Equipping people to teach the Bible faithfully.

The theme of this year's Evangelical Ministry Assembly (EMA) was Multiply. One of the highlights was a warm and moving interview with David Jackman reflecting on the founding and history of the Cornhill Training Course, which exists to equip men and women to handle God's word faithfully and prepare them for a lifetime of gospel ministry. David has been a great friend to TnT over many years, both as a series editor and as a passionate advocate for our work.

The interview was significant because it highlighted that multiplying ministry is not simply about creating more programmes or recruiting more people to run them. Biblical ministry is about equipping people to teach God's word faithfully and serve the body of Christ.

During EMA, research was presented highlighting the characteristics of churches with a strong training culture. One of the twelve key points was that training must be ministry-focused: we equip people not simply to increase their knowledge, but to prepare them for active service. Healthy churches are not simply places where people receive ministry; they are communities where believers are equipped to become workers in the harvest.

But ministry is not only the outcome of training; it is also one of the ways God grows his people. Those who teach, serve and open God's word with others should themselves be maturing as disciples.

Rebecca, who has served in her local church's children's ministry using our Mustard Seeds resources for eleven years, recently reflected:

Rebecca's experience illustrates an important principle: good ministry resources should not simply help people complete a task; they should help people grow as they serve.

Her experience is not unique. At a training day in Lebanon, Mike, who had proofread all our Arabic translations, commented that the resources help train people as they use them. They are not simply providing a lesson to deliver; as people work through them, they develop their ability to read the Bible carefully and communicate God's word appropriately to children of different ages.

This raises important questions about the resources we place in people's hands. Do they simply help volunteers complete a task, or do they help form confident, Bible-shaped disciples who are increasingly able to encourage others with the truth of God's word?

A recent review of a children's ministry resource exploring four Psalms around the theme of mental health highlighted why this matters. The subject was valuable and the pastoral concern was commendable, but across four sessions the teaching notes never once mentioned Jesus. The issue was not that every sentence of a lesson must contain his name, but that Christian teaching must help us read every part of the Bible in the light of Christ. A resource that teaches biblical passages while failing to show how they fit within God's unfolding plan centred on Jesus is not simply incomplete; it risks teaching children about the Bible without teaching them how to read the Bible as Christians.

This is why the theological grounding of those who produce resources matters. Those who create ministry materials are not simply writing lesson plans; they are helping equip those who teach God's word to others. They need more than the ability to communicate clearly; they need theological depth and a commitment to handling the Bible faithfully. For this reason, all our staff are theologically trained and actively involved in local church ministry on a weekly basis.

There is also a wider challenge facing churches. In a desire to be good stewards, many are naturally drawn to free resources. But free does not always represent the best value, particularly when materials fail to shape people's understanding and teaching of God's Word.

The key question is not simply whether a resource provides enough content for a Sunday morning. Rather, it is whether it is theologically rich, handles Scripture faithfully, and equips those who use it to teach with confidence and clarity.

Churches should be willing to invest in resources that serve not only the children in front of them but also the long-term growth and development of the volunteers who teach them. At only £120 per year for a church with up to 50 children, we believe our Mustard Seeds resources represent exceptional value and are a wise investment — not only in the next generation, but also in those who faithfully and sacrificially teach them.