Cornhill goes north - An interview with David Jackman and Hugh Palmer

September 2000 saw the launch in Sheffield of the Northern Cornhill Training Course.

Northern Cornhill is based on the Proclamation Trust's successful Cornhill Training Course.

The Director of the Cornhill Training Course is David Jackman and the new Northern Cornhill is led by Hugh Palmer.

As the course comes to the end of its first year, Tim Chester asked them about its origins and progress.

TC: Before we get to Northern Cornhill, can we start with the original Cornhill Training Course? What's the story behind it?

DJ: The Cornhill Training Course began at St. Peter's Cornhill in September 1991 as a ministry of the Proclamation Trust. It was originally started to provide a one-year ministry-focus course, majoring in good Bible-handling skills and plenty of practice in real life situations. These are still its aims though its ministry training has now diversified into specialist streams such as expository preaching, youth work, women's ministries, and evangelism and church planting.

TC: What does it offer that other colleges don't provide?

DJ: Cornhill is a course, not a college. It's intended to be complementary to the work of the colleges, but with its focus on detailed work with the biblical text in an inter-active context. Eight Bible books are studied in depth plus a Bible overview and the study of different genres. The other distinctive is the emphasis on teaching the Bible: both teaching it to ourselves - faith and obedience - and then teaching it to others. So we do a lot of work on talk outlines, application, communication - all lovingly critiqued.

TC: What has the Cornhill Training Course achieved to date?

DJ: Several hundred students have completed the course and 90 are currently involved. Former students are now spread around the world - quite literally. Many are in paid Christian ministry as church pastors, youth workers, women on ministry teams, in mission agencies, parachurch ministries and so on. Others have returned to their professions better equipped to fulfil biblical ministry roles in and through their local churches. Several overseas students have started to introduce equivalent training opportunities in their own countries. The number of biblical preachers committed to careful exposition and relevant application is gradually growing.

TC: What led to the decision to launch a Northern Cornhill Training Course?

HP: One or two of us who knew of the Cornhill Training Course in London were anxious to do something about Bible training here in the north. We didn't want to re-invent the wheel or create another brand name, but travelling down to London was unrealistic for most people. The Cornhill Training Course was getting more people from overseas than from the north. So we began to talk with David Jackman.

DJ: We have had enquiries from several areas of the UK to provide Cornhill-type training in their location. Northern Cornhill is a pilot project to provide accessibility for those who otherwise would never be able to uproot or travel to London. Because the course is so inter-active, it's difficult to package as a correspondence course, so we have found in Hugh and Christ Church, Fulwood, ideal partners to launch our first extension. I am going up to Sheffield one day each month, but the rest of the course is being taught by Hugh and other Christian leaders in the area who are keen to see the biblical cause strengthened in the north.

TC: What are the distinctives of Northern Cornhill?

HP: We've said that the focus of Northern Cornhill is learning to understand the Bible and how to apply it to ourselves and our contemporary culture as well as on teaching it effectively to others. We're not pretending to be a college. We're offering a course that is exclusively designed to help us handle the Bible for ministry - getting to know the Bible and helping people teach it at whatever level they are operating.

TC: Is Northern Cornhill the same as its London counterpart?

HP: Its aims and ethos are the same, but the course will work slightly differently. As we started thinking about how we would do it, we felt it would make more sense to offer a one day a week course. This meant it was something youth workers, lay assistants and people in secular employment could do.

TC: How does the course aim to do that?

HP: Just like the London-based course, we want to grow students' understanding of the Bible at a number of levels - from the big picture to the details of particular Bible books. Students have to work on the Bible - not just listen to answers. We hear from people who are applying the Bible in different settings - evangelistic, cross-cultural, inner city and so on.

TC: How many students are doing Northern Cornhill?

HP: We had to limit it to 30 students in the first year and we have been full. The signs are that year two will be just as full, but we hope to be able to increase our capacity. Students range from existing ministers and youth workers to people on one-year experience programmes, to people in secular employment taking a day out each week. Not surprisingly, they are a key part of the course. Meeting with other gospel-minded men and women helps sharpen all our thinking, and makes for plenty of fun too.

TC: What do you hope Northern Cornhill will contribute to the church in the north of England?

HP: I hope churches will soon trust the course as a place where they can send people to gain confidence in the power of the Word of God. And I think there will be big spin-offs when students take that confidence back to their churches.
One minister encouraged a key Bible study group leader to come on the course. The church has only recently had an established evangelical ministry. The minister wrote in his reference: 'One of our greatest needs is for mature disciples who can both teach the Bible and model godly living ƒ to have a well trained Bible teacher will be a great asset to the life of the church for its future.' For other churches Northern Cornhill means they can give someone a year's experience as a lay assistant and offer them a package that includes training.

TC: How do you see Northern Cornhill developing?

HP: We conceived it as a one year programme, but already we have adapted it so that it can be extended to two years. Each year is self-contained and will have different material, so, depending on circumstances, people can come for one or two years and begin any September.

TC: What does the course involve for students?

HP: Students attend one day a week ù on a Thursday. Teaching is in the form of lectures, seminars, group work and preaching classes. There aren't essays or exams, but students are expected to give some talks to their peers and participate actively during the day. All students on the course are already involved in some level of practical Bible ministry.

TC: What makes you excited about Northern Cornhill?

HP: I'm always thrilled to see people's eyes pop open as God's truth becomes clear and see them gain confidence in the Bible and the gospel working in other folks' lives. And the idea of multiplying ministries is very exciting as well as very necessary. I have been surprised already by the number of requests from churches for suitable youth and children's workers or even possible ministers. It is an encouraging sign of gospel life in the north, but a reminder that we need to train and equip people for these ministries.

I also enjoy getting the kind of surprises you inevitably have when there's a group working together on the Bible. We find Scripture hitting us in a way that wouldn't happen to an individual working by themselves. In a world of so many distractions, it's a chance to really focus people in on the essentials. It is great to see students being excited as they see the impact the Bible can have on those to whom they are ministering.

The cost of the Northern Cornhill Training course is currently £100 per term. For further details contact Northern Cornhill Training Course, Christ Church Fulwood, Canterbury Avenue, Fulwood, Sheffield S10 3RT (0114 230 1911).

Hugh Palmer is Vicar of Christ Church, Fulwood, and was previously curate at St. Helen's, Bishopsgate. He is married with three children.

David Jackman is the Director of the Proclamation Trust's Cornhill Training Course and was previously senior minister at Above Bar Church, Southampton. He is married with two adult children.