Ichthus Newsletter Spring 2020 | Page 5

Grants Case Study: Judith Gill Whilst going through university God was very kind to me in providing to me a wonderful Church family in Christ Church Southampton (CCS). CCS was a tremendous help to me through university for my spiritual growth, Biblical understanding and the support of a caring family. Without CCS I would have seriously struggled to keep going as the only Christian on my university course. On finishing university God was (again!) very kind in giving me the opportunity to work as a ministry trainee (MT) at CCS, which was a wonderful chance to give something back to the Church which has helped me so much. As an MT I work mostly with students: leading bible studies, meeting one-to-one and doing my best (thankfully God uses our weakness) to encourage and spur them on. As a ministry trainee I also receive sound theological training, which includes how to create bible studies and write talks which faithfully reflect what scripture is telling us, rather than falling into the various pitfalls of using scripture to say what we want it to say. Other areas of ministry include practical help in running the Sunday gatherings and personal training, where I receive mentoring myself. I can honestly say that, whilst it has its share in the general frustrations of an imperfect creation, I love being in ministry and could not wish to be doing anything else. However, as CCS is a fairly young and rapidly growing church, all the MTs are entirely self-funded and this leaves the problem of somehow raising enough money to support myself - working six full days a week doesn’t give much time to find a weekend job! The generous support of LWPT has been invaluable in allowing me to throw myself into this ministry, knowing that through them (and through yourself) I can focus entirely on my church family and reaching out to my non-Christian friends, rather than having to worry if I have enough money to pay for rent. Once again, thank you so much to LWPT for the support you give, it makes a huge difference. For all enquiries about donations, membership and events you can contact us at: 01923 231811 lwpt.org.uk [email protected] 5