People

Luke Randall

Date posted: 18 Apr 2025

Christian astronaut Barry Wilmore, known as “Butch”, has finally returned to earth from the International Space Station (ISS) after an unexpected nine-month stay due to problems with the spacecraft which transported them there.

The man from Texas spent almost 300 days on the ISS with fellow astronaut Sunni Williams despite having only expected to remain there for eight.

Nicola Laver

Date posted: 31 Mar 2025

Bethlehem Bible College has appointed Dr Yousef Alkhouri as its new academic dean.

Gaza-born Yousef questioned his faith in his early years, having lived under Israeli occupation. In 2007 he enrolled at Bethlehem Bible College, then did a Master’s degree in Divinity in the US and a PhD in the Netherlands – returning to the College in 2018 as a faculty member.

Simon Medcroft has been appointed to serve as Director for Essex with the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC).

Simon has served as pastor at Danbury Mission for 20 years and will now be seconded to FIEC for one day a week to serve affiliated churches in Essex – one of the fastest growing but least churched counties in the UK.

Evangelical Ashley Null has become Bishop of North Africa.

He has studied at Yale and Cambridge and is regarded by many as a leading expert on Thomas Cranmer and the theology of the English Reformation. He has also worked as a sports chaplain, counselling Olympic and other elite athletes. He was a keynote speaker at the 2023 conservative Anglican movement GAFCON IV in Kigali. Since 2018, Null has been chairman of the board of the Alexandria School of Theology in Egypt.

Influential evangelical minister John Graham Wesson died on 10 February at his home in Abingdon, aged 86.

As a student he was president of the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union and then became curate for students at St Ebbe’s Church, Oxford. Subsequently he joined the staff of All Souls Langham Place, and then held various posts including teaching at Trinity College, Bristol. He met his wife Jeanne while collecting tickets for a Billy Graham rally. They have a daughter, Carolyn.

Former US vice presidential candidate Nicole Shanahan has converted from Judaism to Christianity.

Announcing her baptism on social media platform X, she wrote: “For over a decade, I identified as Jewish. But now, with the New Testament in my hands, I see the world’s spiritual pain in a way I never could before. It’s like a veil has been lifted, revealing a deeper understanding of the struggle between light and darkness. Today, I am a Jew for Jesus.” she wrote.

Emily Pollok

Date posted: 24 Mar 2025

Annie & The Caldwells, a family ensemble from Mississippi creating vibey disco soul music, are releasing their first album this Spring - and they have a message.

“Each song gives a testimony,” said matriarch Annie Caldwell, who heads up the band, which includes her daughters Deborah and Anjessica, goddaughter Toni Rivers, and sons and husband on drums, bass, and guitar. “I hope and pray to God that it bless somebody else like it been blessing me.”

A leading figure in the Protestant Truth Society (PTS), Gordon Murray, has died.

After a ministry in the Church of England, he left it in 1966 in response to the preaching of Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones. He joined the PTS Council and became chairman in 1998, stepping down in 2010.

Three Cornhill Scotland training course students have enjoyed a placement week at Kilmallie and Ardnamurchan Free Church of Scotland.

The church reported: “The trio [Tim Groves, Glen Glover and Michelle Tlhabologang] showed real enthusiasm and servant-heartedness throughout the placement.” Their activities included broadcasting a “thought for the day” on local radio station Nevis FM, helping with local ministries, and speaking at midweek events.

Emily Pollok

Date posted: 27 Feb 2025

Arthur Blessitt, the American evangelist who set a Guinness World Record for longest ongoing pilgrimage, has died aged 84.

Blessitt, who made his final journey on January 14, took Jesus’ command to ‘take up his cross and follow me’ seriously – taking his 45lb wooden cross all over the world with the message of the gospel.

Jack Hemmings, who has died at the age of 103, was co-founder of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), the largest humanitarian airline in the world.

In 1945 Jack, an RAF Squadron Leader tasked with protecting the Bay of Bengal from Japanese invasion, read an article advocating the need to use planes to ‘carry messengers of peace and to unload cargoes of blessing’. As RAF Flight Lieutenant Murray Kendon wrote: ‘Instead of spreading destruction and death why should [aircraft] not now spread life and healing by that message wherein lie the seeds of peace and power?’

Luke Randall

Date posted: 21 Feb 2025

Saracens skipper Maro Itoje was named England’s new captain before this year’s Six Nations tournament got underway last month. The forward, who plays as a lock and has been capped over 90 times, is known to be a Christian.

The 30-year-old, who does not swear during matches, said that he was ‘incredibly humbled and honoured’ to have been asked to be England captain, and that it was ‘reassuring’ to know that he would have the support of other senior players as he transitioned into his new role.

Kenneth Kitchen, Personal and Brunner Professor Emeritus of Egyptology at the University of Liverpool, died on 6 February aged 92. His formal title does little to sum up this remarkable man.

As well as being one of the world’s leading authorities on the Ramesside kings and Egyptian chronology, Ken, as he liked to be known, was one of very few people in the world who could read Ancient South Arabian and a whole host of other languages once spoken in the Ancient Middle East – Akkadian, Aramaic, Coptic, Elamite, Hebrew, Hittite, Hurrian, Luwian, Phoenician, Sumerian, and Ugaritic.

Luke Randall

Date posted: 8 Feb 2025

Nigel Harris will leave Tearfund at the end of June after serving as its CEO for over nine years.

He joined the international development charity from Farm Africa in 2015 and has led their focus on the role local churches can play in ‘humanitarian response and development’, and having established their vision to ‘equip 250,000 churches around the world to support communities to lift themselves out of poverty’, Tearfund said in a statement.

Luke Randall

Date posted: 6 Feb 2025

After nearly two years of service, David Curry has left his role as President and Chief Executive of Global Christian Relief (GCR), with Brian Orme taking over as Acting Chief Executive.

Curry’s tenure was described in a press release as ‘marked by passionate advocacy for persecuted believers worldwide during a pivotal chapter in our organisation’s history.’ He oversaw the sending of 50,000 Bibles to believers in the Middle East and North Africa and support for over 2million Christians around the world in 2024.

Robin Griffiths, who served as a missionary in Thailand for nearly three decades, was called to glory on 28 December 2024 after a short illness.

Robin served Jesus in remote jungle regions in west Thailand, churches in his native Isle of Wight, in Send (Surrey), on the beaches and high streets of the UK with United Beach Mission and Christian Answer, and most recently, in Truro, Cornwall. He loved to help people practically, sharing his love of God’s word, and his testimony of the goodness of God.