John North (author)

John North (born 1961) is a Christian author and speaker based in Sydney, Australia.

John North is best known for his authorship of LifeWorks (a course that introduces non-churched people to Christianity without assuming that they already understand Christian jargon or presuppositions) and GrowthWorks (a book-and-DVD based small group course to help Christians understand the inner process that leads to spiritual growth).

John is the Ministry Team Leader of Ambassadors for Christ International—Australia, an interdenominational ministry organisation operating around the world and focused on assisting local churches in the areas of spiritual vitality and evangelism.

John is also very active around Australia as a preacher and Bible teacher, preaching in churches of all types, especially in the Sydney area. He has spoken at many of the major conferences in Australia and is a frequent speaker to university students through Student Life, the university ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ Australia.

John is also heard throughout Sydney on his morning radio spots, aired each weekday after the 6am news on 103.2 and called "Time With God".

John authors the daily devotional readings in the Time With God devotional magazine read each day by many thousands of people around the world.

John partners with Michael Frost in teaching the Effective Evangelism Seminar for church leaders, held annually in Sydney and in Brisbane.

John also partners with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, conducting the training of Christians leading up to REALITY events, where whole communities of churches join together for outreach.

John is one of the leaders of SHIFTm2M, an initiative of Campus Crusade for Christ Australia and Ambassadors for Christ International—Australia. SHIFTm2M takes groups of 10-15 church leaders on a series of four retreats over the course of a year, where they study Jesus' life chronologically to draw out his intentional process for building a spiritual movement. Leaders are then given a tool for applying these principles in their own ministry context. They are challenged to shift their focus from ministry to movement-building (thus the name SHIFTm2M).

Biography

John North was born in India in 1961 to Australian missionary parents. His father, Ian North, established the ministry of Ambassadors for Christ International in India and the United States and was known for his spiritual life and Bible teaching. At the age of ten, John's family returned to their homeland of Australia, but only for a year. They then moved to the USA, living briefly in New York and New Jersey before settling in Atlanta, which would remain their family home for many years.

John attended Redan High School outside of Atlanta. During his high school days his inner life was falling apart and he was descending into depression when he went on a youth camp organised by First Baptist Church of Atlanta. At the youth camp, John's life was profoundly changed when he put his faith in Jesus Christ. As a result, he purposed to invest his life in helping others find the same spiritual transformation that he had found.

John obtained his BA in English Bible from Columbia Bible College (now Columbia International University) and his Master of Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. While in Dallas, John married his wife Lois. At the conclusion of his theological studies, John worked on the pastoral team at Faith Bible Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for several years. Then, following a brief time in Russia, helping to establish the Far East Bible College in Khabarovsk, John and his wife settled in Sydney, Australia, in 1994.

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