A trip to county Kerry had been planned since 2019, but due to circumstances and then the pandemic, the trip had not taken place. Finally, in November 2023 we had the opportunity to travel to Tralee to provide training for Tralee Baptist Church.
The pastor of the church is John Herrick, an American who has been ministering in Tralee for 35 years. John and his wife Amanda have been using Precept material for many years (Amanda first heard of Precept in 1998) and have alternated between 40 Minute studies and Precept Upon Precept workbooks. They have been active supporters of Precept Ireland, often attending online events. John and his wife Amanda announced that they were moving to begin work with another church in County Cork, and so a renewed effort was made to visit them in Tralee to bless them and the church.
On the morning of Friday 24th November, the staff team (Karen, Ben, Gavin, and Dave), left to make the journey down – a distance of nearly 300 miles from Belfast. We arrived at our accommodation in the evening, a B&B that was kindly gifted by two members of the church.
On the Saturday (10 AM - 2 PM) we ran three workshops at the Rose Hotel, Tralee:
Introduction to Inductive Bible Study
How to lead a 40-Minute Study
Introduction to Precept Upon Precept and In & Out studies
“Every Bible college, every seminary, ought to teach this kind of approach to Bible study because it’s really helped me in my understanding and ministry of the Scriptures.” - Pastor John Herrick, Tralee Baptist Church
We also brought a resource table which was well received and allowed attendees to see the various types of resources available.
After our workshop on Saturday afternoon, we went to John and Amanda’s home to hear of their experience of Tralee, learn more about local churches in the area, and hear about the future ministry they will be involved in.
On Saturday evening we went out for dinner and spent time with the church leadership (two elders, two deacons, and their wives). This was a good opportunity to chat and build a relationship with those who will be remaining at the church after the pastor leaves.
On Sunday, the team worshipped with the church and Dave had the opportunity to share about Precept and the work we are involved in. It was great to hear Pastor John preach on Jonah 4 and the clear demonstration of his own inductive study skills that he used to prepare for the sermon.
Our time in Tralee was a great encouragement to us as a ministry as we enjoyed fellowship and saw God at work in and through His people. Pray with us that in 2024 we will have many more opportunities to run events like this.
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