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A missionary who survived a massacre at a mission station where she was working, many years ago, has died.

Margaret Hayes MBE had to take to the jungle with others where she survived for many weeks before being rescued, having been presumed dead – with a funeral and thanksgiving service being held for her.

Alex Hawke has been appointed as the new UK Director for Serving in Mission (SIM).

Alex has previously served as a mission worker in West Africa, Mozambique and Cambodia, where he was the team leader of a large mission team.

Milla Ling-Davies

Date posted: 1 Nov 2024

Daniel Bourdanné, former General Secretary of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES), has died from cancer, aged 64.

Born in Chad, Bourdanné moved to Oxford in 2007 to lead IFES for 12 years – and from then to his death he worked with charity Africa Speaks to promote publishing Christian books across the continent. IFES Chair Michel Kenmogne said: ‘The history of the advance of the gospel throughout the world over the last four decades cannot be written without mentioning Daniel Bourdanné.’

Luke Randall

Date posted: 17 Jul 2024

Ben Stansfield has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of Global Connections, (GC) replacing Chris Wigram who had served in an interim capacity in recent months.

GC exists to equip the UK church and mission community in the world. Ben has spent over 25 years working for international charities, church ministries and discipleship ministries, so has helpful experience ahead of taking on the role.

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?’

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.

Andy Mason is the next Mission Director of church-planting network Co-Mission, it has been announced. He will begin the role on 1 September.

Mason will continue to be Minister of St John’s Chelsea, and aims to combine that role with being MD of Co-Mission, doing both part-time. The network aims to ‘plant and establish 360 reformed evangelical churches.’

Milla Ling-Davies

Date posted: 29 Jan 2025

On 10 January, over 120 gathered in St Nicholas’ church in Sevenoaks to give thanks for the life of OMF (UK) Co-National Director Peter Rowan, with 900 tuning in online from across the world.

The service included songs chosen by Peter, moving tributes from his children, and an address delivered by Dr Krish Kandiah on 2 Timothy 4:1-8. ‘Peter lived a life of service; just like Paul he can say his life was poured out like a drink offering,’ Kandiah said. ‘He can say that he fought the good fight… but his life offers us a challenge – what will we do?’

From the Keswick Convention to Word Alive to local church ministry and beyond – it is hard to overestimate the scope and significance of Philip Hacking’s ministry. He died on 6 December with 93 years of life and nearly as many years of gospel ministry behind him.

Philip was born in 1931 into a working-class family and grew up on the terraced streets of Blackburn, Lancashire. He attended the Church of the Saviour, a fairly new Anglican parish. It had a significant impact not just on his life but his ministry with the patterns that were laid down there. Philip wrote: ‘Prayer and Bible study and expository preaching were the order of the day, and I discovered the joy of seeing the treasures of the Bible unfolded’. They would remain the ‘order of the day’ throughout his ministry. He remembered too how ‘as teenagers we were encouraged to lead our own youth groups and to be involved in Christian witness’. Strikingly, at the same time as Philip, three others from the row of terraced houses in which he lived were called into ordained ministry.

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.

Luke Randall

Date posted: 17 Jul 2024

King Charles III has become the Patron of the Church Pastoral Aid Society (CPAS).

He takes over from his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II in support of the Anglican evangelical mission agency, which said in an Instagram post that it is ‘delighted’ the King wants to continue to have a relationship with them.

Milla Ling-Davies

Date posted: 1 Feb 2025

Gillian Joynson-Hicks, Vicountess Brentford, has died age 81. Lady Brentford had deep evangelical Christian beliefs, a ‘steely determination’ to advance them, and held several influential positions to this end.

Born in Kenya in 1942, Gillian was educated at West Heath Girls’ School in Kent. During her childhood, she suffered from rickets, which, according to The Telegraph, gave her ‘a lifelong fellow-feeling for those who were struggling.’ After training as a chartered accountant, she married the then Hon. Crispin Joynson-Hicks in 1964, bringing up three daughters and a son in Sussex.

Milla Ling-Davies

Date posted: 31 Jan 2025

Mark Vroegop has been appointed as the new President of evangelical network The Gospel Coalition (TGC).

Vroegop, who has pastored College Park Church in Indiana for nearly two decades, is a current TGC council member and board member. He was unanimously elected, and will be the third President of TGC, taking over from interim President Sandy Wilson.

Emily Pollok

Date posted: 30 Dec 2024

The outspoken American preacher and ‘Red Letter Christian,’ Tony Campolo died last month aged 89.

The evangelical speaker and author was a forceful influence in the American church and was best known for calling Christians to follow Jesus’ teaching by loving and serving the poor and vulnerable in society.

After ‘prayer and deliberation,’ the board of Creation Fest UK is pleased to announce the appointment of Niall Dunne as the charity’s new Team Leader, it reports.

Niall is a familiar face in the organisation, having been a member of a band that performed at Creation Fest’s annual event during its early days in Devon, and more recently serving as the organisation’s Pastoral Lead for the past seven months. As Team Leader, Niall will oversee all aspects of the year-round charity, including the annual summer festival in Wadebridge, Cornwall.

Milla Ling-Davies

Date posted: 8 Nov 2024

Andrew Neden has officially been appointed as Chair of the Board for Christian bank Kingdom Bank, succeeding David Swanney who had held the role for the past ten years.

Neden is a chartered accountant who has worked in a variety of different roles, including the Global Chief Operating Officer in Financial Services for KPMG. While joining the board in December 2023, he was formally appointed as Chair in March and uses his wealth of experience in the financial sector to play a key part in the governance of the bank.

Luke Randall

Date posted: 27 Oct 2024

David MacPherson has been appointed as the new minister of Govan Free Church. He moves to the West Glasgow congregation following ministry in other congregations including Bon Accord Free Church in Aberdeen and Greenock Free Church, as well as a period of mission work in Peru.

About 85 people attended the service of induction, which saw the church induct only its second-ever minister, following Norman Mackay’s departure in 2022. Mackay had planted the church in 2013.

en Board member Carl Knightly, Director of Networks at London City Mission was among those at Emmanuel Centre, Westminster, as part of the ‘National Week of Prayer’.

Writing on X, he said: ‘Many people came together to pray for the UK, and this was one of numerous events occurring across the nation, and indeed nations… It was a blessed and profound time of prayer and worship, as we came before God to lift up the UK to Him. I was privileged to facilitate some of that prayer time, and join with fellow believers in this special afternoon.’

Iain Taylor

Date posted: 17 Jul 2024

Dave Newton took over as National Director of Scripture Union (SU) in March. Now he has his feet under the desk, Evangelicals Now asked him about his vision for its future.

SU was originally founded in 1867 to help adults and children know God through the Bible. Today, its 1,500 volunteers run over 60 camps and missions a year.

Tom Creedy is taking up a new role as Publishing Director at IVP. Evangelical publisher IVP counts Amy Orr-Ewing, John Stott and Tim Chester among its authors, and says it is ‘committed to producing books that are faithful to the Bible, share the gospel with the world, and equip the church for mission and discipleship’.

IVP also produces books for an academic audience under its Apollos imprint, and has a global impact and reach through worldwide distribution licensing and partnerships.

Tom Houston was one of the most highly-gifted leaders of his generation. He led three movements of global reach, bringing a fine mind to analysis and strategy, and an unusual gift in preaching.

Tom grew up in Dumbarton, on the Clyde, and read Classics at Glasgow University. From teenage years he was a keen member of Glasgow Youth for Christ, and through YFC he met his future wife, Hazel Findlay. At the age of 23 he was appointed pastor of Johnstone Baptist Church, while completing a BD, and teaching Greek to undergraduates. From there he became Chaplain of Quarriers Homes in Bridge of Weir, ministering to 500 deprived children, as well as 150 epileptic patients, and 250 staff.

A new CEO, Matt Lillicrap, is heading to Christian student organisation UCCF.

He will begin his role at the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF) in the Autumn.

Luke Randall

Date posted: 17 Jul 2024

Jake Tasker has been inducted as the pastor of Bury Street Community Church, Enfield, London.

He has spent much of the past year serving as Pastor Designate and takes on the role having studied at Oak Hill Theological College. Formed in 2017, the church is a member of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) and Together for Mission (TFM).