Also announced this week , another honour for an Ely cleric. The Revd David Male, who is our advisor for Fresh Expressions as well as tutor in Pioneer Mission in Cambridge has been elected as a member of the prestigious College of Evangelists.
The College was set up by the Archbishops in 1999 to recognise and affirm evangelists whose ministry is nationwide or at least beyond the confines of any diocese, and is a support and resource group for its members.
This year’s Commissioning Service will take place at St Martin’s in the Bullring, Birmingham. We are pleased to welcome Mr Richard Chewter and Revd Ian Mosby to the college at the service, which will be lead by the Rt. Revd. Andrew Watson, Bishop of Aston.
Before coming to Ridley David was for seven years Vicar of the Net Church, Huddersfield. This ‘network type’ church which he started with a small team was one of the pioneers of fresh expressions in this country, and is the first church mentioned in the Mission shaped church report. He is an Associate Missioner of The Fresh Expressions team and is involved in helping other new churches and their leaders develop fresh expressions throughout the country. Leader of the Mission Shaped Ministry Course for Cambridge and Suffolk, he has also been working in Australia and the USA helping to develop new churches in these countries. David is Guest Lecturer for the Global Missional Leadership DMin through George Fox Evangelical Seminary.
David is passionate about creating communities that connect with unchurched people and helping to create the leaders to enable this to happen. He describes his work at Ridley as creating the ecosystem to enable pioneering ministries to flourish.
His book Church Unplugged: Remodelling Church without losing your soul (Authentic Books) looks at how to create a new church through ten essentials that create an indispensable framework.
He served two curacies in Leicester and Huddersfield.
David is passionate about creating communities that connect with unchurched people. Married to Heather, they have 3 children, Jenny, Holly and Callum. He loves playing and watching most sports which involve a ball and no water! He is an avid Huddersfield Town fan. His other interests include the media, films and eating!
Email: dm432@cam.ac.uk
Read more on Dave’s blog
Filed under: Church of England, mission, College of Evengelists, Diocese of Ely, Fresh Expressions
Richard Chewter, who will also be welcomed to the College at this service is the Town Centre Chaplain in Watford, Herts ( where I minister). He is the moving force behind the ground-breaking Town Centre Chaplaincy there, which now has chaplains for the business, civic, entertainment and retail sectors, as well as organising Street Angels to care for those who get the worse for wear after a night out in the clubs and bars in the town centre; and Eden – a place for spiritual refreshment in the Harlequin shopping centre.