6,000 young people in London mobilised for mission
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 9 Sep 2024
This summer, the stands of Wembley Arena, normally filled with fans singing football chants, were instead filled with 6,000 young people singing the praises of God.
This was the launch event of The Send UK & Ireland - a new collaboration between churches and mission agencies for the purpose of inspiring teenagers and young adults to live missionally in five key areas: secondary school, university, family life, workplaces and the nations.
CU mission encouragements
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 1 Apr 2024
Christian Unions (CUs) have seen an increase in the number of students professing faith during their mission weeks.
In February, as they do each Spring, nearly 100 CUs across the UK held mission weeks on university campuses – a series of themed evangelistic events spread out over five days. While CUs have often seen students profess faith in the days and months following mission weeks, this year they saw many make a commitment during the weeks themselves.
Pioneering in Pembrokeshire: reaching Welsh-speakers
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 5 Feb 2025
After months of prayer, a small group has boldly begun a new monthly service in Haverfordwest – delivered entirely in the Welsh language.
Described as a missional project rather than a church, the initiative (called ‘Rhywd y Brenin’ meaning the ‘net of the King’), was begun by seven people with a desire to better share the gospel with Welsh speakers across Pembrokeshire. They launched the first service on 6 October in Emmanuel Christian Centre in Merlins Bridge, and were delighted to welcome in 22 adults and eight children.
Tolworth: A new Hope
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 20 Dec 2024
This autumn, a group of around 100 adults and children came together to launch a new church on an estate in Tolworth, south west London.
Hope Church Tolworth is an initiative between members of Cornerstone Church, Kingston (who are a part of church-planting network Co-Mission) and others who have come from Emmanuel Church, Tolworth (who are Anglican). They met for the first time on Sunday 24 November in a local Primary School building, following months of gathering for prayer, picnics and meals. The pastor is Bart Erlebach, who was formerly the minister of Emmanuel, Tolworth.
Assisted suicide vote – evangelical reactions
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 29 Nov 2024
Evangelicals are processing the news that assisted suicide is a significant step closer to being legalised in the UK.
Following its second reading, MPs voted 330 to 275 today in favour of Kim Leadbeater’s bill –The draft Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill – to legalise assisted suicide for people who have six months left to live, and who have mental capacity to make the choice.
Three churches unite to launch new plant in Kidderminster
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 30 Sep 2024
In a display of unity, three churches in Worcestershire have overcome stylistic and theological differences to form a new church plant, recognised by the FIEC (Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches).
Set to officially launch in January 2025, the formation of the new Grace Church Kidderminster occurred after two churches in the Wyre Forest each approached the lead pastor of nearby Woodgreen Church, Richard Lacey, for help. With small and aging congregations, both Kidderminster Evangelical Church (KEC) and Christ Church Wyre Forest, (CCWF) had recognised a need for external assistance – they contacted Lacey within weeks of each other.
Craigavon: Gospel unity
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 1 Jun 2024
In a powerful display of unity, the four main evangelical groups within the Church of Ireland (COI) came together in April for a day of worship, teaching and prayer.
Ministry collective First Things hosted the gathering, inviting evangelicals from New Wine, Church of Ireland Evangelical Fellowship, Southern Anglican Fellowship of Evangelicals and Evangelical Fellowship of Irish Clergy to St Johns Parish Centre in Moira, Craigavon on 27 April. They were thrilled to see over 350 people from across the groups come along.
TGCUK idea gains momentum
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 1 Jun 2024
The idea of a UK ‘Gospel Coalition’ is continuing to receive varying degrees of support.
At the start of April, evangelical umbrella group Affinity announced it was entering discussions to form such a new body – and that it might even ‘replace’ their own organisation (see May issue of en).
Tearfund accused of treating Wales ‘as a colony’
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 1 Jun 2024
Evangelical charity Tearfund is being urged to reconsider a decision to axe its final paid employee in Wales and oversee ministry there from London – prompting a former director to accuse it of treating the country like ‘a colony’.
This year, for the first time since 1987, the organisation won’t have a staff member promoting their mission in the nation. It is the fourth and final role to be cut from Tearfund Wales in the last three years.
No Word Alive in ‘25, say event trustees
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 1 May 2024
With efforts to find a new venue proving difficult, the hard decision has been made to cancel popular Bible conference Word Alive in 2025.
Since the shock closure of their venue, Pontyns Holiday Park, in November 2023, Word Alive Trustees and Director Nigel Beynon have been searching for an alternative site to host the conference. Being unable to find a ‘like for like’ replacement, however, has prevented them from planning for next year and ultimately led to the decision to cancel Word Alive for the second year running.
From casino to Christ to Kosovo... and beyond
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 1 Feb 2024
A former gambler turned evangelist is planning his next mission at the age of 79.
As a young man, Fane Conant bet on horses every day and spent his Saturdays in the casino. After meeting some Christian sportsmen in his twenties and seeing they ‘had something’ he didn’t, he gave his life to Christ – but it took a decade for him to finally stop gambling.
Keswick ‘getting younger’ as it seeks to expand
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 1 Mar 2024
After 30 years of working in mission both in the UK and across the globe, Mark Ellis became Ministry Director for Keswick Ministries in September 2023.
Six months into the role, he talks to en about how things are going, what’s new at the convention this year, and the future of Keswick Ministries.
Evangelical hospital gets railway boost
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 1 Apr 2024
As part of a historic change to the London railway network, an overground line between Stratford to Richmond has been named after an evangelical Christian hospital – which hopes the recognition will further its efforts to ‘do God’s work’.
Transport for London (TFL) named The Mildmay line after the Mildmay Mission Hospital in Shoreditch, largely in acknowledgement of the help it provided during the 1980s during the HIV/AIDS crisis. The honour is a huge boost for the hospital who, just under a year ago, were facing closure due to NHS funding cuts – they now hope the spotlight will bring much-needed financial stability as they continue treating HIV patients and caring for the homeless.
Inter-cultural commission marks ten years
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 1 Feb 2024
More than 100 delegates have gathered at the London City Mission headquarters to celebrate ten years of the Evangelical Alliance’s ‘One People Commission’ (OPC).
Anchored by Titilola Babarinde, the co-ordinator of the OPC, the celebration began with a time of collective worship.
The answer to an 11-year prayer: new church opens
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 1 Mar 2024
On Saturday 6 January 2024, Dan James had an encouraging answer to the prayer he’d been praying for 11 years: a church was planted on his council estate in South Leicester.
In 2013, primary school teacher Dan and his wife Jamie moved into Eyres Monsell council estate and their hearts were gripped by both its physical and spiritual needs – there was no gospel church there. ‘Convinced that God’s primary mission strategy is a healthy local church, we started praying for one to begin,’ Dan shared with en. Just over a decade on from those first prayers, after plans, bold initiatives and setbacks, 100 people gathered on the estate this January to commission Eyres Monsell Community Church and Dan as its pastor.
First pastor for 50-year-old church
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 1 Jan 2024
Ferniehill Evangelical Church in Edinburgh finished the year praising God for two big encouragements in 2023 – they moved back into their renovated building and employed their first pastor, Alistair Chalmers.
For over 50 years, Ferniehill Evangelical Church has been faithfully witnessing to the local community in Gilmerton, Edinburgh.
The fastest-growing church? Maybe not what you think
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 1 Dec 2023
A new report from the Bible Society has
revealed that the fastest-growing church in
the UK is the Chinese Church.
In just the last two years, there has been
29% growth in the Chinese Church in the
UK – a large jump from the 7% growth they’d seen in the previous ten years. This is
largely due to people emigrating from Hong
Kong to Britain.
Wales: aim of 100 new churches
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 1 Nov 2023
A new initiative called Cant i Gymru has the ambitious aim of seeing 100 healthy churches planted in Wales within the next decade.
Cant i Gymru (meaning ‘100 for Wales’ in English) is ‘a collective of gospel friends’ from across the world and Wales. According to their website, they are ‘believing God for a fresh wave of missional planting in Cymru’, and aim to do this by providing pastoral support, uniting in prayer, and equipping and sending out church planters.
Donna departs
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 1 Aug 2023
Donna Jennings has stepped down as the Church and Mission Co-ordinator for the Evangelical Alliance in Northern Ireland. She is leaving to pursue a PHD with the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies.
In her role, Donna sought to equip the church in Northern Ireland to be strategic, creative and bold as they proclaimed the gospel. She served faithfully for four years as the world experienced the challenges of the pandemic, several global humanitarian refugee crises, and the cost-of-living crisis. She wrote several mission resources for the church during this time, including Walk, Pray, Talk a resource to encourage small groups and prayer walks. One church leader who used this said that it had catalysed their church into missional concern for the local area.
‘The easiest conversations I’ve had’ - is this model of mission the future?
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 1 Jul 2022
If you were asked how a Christian Union runs an evangelistic event, you might guess it would look something like this: a short talk, time for a Q&A, and perhaps some food.
You’d be right. CUs have long operated within this structure and seen encouraging fruit come from it. This year, however, the CUs in Leeds pioneered a different approach.
‘I’ve had to pinch myself – evangelism’s never felt so easy’
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 1 Apr 2022
CU mission weeks are back.
Until recently, the idea of hundreds of students sitting chair to chair in a marquee, baguettes in hand and listening to a gospel talk, has seemed laughably out of reach. In the past few weeks however, 77 Christian Unions across Great Britain were finally able to run mission weeks in-person again. After a two-year break, they were uncertain how these weeks of focused evangelistic events might be received.
‘Dial-a-doughnut’ and ‘Circus’ inspire 1,000 young leaders
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 1 Oct 2021
Having never set foot on campus, having met only a few members in their CU and feeling uncertain about what university life will be like this term, many Christian Union leaders were especially eager to come to Forum 2021.
Forum is UCCF’s annual training conference for CU leaders, aiming to inspire and equip them to share the gospel in the universities, before they head back to campus in September. This August, over 1,000 students from across Great Britain arrived at the Quinta Christian Centre in Shropshire. They met friends face-to-face, sang praise to God, attended seminars and put their heads together to plan for the year in front of them.