ladyfield Evangelical Church. Peter currently preaches about twenty Sunday’s per year (a.m. and p.m.) at Ladyfield, and is involved in training preachers from the church. We also host a house group in our home which we co-lead with another couple.
We feel blessed to have been able to plug into various people’s lives and disciple and encourage them in their faith. Please pray for us to be a blessing at Ladyfield and for us to also be able to grow spiritually there.
2. The Umbrella: OM
We continue in our role with OM. Although Peter does less official OM ministry now than in the past, he still seeks to serve whenever possible at events such as the new recruits’ conferences and in fields such as the Logos Hope ship ministry. We sometimes laugh at the title Peter has in OM (Minister-at-large), but we are thankful to be part of this great organization!
3. The Central Focus: Cor Deo
Cor Deo means “a heart for God” and it is the central ministry on our radar. Cor Deo is committed to multiplying ministry that shares God’s heart. It is thrilling for us to look back over the past four years and see how God has brought this ministry from a dream in our hearts to a growing ministry! The full-time training programme runs from January to June and we are now in in our third season (2013). So far, 18 men have joined Peter and his colleague, Ron Frost, for a relational study programme that is centred around Bible study, church history and applied theology.
Peter and Ron have also been able to run evening classes, day conferences and one-week intensive courses. We are incredibly encouraged at the fruit God is bringing from the ministry of Cor Deo. And we have been so blessed by the wonderful friendships that have developed between participants, as well as developing great friendships with the participants as a family.
Our hope is that by prioritizing mentoring relationships with a small group of participants, we will see genuine multiplication of the ministry we are involved in. Cor Deo is about studying together, ministering together and growing closer to the Lord together.
You can sign up for Cor Deo updates on the website: www.cordeo.org.uk (and follow Cordeo on Facebook or Twitter, and the podcast on iTunes)
4. Everything Else
Other opportunities for ministry continue to fill some gaps in our schedule while we continue to try and get the balance right (always a prayer request!) So Peter does visit a few other churches to preach, speaks at Christian Unions in universities, does training days for UCCF staff, speaks at conferences/retreats/Bible schools, and is involved in the leadership of a part-time training programme called Pillars (see pillars-training.org).
We probably should also mention Peter writes regularly on BiblicalPreaching.net and the Cor Deo Blog.
Melanie’s Ministry
While Melanie does get involved in whatever way she can in the above ministries, for the most part her focus is on local church involvement, and even more than that, the central ministry of discipling five little Meads (homeschooling and being the best wife and mother she can be).
Her goal is to create a Christ-centred environment for our family and other people God brings into our home.
