bringing clarity, courage and hope to people
New Course starting 1 May 2025
Online and interactive
The Black Light Course is hosted on Zoom meetings format, and each session is run in an interactive way including break-out rooms and time for questions to the speakers at the end. Delegates are encouraged to have their videos live where possible.
The Course
Over the past 50 years, the church scene in many parts of Britain has experienced dramatic changes. One of the most striking and significant is the growth and multiplication of Black majority churches and other churches comprised mainly of members from the Caribbean, Africa, Asia or Latin America. Many other churches have also received new members from these backgrounds, some who have come as immigrants, others who were born here.
These developments have been exciting but also challenging. Not all have felt welcome in churches with a dominant ethnicity or culture. Not all new churches have thrived. Many are struggling to reach out beyond their own ethnic group or to hold on to their children. Efforts at partnership and mutual learning have often floundered. Overt and institutional racism has been evident. And yet the potential is huge for mission and church renewal!
These developments have been exciting but also challenging. Not all have felt welcome in churches with a dominant ethnicity or culture. Not all new churches have thrived. Many are struggling to reach out beyond their own ethnic group or to hold on to their children. Efforts at partnership and mutual learning have often floundered. Overt and institutional racism has been evident. And yet the potential is huge for mission and church renewal!
The Black Light course offers an opportunity to explore and reflect on this scenario. The course was first run in London in the 1990s as an opportunity for Black Christians to dig deeper into their history and think about contemporary challenges and opportunities, and for White Christians to learn more about the history, spirituality and faith of Black Christians and churches. Black and White presenters and participants shared in a rich learning experience.
Over 25 years on, some of the issues have changed, others remain the same. There has been further growth in the Black majority churches; there are more mono-ethnic churches; many of these churches are losing their young people and are still unsure how to reach out to others; and the Black Lives Matter movement has renewed consciousness of the continuing struggle against racism. The Black Light course has been revised and updated and was run in the summer and autumn of 2021, and in spring 2022 as an online course; the next course starts in May 2024.
(If you find this description a bit formal and would like a more informal explanation of what Black Light Course is about, please go to the end of the page for 'The alternative explanation').
Over 25 years on, some of the issues have changed, others remain the same. There has been further growth in the Black majority churches; there are more mono-ethnic churches; many of these churches are losing their young people and are still unsure how to reach out to others; and the Black Lives Matter movement has renewed consciousness of the continuing struggle against racism. The Black Light course has been revised and updated and was run in the summer and autumn of 2021, and in spring 2022 as an online course; the next course starts in May 2024.
(If you find this description a bit formal and would like a more informal explanation of what Black Light Course is about, please go to the end of the page for 'The alternative explanation').
Programme1 May: Black and White: the challenges we all face (Les Isaac and Stuart Murray Williams)
8 May: The Black Presence in the Bible and Reparations (Eleasah Louis) 15 May: The Black Influence on Church History (Clare Williams) 22 May: Post-colonialism and Post-Christendom (Ron Nathan and Stuart Murray Williams) 5 June: Roots and Routes (Bev Thomas) 12 June: African Christianity in Western Europe (Israel Olofinjana) 19 June: White and Black: justice matters (Gale Richards): 26 June: Partnership in Mission (Harvey Kwiyani and Dan Yarnell) Programme of speakers on specific dates may change Is there in-course study to do?
There are no assignments or in-course study required, and no preparation needed prior to commencing the course, however there is a recommended reading list provided to complement the speaker sessions. Format
The Black Light Course is hosted on Zoom meetings format, and each session is run in an interactive way including break-out rooms and time for questions to the speakers at the end. Delegates are encouraged to have their videos live where possible. The sessions are not recorded, however if a delegate misses a session then we can make available, on request, a recording of the talk from an earlier course. |
Timing
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Speakers & Hosts
Les Isaac is the founder of the Ascension Trust. Under the umbrella of the trust, Les has pioneered many community partnerships and launched initiatives such as Street Pastors, School and College Pastors, Rail Pastors, Prayer Pastors and many more. With over 30 years of Church leadership experience and partnership development on global initiatives, Les is a visionary who wants to see the Church, equipped to serve the communities where they stand.
Eleasah Louis is an emerging theologian, researcher and resource developer who has recently completed her PhD at Canterbury Christ Church University. Her research focuses on Afroasiatic Diasporic Religions (Black Bible-reading Religions) such as Rastafari, The Nation of Islam, the (Black) Hebrew Israelites and the Holy Qubtic Church and methods of decolonisation for Christians and Churches in Britain. Currently, Eleasah is consulting for Christian and Church organisations, delivering webinars and short courses and contributing to various academic projects, focusing on developing an anti-racist church by putting decolonisation into practice. Recent projects include We Will Repay, a bible study resource on Reparations, The Sam Sharpe Lectures 2012-2022 (2023) with SCM, Visions of Colour, an anti-racist professional development programme for Baptist ministers in Britain for the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Racism and Anti-racism in Christian Educational Material for Children on behalf of Birkbeck University for the Council for World Mission. Eleasah also provides academic support for The Sam Sharpe Project and the Racial Justice Advocacy Forum.
Bev Thomas works as a freelance consultant, speaker and lecturer. She has worked for the last 35+ years in the UK and internationally as a trainer/speaker on social justice and ‘race’ issues. She is also an experienced mediator, facilitator, administrator, team leader and projects and events manager. She speaks on numerous issues, including diversity awareness and inclusion, social justice, youth work, sexuality, singleness, women in leadership and politics. Bev is currently a lecturer at Formission College. She is a trustee of The Feast, Sandwell Churches Link, Urban Expression, Trussell Trust and a volunteer chaplain for West Midlands Police. She also enjoys genealogy research, keeping fit and singing for recreation.
Harvey Kwiyani is an African mission scholar and practitioner who has, since 2001, served in missions in several countries in Europe as well as the United States, working mostly amongst locals as a theological educator, missional coach and church planter. He holds a PhD in Mission and Leadership from Luther Seminary in Minnesota, USA, having done his research on the theological implications of the missionary work of Africans in the West. He oversees the work of Missio Africanus and leads postgraduate courses in World Christianity at Church Mission Society (CMS), where he also serves as Director of the ACTS 11 Project (aka the Centre for Global Witness and Human Migration). He is the author of Sent Forth: African Missionary Work in the West (2014), Multicultural Kingdom: Ethnic Diversity, Mission and the Church (2020) as well as Decolonising Mission which comes out in 2025.
Stuart Murray Williams spent 12 years as an urban church planter in East London and has continued to be involved in church planting as a trainer, mentor, writer, strategist and consultant. Under the auspices of the Anabaptist Network and Urban Expression, he works as a trainer and consultant, with particular interest in urban mission, church planting and emerging forms of church. He has written books on church planting, urban mission, emerging church, the challenge of post-Christendom and the Anabaptist tradition.
Senior Minister and Public Theologian, Ron Nathan is currently the Pastor of the Hoggard African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Jackson, St. Michael, Barbados. He has been in Christian ministry for 42 years and has held several Christian leadership posts in Kenya, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and the United Kingdom. He has published several academic articles on Black Theology and various African themes. As a public theologian, he has lectured extensively in Africa, the Caribbean, Europe and the United States of America.
Bejoy Pal is CEO of the Ascension Trust and has worked alongside the team for 7 years overseeing the schools and youth work across within the ministry. A Street Pastor in Croydon and a School Pastor in Lambeth, Bejoy has been involved in youth work and ministry for 20 years supporting missions and projects in Moldova and nations across East Africa; as well as connecting with the young people and community at Christchurch Purley amongst other churches.
Israel Olofinjana is the new Director of the One People Commission of the Evangelical Alliance. He is an ordained and accredited Baptist minister and has led two multi-ethnic Baptist churches and an independent charismatic church. He is the founding director of Centre for Missionaries from the Majority World, a mission network initiative that provides cross-cultural training to reverse missionaries in Britain. Israel is the author of, among other books, Partnership in Mission: A Black Majority Church Perspective on Mission and Church Unity (2015) and Reverse in Ministry and Missions: Africans in the Dark Continent of Europe (2010). He is the editor of World Christianity in Western Europe: Diasporic Identity, Narratives and Missiology (2020).
Gale Richards gained her first degree in criminal justice and holds postgraduate qualifications in youth and community work, and in theology. She has contributed to a number of publications. Gale currently serves as a regional minister for the Eastern Baptist Association, and as an associate chaplain at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU). She is also a member of the ARU Race Equality Steering Group.
Dan Yarnell has been involved in mission and theological education for over 25 years, teaching in various colleges in the Midlands. He is currently the Birmingham Campus leader at ForMission College as well as a visiting lecturer at Birmingham Christian College. He is the co-author of Celebrating the Small Church;, Power and the Powers: the Use and Abuse of Missional Leadership, Forming Multicultural Partnerships; and Missional Discipleship After Christendom. He was previously the National Coordinator of the Fellowship of Churches of Christ in Great Britain and Ireland and is now their National Ecumenical Officer. He has been involved in various church plants, and was for many years the Small Church Officer for the British Church Growth Association, developing resources to help smaller churches engage missionally in their ministry. He is married to Amy and they have two adult children and three grandchildren. They live in Redditch, Worcestershire, leading a mid-week church for prodigals. Dan enjoys listening to and playing live music, watching films, supporting Aston Villa, cricket and long walks and good food with friends.
Cost
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Full course £80 (unwaged £40)
20% discount available for 5 or more attendees from the same group or organisation. Email [email protected] to ask for the code. |
"Our vision is that the course will bring clarity, courage and hope to people, and result in new forms of partnership between black and white Christians and churches in seeking the kingdom of God in our nation."
Black Light is a joint initiative
Urban Expression is a mission agency set up in 1997 that recruits, supports and networks together teams that live in marginalised neighbourhoods across the United Kingdom, exploring creative and contextual ways to live out the gospel where they are. This may result in the planting of new churches, developing social enterprises, campaigning for justice, community organising or other forms of holistic mission. There are currently 24 teams in the network. In 2005, Urban Expression launched the Crucible course, which has equipped several hundred people for mission on the margins.
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Ascension Trust is a charitable organisation set up in 1993 to help equip people to serve. The aim is to empower the church to make a lasting positive impact in their communities and show strength through unity. This is undertaken by our initiatives such as Street Pastors, School and College Pastors, Rail Pastors, Response Pastors, Prayer Pastors and many more. With more than 25 years’ experience in community partnership development, the Ascension Trust continues to have a global reach in sharing the love of Christ by Caring, Listening and Helping.
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Positive things people said...
We received these testimonies from people who have participated in the Black Light Course:
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I would highly recommend this course for anyone from a white Western background, who is interested in exploring issues such as black influences throughout church history and in the bible, Pentecostalism, current trends in church growth worldwide and in the UK, multicultural expressions of church and faith. This course will certainly inform and challenge you and your pre-held views!
(Anonymous) Black Light will tell you how (and why) the Christianity you know and love has been whitewashed. And why it's not OK to ignore it any longer. (Lynda, East London) |
I have really enjoyed being able to listen to and learn from a range of people sharing their experience and knowledge through the Black Light Course. The course has opened my eyes to things I had not heard of previously and enabled space for questions. It was very thought provoking. (Anonymous)
The Blacklight course was so helpful in opening my eyes to the extensive history of Black Christians and Black churches, while also bringing challenge for the now and steps we can take to grow our communities into multi-cultural, diverse places of life." (Ali Elder) |
