Missionary family escape Amazon riverboat disaster
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 22 Aug 2024
An American missionary and his wife who escaped a burning boat on the Amazon river with their young family have spoken about their incident, in which several died.
Ezra Brainard, a distant relative of 18th century missionary to the Native Americans David Brainard, was on the boat with wife Joanna and four children, including a young baby, on 29 July when it caught fire, exploded and sank. The couple’s two-and-a-half year old slipped away from Ezra after they jumped into the water, but someone pulled her into a canoe and took her to shore.
‘God speaks my language’
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 4 Dec 2024
‘God speaks my language’ – the theme and testimony of many at Grace Baptist Mission’s Annual Mission Day.
At Friends House on London’s Euston Road, many GBM missionaries shared stories on the last Saturday in October of how people all over the world are hearing God’s word in their own heart language – through preaching, teaching, Bible translation, personal evangelism, literature and radio programmes.
Four new churches on the same day
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 14 Oct 2024
Four new church plants were launched on a single Sunday, three within the growing International Presbyterian Church (IPC) - bringing the total to 20 churches.
On 1 September, Grace Church Coventry, Christ Church, Headington and All Saints, Exeter were launched. The IPC denomination has, under its ‘2030 vision’, an ambition for 20 new churches by 2030. Jonty Rhodes, elder at Christ Church Derby and chair of the denomination’s church-planting committee said: ‘It’s been an encouraging few years.’ Also on 1 September, a new AMiE (Anglican Mission in England) congregation, Christ Church Hessle, held its commissioning service.
Christian schools alarmed by charging of VAT on fees
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 24 Aug 2024
The imposition of VAT on private school fees threatens the survival of small Christian schools, which are ‘worlds away from the Harrows and Etons of this world’, the Association of Christian Teachers (ACT) is warning.
Meanwhile, the head of a small private school says Christian parents are being punished, and has challenged the church to support families and Christian education.
Highfields Cardiff – welcoming internationals
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 1 May 2024
Newcomers from across 10 nations were recently hosted by Highfields Church, Cardiff with a membership dinner for people to get to know each other.
The church runs a quarterly membership evening at Highfields where, explained lead minister Dave Gobbett, they ‘share the vision and values of Highfields, and why we encourage those who see us as their spiritual home, to formally join as church members’.
‘We ruined good people’ – Dawson
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 1 Mar 2024
A former staff member at the Universities of Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF) has apologised for the part she played in an ‘unhealthy and damaging’ UCCF culture, saying she has kept quiet for 20 years out of fear.
Nay Dawson worked for UCCF for 18 years, becoming a team leader in 2006. Writing in Premier Christianity, she reflected: ‘The urgency of our mission and the significance of our role led to an arrogance in my heart. I’d lost my humility… So when I started to notice that things weren’t quite right, I was in so deep. I felt I couldn’t – and so didn’t – ask questions.’
Punched leader prays for attackers
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 1 Jan 2024
London City Mission’s chief executive Graham Miller and his wife Alison are recovering after an assault in Earlsfield. Their daughter witnessed the attack.
Miller said they were assaulted after he ‘challenged some kids for abusing a cafe manager next to the station’. He tweeted: ‘We were both punched repeatedly in the head from behind and Alison was knocked down. Kids were still hitting her whilst on the floor and passers-by had to tear them off.’