What Christian leaders are saying about Foundations21 |
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Foundations21 has been reviewed by a number of Church leaders and organizations.Follow any of the links below to read more:
=============================== A Review from Fresh Expressions: 'Foundations21 may just be the course that many have been waiting for.
It opens up all manner of evangelistic and discipleship possibilities
and deserves to do well.'
=============================== The Associate Minister at All Souls, Langham Place, the Revd Dr Paul Blackham, writes: 'One of my favourite verses in the whole Bible is Acts 2:46 - "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God." 'This is such a profound insight into the kind of lifestyle and spirituality that led to the incredible revolution that turned the world upside down. The features that always strike me are "every day"; "together" and "with glad and sincere hearts praising God". 'The desperate need of our age is for the authentic discipleship that covers the whole of life, every day of the week. We need to be following Jesus together, encouraging and sharing every day. It is this shared pilgrimage of learning and serving that awakens in me a joyful heart of sincere praise. This is why I have enjoyed Foundations21 so much. 'Foundations21 is far more than a course. There are all kinds of discipleship courses available, many of which are very helpful. However, Foundations21 is far more than that. It is an experience of following Jesus every day in fellowship with all kinds of other people. 'When I get up in the morning, I can log on to Foundations21 and receive input, inspiration, meditation and community. As a minister it is so refreshing to receive spiritual food that gives me a chance to recharge and refresh. Many days I simply follow the daily scripture study, pray about the highlighted area of the world and see what people are sharing on the forums. 'When I am struggling to find inspiration or just finding it hard to get going, knowing that I'm sharing the journey with others who feel the same or have been through the same, changes my day. 'In Foundations21 you don't get forced into a style of study or discipleship that isn't right for you. When you begin you find out what kind of person you are and your journey reflects that. 'I have done some sections more than once, when I wanted to reflect more deeply on something I did earlier on the journey. 'No matter how isolated any of us may feel where we live and work, we can log on to Foundations21 and feel part of the Christian family. Sharing the journey with others gives confidence and encouragement. 'Having registered All Souls with Foundations21, I can now invite members of the church family to share this community. That way as I go through a mentoring process with them physically in Central London, we can also keep in touch in a structured way through the Foundations21 experience.'
=============================== The Revd Sean Blackman writes: 'When I became a Christian, 26 years ago, I was fortunate enough to be discipled in the tradition Jesus encouraged his original disciples to follow in: that of ongoing support and mentorship. Such close attention at an early stage of my Christian life resulted in phenomenal growth. Within a relatively short time I learned how to pray, read my Bible, fellowship with other believers, grow more Christ-like in my character and my conduct, share my faith with those who were not yet Christians and make the most of what talents and gifts God had given me to serve the church and the world at large. 'Having this foundation laid so firmly in my life - and benefited so greatly from it - has created a passion to see others enter into a similar experience of discipleship. However, one thing I am very aware of is that what worked for me two decades ago is not necessarily going to work for others today. What is needed is a discipleship process that takes into consideration both the culture and the constraints of the 21st century. 'It was for this reason the Foundations21 resource first appealed to me. It seemed to me that if there was a discipleship process both rooted in scripture and relevant to the people of this age it was worth exploring. However, being very pragmatic, I had no intention of launching it in my church without giving it a test drive myself. I did this by viewing Foundations21 from the perspective of someone who was mature in their faith while also "wearing the shoes" of someone who might be new to the faith. Not an easy task, some might think, yet essential if I wanted to take into account the breadth of spiritual experience in my own congregation. 'I enjoyed the test drive. It was encouraging to see my learning style - I am a "Mark" - was fully accounted for on the journey. Yet, at no point did I feel the material was either too "above" or "below" me. In other words, I could see it working for many others too. I liked the immediacy of having material on the home page, such as the Bible reading notes, Psalm, thought for the day and anticipated that it would not be too difficult to imagine many using the home page as the resources for their quiet time. 'I also liked the way in which people were able to progress and noted how the questions that were asked along the journey started at a reasonably surface level and began to dig deeper as the journey progressed. Such an approach does encourage you to journey with another. You want to talk about your faith and your life with someone who is able to reflect with you and help you think through where you are with God and how you can be the person God wants you to be. Foundations21 gives a context where this can happen reasonably naturally. 'So I was satisfied that Foundations21 had potential. But there was a problem. Foundations21 seemed to be set up as a kind of community you joined as an individual. I wanted to see it as something I can bring my congregation into. To be frank, I believed that Foundations21 could become part of who we are as a community and I wanted to get many people into it. 'For this reason I met up with Richard Fisher to explore the possibilities. Having met him, it was exciting to see that he was on the same wavelength as both myself and my leadership team. So we are now backing our convictions with cash. We believe our people should be able to benefit from this course and have agreed to pay 50% of the cost for everyone who does it. We do this with the confidence that working in partnership with Foundations21 does not just mean that we, as a congregation, grow; it also means Foundations21 grows with us. 26 years ago I became a Christian and was given a foundation of discipleship that has made me eternally grateful. My prayer is that the experience people are being brought into today with Foundations21 will result in the same feeling of thanks and appreciation in many years to come.'
The Revd Sean Blackman
=============================== 'As we become increasingly familiar with the potential of Internet-based learning and explore new ways to do "discipleship", it is inevitable that the two will meet. Foundations21 is a web- and DVD-based resource that makes those introductions creatively. 'It offers a seemingly exhaustive choice of well-researched, in-depth study material - and an online community to share it with. It provides a multimedia treasure chest for individual users and a virtual home group for those who want to learn with others: less of a study aid, more of a way of life with like-minded co-disciples. 'Twelve virtual rooms lead community members through different areas of discipleship training by choice and through one of the four Gospel "pathways" according to personal learning style. Writer Adrian Plass introduces the themes, there are opportunities for globally-focused prayer and there are contributions from church leaders, movers and shakers from across the evangelical tradition. 'It's a stunning resource.'
Reviewed by Wendy Bray in the April 2007 edition of
Christianity magazine =============================== 'This is a highly imaginative and intelligent package pioneering the use of the Internet in Christian discipleship. I welcome it warmly.' The Rt Revd Christopher Herbert, Bishop of St Alban's =============================== 'People's working lives are more and more pressured, but Foundations21 enables a group of Christians or those interested in finding out more about Christianity to explore together using this versatile web-based course at their own pace - but meeting up regularly or impromptu in the workplace staff restaurant or coffee shops to discuss together their experiences and questions.' =============================== 'Users we have spoken with have clearly found the material enriching and stimulating. Exploring new ways of helping people grow as followers of Christ in our contemporary culture is a key challenge facing churches today.' =============================== 'Foundations21 is an exciting and innovative project that offers significant help to people in their faith journey. The programme offers depth, breadth and flexibility and is an excellent tool for spiritual development.
=============================== 'One of the great challenges we face today is how to equip Christians for daily living as committed disciples of Jesus Christ. Foundations21, with its flexible and personalized approach to lifelong Christian learning, is an imaginative and invaluable resource for churches that want to help people grow in their faith.'
=============================== 'To grow in the Christian faith means growing in relationship with God and in the outworking of that relationship in the whole of life. Foundations21 is a highly flexible, attractive and comprehensive multimedia resource that enables followers of Christ to become disciples in ways that not only suit their learning style, but can be fitted into the hectic schedules of so many people's lives.'
=============================== 'I once lived in a house that needed to be underpinned. Concrete was poured directly under us and, although it was expensive, it was an amazingly effective process. The same can be said of the BRF's Foundations21. It is an imaginative but inexpensive programme, which I have known about from its early days. I can think of nothing better for those of us (and that's all of us!) who all too often try to build on sand!' ===============================
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Watch Adrian Plass introducing Foundations21 How can Foundations21 work in my Church? ================ Other Reviews:Find out what the Media is saying about Foundations21 Find out what individual users are saying about Foundations21 ================
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