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Nicola Laver

Date posted: 1 Jul 2022

The gospel of Jesus Christ is not for Jews, a trustee of a Christian-Jewish council has claimed – suggesting that to think otherwise is anti-Semitic.

In an opinion piece in The Times newspaper calling for the end of Christian missions to convert Jews, Zaki Cooper (photo right), a trustee of the Council of Christians and Jews, cited historical Jewish massacres and anti-Semitism in England going back to the 1100s.

Around 70 delegates attended the ‘In a Big Country’ conference about rural ministry held at Dingwall Free Church in Scotland.

The conference, which was organised by the Free Church of Scotland, was a great opportunity for delegates to study God’s word, to hear what He is doing in rural Scotland, and to encourage each other.

Nicola Laver

Date posted: 1 Aug 2022

Around 120 people met on a damp Saturday in Cardiff to listen to renowned psychologist Dr Diane Langberg share her deep knowledge of different forms of abuse, grief and on ‘care for the caregiver’.

Dr Langberg has nearly 50 years’ experience working with trauma victims and survivors of different forms of abuse, ranging from sexual and physical abuse; experiences of war; and increasingly, abuse of power in churches.

The Anglican Mission in England (AMiE) has two new bishops.

The AMiE Synod endorsed Tim Davies and Lee McMunn as Assistant Bishops under the leadership of Convocation Bishop Andy Lines.

This summer young people and adult volunteers are coming together to run Sports Plus – seven, week-long, residential camps across five locations in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Sports Plus Director Ian Lancaster describes it as ‘serious sports action for the serious sporty young person.’ He added: ‘Competitive young people make friends with like-minded others from across the UK and come under the sound of the good news of Jesus. It is a vital work for these youngsters to start connecting their sport and faith – working out how the gospel enables them to play with freedom, and how it can define their identity in a performance driven world.’

Welsh Baptist ministers spent some time recently focusing on the pressing issue of ‘Abuse of power in the local church’.

Phil Swann (see photo) of Llanelli Evangelical Church opened up a topic which the Baptist Union of Wales admits is not often talked about but ‘can do great harm’ to both ministers and members. ‘Recent public cases have drawn attention to how church leaders need be more aware of the potential abuses of power within the local church and the damaging effect this can have on those caught up in such situations,’ it said.

Nicola Laver

Date posted: 1 Aug 2022

A new programme to help churches tackle issues of porn use and addiction within their congregations has been unveiled, against the background of rising consumption.

According to research carried out by the charity launching the programme, the Naked Truth Project, 13% of UK adults admitted to being addicted to watching pornography. The ‘Church Membership’ programme was launched at a House of Commons event, hosted by Tim Farron MP (photo) and attended by six other MPs and peers.

The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) is marking its centenary this year.

And to celebrate its 100th anniversary, the organisation has announced that it is gathering 100 gospel projects from around the country to enable church partnerships and fuel prayer for mission.

Bob Marsden writes: To God be the glory, great things He has done, and He did great things in and through the life and ministry of Justin Mote, who died recently.

Justin was converted while at school and he was nurtured in the faith at Emmanuel Church, Northwood. He studied at Oak Hill but, being too young to be legally ordained, he served as a lay curate at St Mary’s Basingstoke with Alex Ross.

The 31st annual meeting of the Scottish Reformed Conference has taken place at Hamilton College.

Dr Joel Beeke from Heritage Reformed Congregation in Grand Rapids, USA was the main speaker. He preached on the words of Psalm 22 that Jesus reiterated at the Cross: ‘My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?’ In the course of his sermon, Dr Beeke reflected upon the profound depths of the real experience of Jesus whilst he prayed this, both what it does not mean and what it does mean. But also from the question ‘Why?’ – what was the purpose of this experience and the infinite love of God and the Lord Jesus Christ expressed in this cry. In his second address, he pressed upon Christians the urgent need to reflect upon the agony of Christ when we pass through sharp and painful experiences in life. He did so in a unique sermon of ten points each beginning with the letter ‘P’. In thanks, our chairman suggested adding another three points likewise beginning with ‘P’, to the positive pleasure of the people present!

A new resource for evangelicals in the Baptist Union has been launched.

Evangelicalbaptist.uk says: ‘This website exists to help equip the Baptist church family to face the challenges and take hold of the opportunities from an evangelical perspective. We need to hold on to the truth found in God’s word and continue to communicate it in a real, relevant, and radical way.’

Iain Taylor

Date posted: 1 Jul 2022

Is it possible to be a committed Christian entrepreneur in the world of Scotch whisky? Duncan McFadzean (photo) reckons so.

He is an Investment Banker to the Scotch whisky industry and co-founder of Creo, which exists to ‘connect, train and resource Christian entrepreneurs to advance the common good’.

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.

Nicola Laver

Date posted: 1 May 2022

A North Carolina folk duo is preparing to come to Chelmsford, Essex to share the gospel through music.

Songs of the Folk (aka classically trained married couple Andrew and Lauren Cason), discovered that music opened doors for them into people’s lives to share the Good News of Christ – often to the most marginalised in society or those harder to reach.

A town crier has been successfully used by a church to attract people to its mission week.

Morley Town Crier Steven Holt was engaged by Morley Community Church in West Yorkshire to publicise its events.

It has been an exciting first half of 2022 for Affinity, a network of around 1,200 churches and Christian organisations working in partnership for the sake of the gospel, writes Graham Nicholls.

We were delighted to welcome new members to Affinity – churches from a diverse range of backgrounds including majority Jamaican, Congolese and Chinese churches.

Naunton Lane Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Cheltenham, has inducted a new minister, The Revd Matt Faux.

The appointment ends a three-year gap. Matt, who originally trained as a teacher, had completed a BA in Theology at Union School of Theology, Bridgend. Matt is married to Rachel and they have three boys: William, Joshua and Isaac.

A new UK National Ministry Survey shows an apparent contradiction between a majority of the general public disapproving of ‘people trying to convert others to their faith’ and thinking ‘everyone should leave everyone else alone’ (73%), and high numbers of the general public feeling comfortable about having a conversation with a friend about Jesus (54%) or attending an Easter service (50%).

The National Ministry Survey was a collaborative endeavour of Co-Mission, A Passion for Life, FIEC and ReNew seeking mission data for the benefit of the UK church.

Graham Miller, Chief Executive of London City Mission, shares his joy of hearing dramatic accounts of people who have been saved out of chaotic and destructive lives into God’s family:

Meet Craig (see photo), brought up in North West London in a non-religious household. By the age of 21 he was living a chaotic life, committed a crime and was sentenced to prison.

Churches are being urged to remember that, for some people, returning to church as the pandemic eases is still a difficult thing.

Carl Knightly, part of the leadership team at London City Mission and an Ambassador for Faith in Later Life, said: ‘Whilst vaccination rates are high and cases far lower than they were, many are still fearful of the implications of catching Covid and becoming unwell.

Nicola Laver

Date posted: 1 May 2022

The Baptist Union (BU) council is considering changing the ministerial requirements in relation to same-sex marriage for its ministers.

It is understood 70 people, mainly BU ministers who are part of pressure group Affirming Baptists Together, signed a letter to the General Secretary of the BU requesting that it effectively change its rule requiring its ministers to be single or in a heterosexual marriage on the basis that it is discriminatory.

Amanda Robbie writes: A refreshing, a reunion, a rejoicing. So many good things can be said about last week’s Word Alive event ‘Back Together Around the Word’. A crowd of almost 4,500 gathered at Pontins in Prestatyn after a three-year gap, thanks to the hard work of Nigel Beynon and Tom Roberts and the organising team, and of course, the grace of God.

Our family geared ourselves up with jumpers and shorts, raincoats and swimming kit, a slow cooker and a memory-foam mattress topper. We stuffed the car and entrusted the dog to kind carers and made our way to Wales to face all kinds of weather and the joyous sight of Christians getting together to learn from the Lord and one another.

Jonathan Winch

Date posted: 1 Mar 2022

Jonathan Winch, Executive Director of Westminster Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Newcastle, spoke to Ronaldo André, one of their students. This is part of their conversation. ‘When I was five I ran away from home; my father was an alcoholic and would have killed me. I spent the next year and a half living on the streets of Brazil.

‘The police can’t arrest little children; they just beat them up and let them go. My life as a little child became about drugs, theft and robbery on behalf of the criminal gangs that vie for control of Brazil’s streets. I witnessed stabbings; I saw people setting others on fire. And then one day a woman stopped me and offered me a place in a children’s home.