Testimonials
The preaching persuasively conference was balm for the soul. The feedback on my preaching was rich and constructive; the discussions about how we can most persuasively reach the lost with the gospel of Jesus were truly instructive and brought insights I hadn’t considered before. And all of this in the beautiful environment of the Mill. Ruth’s hospitality and involvement enriched everything and meant that the conversations kept going over delicious food and long into the night.
Attending Preaching persuasively at the Mill gave me great input in ministry to both those inside and outside of the church. Places like Proclamation Trust conferences and preaching groups give good help on how to preach the Bible. PP helped with preaching the Bible to people today. Connecting with our fast- moving culture is both difficult and increasingly challenging due to the pace of change. Having focussed time with others seeking to do the same thing, informal time chatting about life and ministry, as well as Richard's expertise and experience was both a great help and a good stimulus for me. I don't know of anything else like it.
- Jonny Clifton
Free Church minister, Winchester.
- Nigel Beynon
London Vicar.
Preaching Persuasively is genuinely unique. Drawing on Richard's huge experience and deep thinking in communicating the gospel effectively, Ruth (and Richard!)'s deep gift of hospitality, and the insights of your fellow preachers, the whole experience is hugely enriching and left me much more excited about the preaching task - as well as better equipped to actually do it well!
We had a thoroughly beneficial and blessed time at the Mill. I will be highly recommending it to more pastors I encounter through the London Project. It wouldn't be easy to nominate which aspect of the conference contributed the highest enjoyment - between the setting, friendship and training sessions. But Richard Cunningham's skill in persuasive Gospel proclamation, and his ability to immediately and succinctly give feedback on our talks was what made this supremely valuable for me. As a typical pastor of a small church in London, I don't have much available time for training in this skill. But I'd always make time for this. 10/10.
- Andrew Evans
St Michael's Plas Newton Church, Chester.
- Malcolm Cunningham
London pastor and trainer for The London Project.
I loved my time at Preaching Persuasively. I shared a talk I’d previously given on “What would Jesus say to Greta Thunberg?” and the feedback received - in particular from Richard, whose critique was gracious yet devastatingly incisive - will make it much better on its next outing. Although we worked quite hard, time at The Mill feels like a holiday with mates, and Ruth’s cooking is amazing.
Wonderful hospitality from Richard and Ruth, and in such a beautiful setting at The Mill, made for a very refreshing and stimulating two days away. The practice of giving a talk to a small group followed by a Q and A was especially helpful along with the constructive feedback on content and style. To have had time and space to reflect and talk about how we can be more effective at preaching persuasively was invaluable - thank you!
- Andrew Sach
Vicar in Greenwich.
- Laura Murdoch
Euston Church London
Preaching Persuasively was an excellent experience; a very valuable 24hours spent in excellent company, with sublime food, stimulating conversation and honest feedback. I felt it was a safe space to be vulnerable, to offer and receive feedback on talks, and to sharpen one another as we seek to reach the nations for Christ. I was very grateful to Richard and Ruth for their hospitality and hope to be able to come again in due course.
To preach in a way that connects with those who don’t know Jesus in a culture that
has very little basic understanding of the gospel can be daunting. Preaching
Persuasively gives people the opportunity to think through the challenges of
preaching as well as the opportunity to deliver a talk and receive helpful feedback.
The kindness and care shown to us alongside the excellent food made
the conference feel like a treat and a lot of fun. Richard and Ruth wonderfully
demonstrate the gift of hospitality and the welcome of the gospel. Such a holistic
approach adds much value to the conference and allows me to I wholeheartedly
commend Preaching Persuasively conferences
- Phil Hammersley
FIEC Church Planter Bedfordshire.
- Andrew Larkin
New Frontiers pastor Plymouth.
It was wonderful to be invited to a Preaching Persuasively conference at the The Mill, with it' beautiful rural Oxfordshire surroundings. Richard and Ruth always provide such a warm welcome and are a model of biblical hospitality. The conference was restful, encouraging and challenging in equal measure. It was great to be able to benefit from Richard and Ruth's decades in ministry and to practise giving talks in an environment that ensured encouragement and good critique. I came away with a deeper understanding of the cultural challenges we faced today, but also more equipped in how to speak into them persuasively, warmly and biblically. It was a joy to meet Christian's involved in different ministries and with a range of preaching experience. We all came away encouraged and with ways we could improve our preaching in our contexts. I would highly recommend the Preaching Persuasively conference to anyone looking to grow in sharing the gospel effectively. Whether you preach regularly or have never preached before, but are looking to develop in that area.
As a lay church member who is relatively inexperienced in preaching and teaching
but wanting to build my skills, Preaching Persuasively offered precisely the kind of
encouragement and constructive direction I wanted and needed.
The workshop sessions provided both clear guiding principles as well as specific
recommendations for how I could apply them more successfully in my own talk.
Richard encouraged us to engage and contribute throughout, and assigned us all
specific individual themes to adjudicate in others talks. He and Ruth also
encouraged an atmosphere of meaningful conversation between sessions whereby
we all got to know each other really well. For a workshop of only 2 days, there was
just the right level of content and focus to maximise the benefit: it wasn't too shallow, nor was it too overwhelming.
I left the workshop motivated and excited that those who hear my next talk will be
more persuaded by the beauty and relevance of the Gospel.
- Elliot Curryer
New Frontiers Canterbury.
- Murray Chapman
Lay preacher London.​