evangelicals & catholics
Mission impossible?
Leonardo De Chirico
Evangelicals have known for centuries that Rome is a ‘mission field’.
It is no coincidence that as soon as the breach of Porta Pia opened in 1870 (when Rome was liberated from Papal power and the Pontifical State ended), Bibles and Christian tracts were immediately smuggled in to further the evangelisation of the city. Rome was a mission field because it prevented the free circulation of God’s word in the vernacular language and suppressed any attempts to bring about a Biblical reformation.
everyday evangelism
Lessons from ‘He Gets Us’
Glen Scrivener
‘He Gets Us’ is a US ad campaign spending hundreds of millions of dollars to prompt faith conversations in America.
It also seeks to lead interested enquirers to do Bible reading programmes and to connect with local Alpha groups. Their most prominent advertisement to date was their 60-second Superbowl commercial, ‘Foot Washing’, re-imagining John 13 with various representatives of polarised groups washing one another’s feet. It finished with the line ‘Jesus didn’t preach hate. Jesus washed feet.’
The crossroads of evangelism
Jason Roach
The most powerful information we hold as Christians is the good news of Jesus. But how can we be confident in sharing the gospel?
Picture the scene: a busy day, rushing to your local corner shop to quickly get something you have run out of at home. In the chaotic moment, you start observing the other people there, hearing the echoes of their steps and catching snippets of various conversations. Amidst the bustle, your attention is drawn to the woman behind the till. Your heart is prompted to remember that she's an image-bearer of God, precious and treasured. As your focus shifts towards her, you find yourself curious about who she is, her expression and her story - does she know Jesus? As you approach her to pay, you see the opportunity. An opportunity to reach out, spark up a conversation and find a way to talk to her about Jesus. You find yourself conflicted because you're in a hurry and there's a chance you might be misunderstood, or she might not be interested.
The elderly and bereaved: a growing gospel need
“Let me put it this way. I don’t expect there to be many people at my funeral.”
My new friend said this to me as we talked about her imminent 90th birthday. It came in response to a simple question — "How has your week been?"