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Nine churches have been planted in just ten years in a pioneering Scottish project – thanks to believers who have grasped the concept of ‘missional living’.

20schemes is a church planting ministry set up and run by Niddrie Community Church, which is located in the scheme of Niddrie, south-east Edinburgh. And this year the initiative is celebrating a decade in action.

The Anglican Mission in England (AMiE) is a growing diocese. From its very first days, church planting has been a key aspect of what AMiE has sought to do – hardly surprising given its name. In recent months, AMiE have launched their 10:20 Planting Plan in which they hope to plant ten new churches by 2025 and a further twenty by 2030.

New church plants may come in many different shapes and sizes and Grace Community Church in Bury is just one example of what an AMiE church plant could look like.

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.

This November in Malta, after four years of planning, UK Christians in Sport staff will join over 100 leaders in sports ministry, from more than 30 countries involved in competitive and elite sport, for a four-day conference.

The conference includes the release of over 150 brand-new resources in four languages, and an internationally accessible leadership development programme.

Through rain, sunshine and 35,000 steps, over 100 supporters of London City Mission took to the streets of central London to take part in the Big London Walk.

This 12-mile sponsored walk, which included a city tour with Christian Heritage London, aimed to raise much-needed funds and awareness for the one in two people in London who don’t know a Christian to share the gospel with them, invite them to church or read the Bible with.

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.

Faith in Later Life has announced the appointment of a new Lead Officer, Alexandra Drew, to take forward its work to inspire and equip Christians to reach, serve and empower older people in every community, through the local church.

Alexandra (known as Alex) comes from the West of England Baptist Network and the Seventy-Two network, which describes itself as ‘a catalyst for missional movement, across England and Wales, through Baptist networks.’

Record numbers of children and young people attended this year’s Keswick Convention, the organisers say.

Keswick Ministries has revealed that of the 10,000 attendees this summer, 2,500 were youngsters and teenagers.

Nicola Laver

Date posted: 1 Sep 2023

The curtain has come down for good on Urban Saints national summer camps, which have been running across several sites across the UK and Ireland for many decades – though local and regional ones will continue.

Previously more widely known as Crusaders, Urban Saints summer camps for children and young people up to 18 have been run by volunteers since the early 1900s. This year’s camps ran through summer from the very first summer weekend. Interim CEO Richard Giles said : ‘We’re grateful for their servant heart and passion.’

Keswick Ministries has announced the appointment of Mark Ellis as its new Ministry Director, effective from September 2023. He follows James Robson, incoming Principal of Oak Hill Theological College.

Mark has wide experience in Christian leadership, including overseas mission work with OMF, leading UCCF’s team in Scotland and as Director of Christian Unions Ireland, pastoring a flourishing church plant in Dundee, and most recently as part of the leadership team at Christ Church Newcastle.

At least two new churches have been planted in Ireland in tandem with the recent ‘What’s the Story?’ (WTS) outreach initiative in Ireland.

Christ City Church in central Dublin (some members pictured) had been looking to plant a church in the more residential area in the south of the city to reach the people there.

Nicola Laver

Date posted: 1 Aug 2023

The Prime Minister was among a bumper crop of MPs attending this year’s Parliamentary Breakfast on 27 June, alongside representatives from the Christian community. 

More than 700 parliamentarians - including a record 180-plus MPs - and Christian leaders met together at Westminster Hall for the annual recognition of Christianity’s contribution to UK life.

‘Growing in faith, hope and love’ was the theme of this year as hundreds of people joined for the face-to-face meetings from 3-7 July.

The strapline of the Bournemouth Bible Week is 'Gathering the Churches, Preaching the Word.' It was encouraging to see larger numbers meet together this year than has been possible since 2020. 

An event hosted by Christian Unions in the city of Liverpool was so highly anticipated that students had to stand outside the venue to remain in earshot.

Students in University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores, and Liverpool Hope universities (pictured left and centre) came together to host a week of daily, high-profile, evangelistic events entitled ‘Truth Defined’. With students facing a much more unsettled and uncertain future, greater numbers than ever are open to considering faith, with over 100 students crowded into a packed-out venue.

‘What’s stopping you taking the step to become a Christian?’ For Chris, a student at Nottingham Trent University, this Spring was the point at which he was able to answer ‘nothing’ – and give his life to Jesus Christ, writes Kitty Hardyman of Christian student organisation UCCF.

Chris made his commitment of faith attending the Word Alive conference alongside faithful friends from Nottingham Trent Christian Union who had walked with him during the past four years at university. The journey had been long, but surrounded by 800 other undergraduates and the wider church family, it was at Word Alive that the decision was set plainly before him, and he was able to say: ‘I’m in’.

David Baker

Date posted: 1 May 2023

The impact of George Verwer, the mission pioneer who has just died (see obituary here), was so extensive that for me, as with many others, he has seemed like a constant influence, even though we never met.

My first encounter with his work was when one of the OM ships visited Bristol, where we lived, in the 1970s. To a small boy, the idea of Christians voyaging round the world giving out books seemed an exotic, alluring and rather exciting one, and I still remember the smiles of those serving on the ship.

Nicola Laver

Date posted: 1 Jun 2023

Coronation Day was unforgettable for the nation, but it will also be remembered by some as the day they met with the King of Kings.

On the weekend of 6 May, hundreds of Christians joined Royal fans around Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and elsewhere in central London handing out gospels and Christian literature. Thousands of tracts and the coronation booklet God Save The King – co-authored by Roger Carswell and Alan Marsden – found their way into the hands of ordinary people, as well as celebrities such as TV hosts Ant and Dec and other guests at the Coronation.

What does mission in the local church look like in 2022?

The answer is that it is as gloriously varied as each individual congregation and its members.

Nicola Laver

Date posted: 1 May 2023

Churches and communities across Britain and beyond have been finalising their preparations ahead of the Coronation.

Jonathan Gillespie, assistant curate at All Souls Langham Place, says: ‘It’s a missional opportunity to point to monarchy under Jesus’ loving rule.’ And Ben Topham, associate rector at St George’s Church, Stamford and St James Gerrards Cross, pointed out that many will get invited to family events and street parties. ‘We are encouraging our church family to plug into those, to be a Christian presence in those places.’

Around 90 people from congregations in the Glasgow and Argyll Presbytery of the Free Church of Scotland have attended the first ‘Healthy Church Gathering’ organised by the Free Church of Scotland.

Two main sessions were held. The first session focused on what it means to be a healthy Christian and what a healthy church looks like. Andrew Giffen, CEO of the Free Church of Scotland, spoke about these topics, with opportunity for discussion around tables.

A pioneer of the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) has marked his 101st birthday by taking to the skies again.

Jack Hemmings, who is also a former RAF Squadron Leader, was given the flight as a surprise present.