“I was hooked because of the fellowship as well as the methodology. It was unlike any other pastor meeting I went to.”
– Pastor Ray Brandon, Northbridge Church, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Pastor Ray Brandon did not want to attend a WordPartners workshop at first. After all, he reasoned, he had learned all that stuff in seminary. But eventually, a friend convinced him to attend a group in Hillsdale, Michigan. Reflecting on that first experience, Ray said, “I was hooked because of the fellowship as well as the methodology. It was unlike any other pastor meeting I went to.”
It wasn’t long before Ray began sharing the principles he was learning with his own congregation, Northbridge Church. He saw how even kids under twelve were grasping God’s Word better. He began to consider how these principles could help shape their small groups as well. For years, they had been using a curriculum that taught people the narrative of the Bible, but he noticed that “we weren’t equipping them with the tools to study the Bible for themselves, and as a leader, I saw that as a deficit.”
Ray and his fellow church leaders planned a weekend training on the book of Philippians to equip all their small group leaders. Those who attended were excited to begin teaching these principles in their small groups, knowing the transformational impact God’s Word would have on the whole church. This training is also moving beyond the Northbridge congregation, as some of the lay leaders have plans to equip leaders from other churches in Alpena, Michigan, this upcoming year.
When asked why WordPartners training has been helpful for his church, Ray answered, “It was drilled into me that whatever you do in ministry, make sure it’s reproducible. WordPartners keeps things simple but not simplistic.” The fruit of this is transformation through God’s Word, and that’s now happening throughout Northbridge Church and beyond.
