Andrew & Ruth SmithAndrew was born in Dartford, England. He qualified first in Medicine, and then surgery. Ruth comes from Northern Ireland, and met Andrew while studying Spanish and Portuguese in Bristol, England. We married in 1976 and then moved to Palmerston North in 1983. We were part of Christian Community Church for 17 years, and part of its leadership for most of that time. We have three adult children – Deborah, Peter (now married to Rachel who is expecting our first grandchild ) and Mark. In 2000 we moved north to Tauranga where we work at Bethlehem Tertiary Institute – a Christian-based community of learning that specialises in teacher and counsellor education at degree and diploma levels. Andrew is Head of Academic Studies for the Institute, and teaches primarily in the Counselling and Family Studies areas. This year he gained a PhD which looked at how church and Christian faith have influenced the transition to manhood for a group of Christian men spanning three generations. Ruth oversees the areas of student and academic support and the care of international students. Her main teaching interests include a paper called Foundations of Christian Faith, and others relating to working with people from other language and cultural backgrounds. We both teach both onsite and online. Ruth has also recently gained a diploma in book editing and proofreading. We have particular interests in:
We really enjoy just sitting and sharing 1-1 or couple-to-couple God-centred conversations over good coffee. We have also taken many seminars, both separately and together, and have spoken in churches, camps and at conferences throughout New Zealand and beyond. |
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