Porterbrook

Grace Fellowship is pleased to partner with C2C  Saskatchewan and the Porterbrook Network in the UK to provide training for individuals for gospel ministry.   Four new modules will tentatively be offered beginning in Septmenber 2015.  The new courses will be done through an interactive, online platform.  Details regarding our 2015-2016  schedule can be found at the bottom of this page.

Acts 29 Director, Matt Chandler, introduces the Porterbrook Network Training:

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What is the Porterbrook Network?

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“The Porterbrook Network is an excellent resource for equipping churches and individuals as we look at responding in a distinctive gospel manner to the needs in our nation and world.”
Vaughan Roberts, Rector, St Ebbe’s, Oxford

“Porterbrook? Do it!”
Alan Hirsch, Forge Mission Training Network, Australia

“The Porterbrook Network is an innovative resource that offers affordable, high-quality training for mission and ministry in the 21st century. I warmly recommend it.”
Tim Keller, Senior Pastor, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, NY

An application form can be downloaded by clicking here…

Mail the completed form to Murray at: murray@gracesask.com 

Why is it all about mission?

• Mission is about God transforming lives and bringing them under the kingship of Jesus
• Mission is the task to which God has both called and equipped his people
• Mission starts in our hearts and does not end until it reaches the ends of the earth

Porterbrook Distance Learning helps Christians learn how to serve Jesus and his people better — whether they are church leaders, church planters, or simply Christians wanting to become more mission-focused. The curriculum requires about three to five hours a week, but seeks to be integrated with your whole Christian life in whatever context you’re serving. It’s not theology for theology’s sake: the course is written by practitioners for practitioners. It follows the same program as Porterbrook Training, but is delivered through distance learning materials and monthly weekend residentials each year.

How do I know if Porterbrook is right for me?

• You’re an enthusiastic Christian wanting to be equipped for gospel ministry
• You are able to commit three to five hours a week to study for the length of the module (usually 3-4 week classes)
• You are motivated to study on your own
• You are able come to Saskatoon for the introductory and concluding classes

What should I expect?

We will introduce each module at the introduction day  as well as providing access to the material which is online.  Each student will be placed into a study group (cohort) for community learning.  (If you are joining as a “cohort” or small group, then mark that down on your application form). Each study group will meet weekly for 3 weeks, to discuss and share what God has been teaching them.   The aim is to help students keep on track and apply their learning to their context.  The course will require about 3-5 hours study each week.  A variety of courses will be offered in a three year rotation.

We require each student to have the support of their local church, and where possible, would look for some level of involvement from the church leader(s).

The approximate cost will be $25 per class plus the additional  cost of online materials (approximately $30 which is paid online directly to the Porterbrook Network).

All cheques are to be made out to: Grace Fellowship.

All classes are held at the Grace Fellowship “Upper Room” located above Midwest Meidl Collision Centre in Saskatoon at 401 43rd St. E.  (the corner of 43rd St and Faithful Ave.)

We will set up an online community for student discussion, questions, and encouragement.  Thus, students can interact with one other throughout the course of study.

Download Application Form

Mail the completed form to Murray at: murray@gracesask.com

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Tentative Fall/Winter 2015-16 Schedule of Classes:

Gospel Living Course runs from Sept 19, 2015 – Oct 17, 2015

Gospel Living – This course is all about the very heart of the Christian life. Living a gospel centred life rooted and built up in Christ crucified, raised and ascended for us, is the goal and power of the Christian life. Learn to walk in the gospel. The gospel is not just the message we proclaim, it is also the message that shapes our identity, relationships, the nature of the church, mission and everyday life. This is the central course for the whole Porterbrook curriculum. It is all about living a gospel centred life.

Understanding God’s Story Course runs from Nov 7, 2015 – Dec 5, 2015

Understanding God’s Story – Learn how to understand passages of scripture in the light of the whole Bible story. This course teaches Christians how to get to the meaning of the text for its first readers and for us today. God has spoken to his people through the story of his Son, Jesus. As Christians, we find our identity and purpose as we engage with the stories, letters, poems, prophecies, histories etc., contained within the Bible’s bigger story. This course is deeply practical. You will need your Bible with you to work through multiple exercises on Bible texts. You will learn to understand texts in the context of the bigger story and the immediate context of the book of the Bible they appear in. Then you will learn how to apply the words of the Bible today.

Keeping it Missional Course runs from Jan 9, 2016 – Feb 6, 2016

Keeping it Missional – How do you stop the day-to-day running of church life becoming a distraction from mission? This course answers by helping us see how everything from business meetings to marriage preparation can and should help us on the task of saving the lost.  Everything in church life can and ought to be geared to the mission of saving the lost. However, so much of church life can seem like a distraction from the task. This course helps us to recalibrate all the necessary tasks of church life around mission. It is for all church members not just leaders. It will help all Christians understand and play their part.

Apologetics Course runs from Mar 5, 2016 – April 2, 2016

Apologetics – Learn how to understand objections to the Christian faith and how to answer with the gospel in the context of relationships and everyday life.The Bible calls us to give a defence for the hope we have in Jesus. It’s the Christian life that prompts the question, and relationship is the best context to display and explain the hope we have. This course helps us to understand where objections to the Christian faith come from and how to answer them with a relational approach to apologetics.

Previous Winter 2014-15 Schedule of Classes:

Gospel Community Course runs from Sept.13 – Oct. 4, 2014

The Bible in Missional Perspective Course runs from Nov. 15 – Dec. 13, 2014

Evangelism Course runs from Feb. 7 – March 7, 2015

Gospel Change course runs from March 21 – April 18, 2015