Christian Community-led Development – outlining 25 principles behind Community-led Development that develops Local Leadership, Social Enterprises, Discipleship and pathways for increasing sustainability and capacity of a neighbourhood.  Behind these principles are some clear theology on God’s Heart for the Poor, Place and Power Sharing.  This is a very practical one or two day course that is designed for community grassroots participators.

Street Youth Work – Dave has 20 years experience working with youth beyond the church. He has a framework for ‘best practices’ and ‘structures’ that build in-depth relationships with youth and their whanau.  This is a fun and creative “2-4 hour” course.

Missio Dei – creating a space to hear from God and to nurture your personal vocation and calling.  Dave uses a discerning  process that enables participants to reflect on their past story, helping them to see where God has whispered out His calling, enabling each person to see new possibilities for seeing God in the future.

Intentional Community – everyone needs a place to Belong, everyone needs place  to have Purpose and to be Recognised.  Intentional Communities are a unique expression that can bring out the best in all members.  Communities also face challenges and conflict as they go through different phases “the ideal, the ordeal and the new deal.”  Dave provides insights into understanding how to work through these stages in community, helping members to mature and become more effective in their missional work.

Appreciative Inquiry – is a process that can work with groups and individuals, helping them to develop  their own idea and projects and to deal with issues that may be occurring.  A.I. follows 4 steps, Discover (what gives life, the best of what was in the past), Dream (imagine what could be), Design (creating a plan to bring life to the dream), Deliver (living the dream).

Community Mapping – a short 2 hour course on learning how to research and understand the Heartbeat of a Community/Neighbourhood before working in or reaching out, to that community.  Understanding the heartbeat of local people is key to building a successful framework for empowering and engaging with local people..

The Devil is in the Detail – a 2 hours critique of our economic system. This unpacks why we are experiencing high levels of poverty, a widening of the gap between the rich and poor and some ideas for living counter-cultural lifestyle that reflects Kingdom Values. The steps that can be taken to help move towards a ‘well-being’ framework instead of a profit-driven framework.

Mission and Community – mission includes church plants but is also much more, it includes evangelism but is also much more.  Through this ‘up to 6 hour’ course Dave will give a framework for understanding what Mission looks like when working with local neighbourhoods.  He will demonstrate how people are drawn to the Source of Life through creating Belonging and Purpose.  At the end of this course you will have a clear Biblical understanding of Mission that is back up with some very practical ways of applying this understanding.

Working/Living Cross Culturally in Mission – Dave (Pakeha) and Denise (Maori, Ngati Porou) together can demonstrate how to work across the cultural, socio-econmic and class system (yes, we do have a Class System in NZ). This short, but highly though provoking course, will help anyone wanting to work in Community and Mission

Back to Speakers    Denise Tims