Johnnie has now completed his training and will remain with us at Gorebridge Parish Church until he finds a charge of his own.  Originally hailing from Skye, Johnnie studied forestry at Aberdeen University and for 14 years was a research project leader with the Forestry Commission.  Johnnie is married to Kate and they have two boys, Calum and Robbie.  Although Johnnie became a follower of Jesus in 1985 it was only in 2003 that he realised that God was calling him to be a minister.  Johnnie has a passion for revival in Scotland, and longs for the Kingdom of God to break into our nation as it has done before-  to see the love of Jesus transforming lives and setting people free through the power of his Holy Spirit.  

CURRICULUM VITAE

JONATHAN HUMPHREY

Name                                      Dr Jonathan William Humphrey

Address                                   13 Silverburn Drive, PENICUIK, Midlothian, EH26 9AQ

Telephone                              01968 675562; 07587 186424

E-mail                                      jonkateh588@tiscali.co.uk

Date of birth                          12.06.1966

Marital Status                        Married with two children of high school age

Personal Statement

I believe that as a Minister of Word and Sacrament my main role is to help ensure that the church continues to be faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ and fulfil its calling as Christ’s body to be a sign, foretaste and instrument of the Kingdom of God.  Specifically, this will mean:

·      Exercising servant-leadership in the context of a local congregation but also where appropriate, at Presbytery and General Assembly levels, ecumenically and within the wider community

·      Ensuring that the church’s worship and prayer life glorifies God, and seeks the real, saving presence of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit;

·      Proclaiming and teaching the Word of God as it is contained in scripture, accompanied by the signs of the Kingdom in healing, deliverance and restored lives

·      Fostering a missional focus where there is a passion to serve the community in new ways, making disciples and seeing lives transformed by Jesus’ love in the power of the Spirit

·      Ensuring a high quality of pastoral care of the congregation, that there is real love shared between people and a vibrant and authentic community is built up

·      Enabling and encouraging people to grow in their faith, discover and develop their spiritual gifts and to work together to advance the Kingdom

·      Collaborating with other churches, church leaders and community organisations to secure the benefits of partnership working

Education and Qualifications

2007 to 2010                           University of Edinburgh, School of Divinity, BD (with Distinction)

1988 to 1992                           University of Aberdeen, PhD. Forest Ecology

1984 to 1988                           University of Aberdeen, BSc Honours (First Class) Plant Science

1979 to 1984                           Portree High School, Portree, Isle of Skye

Employment History

Oct 2011-                               Associate Minister, Gorebridge Parish Church

2010 to Sept 2011                  Probationer Minister, Gorebridge Parish Church

2007 to date                           Consultant Forest Ecologist

2006-2009                              Church training placements: Holy Trinity Wester Hailes; Colinton Mains; Penicuik North; Balerno; Priestfield     

1993 to 2007                          Programme manager for biodiversity research (1993-2007) and Deputy Head of Ecology Division (1998-2007), Forestry Commission Research Agency (Forest Research), Midlothian

1992-1993                              Woodland Ecologist, Countryside Council for Wales, Bangor

Referees:                                Rev M Nicholas (supervisor)

                                               100 Hunterfield Road, GOREBRIDGE, Midlothian, EH23 4TT

                                               Phone: 01875 820387

                                               E-mail: mark@gorepc.com

                                               Dr C P Quine (previous employer)

                                               Forest Research, Northern Research Station, ROSLIN, Midlothian, EH25 9SY

                                               Phone: 0131 445 2167

                                               E-mail: chris.quine@forestry.gsi.gov.uk

                                               Rev A Cowper (friend and colleague)

                                               22 Laurelhill Place, STIRLING, FK8 2JH

                                               Phone:  01786 471998

                                               E-mail: alistaircowper@talktalk.net

Hobbies and Interests

I enjoy spending time with my family, eating out, walking and watching football.  I have a full driving licence.

Statement of skills and experience in support of the application

I have a passion for worship, preaching and teaching particularly seeking ways to communicate an experience of God to mixed age groups and those that are not familiar with church.  In my probationary placement at Gorebridge Parish Church I experimented with incorporating a variety of different media and communication tools into my preaching, while also seeking to be in tune with the Spirit’s leading. On the music side, I was a worship leader (guitar) in my home congregation for a number of years building up a wide-ranging repertoire of contemporary and traditional hymns and songs.  

Prayer has figured highly during my probationary placement.  I have led a variety of different types of corporate prayer and participated in two 24/7 prayer events, writing the prayer booklet for the second of these as a means of providing a focus on key areas. The impact of prayer on the church and community has been extraordinary; for example one teenager came to faith when he was praying alone in the prayer room.  

I believe that when the gospel is preached, the word of God is authenticated in healings and transformed lives, and the Kingdom of God becomes a reality.  Over the last 5 years, my wife and I have been part of the prayer ministry team at CLAN Gathering summer conference (www.clangathering.org.uk) and I have led ministry teams both at Gorebridge and at a recent Midlothian Churches together event at Dalkeith.  God has been gracious and we have seen many healings, both emotional and physical e.g. glaucoma/blindness and long-term deafness.  I have followed up this interest through training in Bethel Sozo healing ministry (www.bethelsozo.com) and the “Love after Marriage” course, which seeks to bring healing and restoration to marriages (http://loveaftermarriage.org/).

On two separate occasions, different friends have prayed with my wife and I and suggested that Hosea 2: 21-23 might be an important guiding scripture for my/our ministry.  The emphasis in this scripture is the promise that God will show love to those that are not loved, and make a people out of those that were not his people.  For me this is a call to mission, to communicate Jesus’ love with those that don't yet know him.  At Gorebridge I have had the privilege of helping to lead a number of people to faith during the recent Alpha courses and during a church service. When on placement at Holy Trinity Wester Hailes, I also helped lead a business Alpha.

For me, small groups are one of the key building blocks of church life as well as providing a mechanism for drawing non-churched into community.  In my home church my wife and I lead a home group for young parents, which grew and multiplied into three groups. We were privileged to see some come to faith or enter into a deeper walk with God. We also worked with Care for the Family to run a parenting evening for the local community.  During the 90’s I worked with others in a youth drop-in evening at my home church, sharing the gospel as opportunities arose. I have also sought to complement practical experiences with theological study, taking modules on “emerging-church” as part of my BD at New College and joining the Mission-Shaped Ministry Intro course in Barclay Viewfield Church, Edinburgh.  During my placements at Balerno and Priestfield churches I was asked to help develop their mission strategies.  This involved periods of research and drafting of Community Mission Audits following the approach taught on the “Invest” leadership course (www.investscotland.org). In my current role as Associate Minister at Gorebridge, I am carrying out a Mission Audit of the parish as a basis for guiding the strategic direction of our church building programme.

Over recent years I have been studying the importance of the Hebrew feasts in cementing community and fostering authentic relationships of love with each other and God. Sharing meals together was an important part of the house group I helped lead, and also softened the sometimes rather arid atmosphere of Kirk Session meetings. I have a lot of experience of conflict mediation and change management, both from a church and work perspective. For example, I worked with the head of my division in Forest Research to transition staff through changes in working environment and priorities. As an elder, I found myself taking the role of mediator between different factions after a crisis in my home church.  I have also joined the Gorebridge Kirk Session in conflict management training - “Making Peace With conflict”- see Bridge Builders (www.menno.org.uk).

In my current placement, my pastoral encounters have focused on caring for the elderly (e.g. service in Newbyres Village), bereavement visiting including funerals, and the care of those with mental health issues, addictions and learning difficulties. I enjoy the day-to-day interaction with folk and seeing the transformation that God can make in peoples’ lives over the long-term.  However, formal pastoral visiting has been directed by need (e.g. illness etc.) rather than by a set quota of a number of weekly visits.

In terms of experience in church leadership I was a member of the Kirk Session of my home Church for a number of years, and responsible for the oversight of 12 house-groups including pastoral care and discipling of the house group leaders.  I also had a three-year term as clerk to the congregational board.  On my probationary placement I was given the responsibility of organising the 2011 Clan Lothians conference and taking the lead amongst the ministers of the five participating churches. I also led a service of worship and Holy Spirit ministry for the Lothian Presbytery Prayer Co-ordinators.  I have enjoyed playing my part on the staff and Leadership teams at Gorebridge and attended a number of courses for church leaders over the past year (e.g. at Stirling Baptist Church with Mike Breen and the Willowcreek Global Leadership Summit in October this year).  I also have extensive skills in project management, strategic planning, line management and staff development gained through my time as a research programme manager at Forest Research.

In conclusion, I believe that God is calling me to a leadership role within a team of God’s people who are passionate about experiencing the reality of Jesus’ love in worship and community and reaching those that do not yet know Jesus and the good news of the Kingdom of God.  I love seeing people come to faith, getting healed and transformed to become productive disciples of Jesus Christ.