search

Nicola Laver

Date posted: 1 Aug 2021

A Brazilian missionary is working among young people in Chard, Somerset, mentoring and giving mental-health support with the help of local ministries.

Raquel Lima (see photo), who is also serving the local Portuguese community, has been placed by Latin Link (in partnership with South West Youth Ministries) to mentor and support young people alongside Forefront Church, an independent evangelical fellowship.

Along with the rest of the UK and Ireland, churches across London are preparing for a month of mission in Easter 2022 as part of the initiative A Passion for Life (APFL).

The prayer of those in the London Gospel Partnership is that there might be clusters of churches equipped and actively on mission in each of the 32 boroughs across the city – that many across London might be reached for Christ.

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.

An evangelical theological college has axed the role of Director of Ministerial Training, bringing into doubt the future of its specialist centre for training future evangelists.

Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, said loss of income due to the pandemic necessitated the change – which means theologian evangelist Greg Downes (photo) will lose his job as well as his family home, which went with the role.

Iain Taylor

Date posted: 1 Nov 2021

‘Evangelism in a time of crisis’ was the theme of the 2021 Evangelism Conference, entitled ‘Evangelism Now’, held at All Soul’s Langham Place.

Rico Tice set out the three key principles of evangelism: it must be based on God’s sovereignty; the gospel must be presented with both integrity and truth; there must be no deception in how we operate.

Co-Mission says it is ‘thrilled’ about three new church plants that, ‘in God’s kindness’, have just launched in London.

Redeemer Queen’s Park in north-west London launched on Saturday 25 September at 4 p.m. in Salusbury (sic) Primary School. Over the last year, God has graciously assembled a core team of 25 adults with a few kids to boot. Amazingly, 65 adults and 13 kids turned up for their launch, and even more the second week! Most arrived through personal relationships with the core team. Others connected with Redeemer through flyering or social media. The church’s university outreach and its children’s work are big draws.

Nicola Laver

Date posted: 1 Dec 2021

There has been increasing openness to the gospel among university students in the UK this Autumn, the UCCF has reported.

One unbelieving student attended an Abertay Christian Union (CU) lunchtime talk on ‘Lasting Joy’. Afterwards he said: ‘If this is true, you have a genuine hope for eternal happiness. If it’s not, you still have an anchor that allows you to find joy in this life – I find that exhilarating!’

The Anglican Mission in England (AMiE) has a new member church – Hope Church Goldthorpe in South Yorkshire.

The congregation is meeting in Astrea Academy Derne, on the south side of Goldthorpe village.

London City Mission writes: The cruelty of the pandemic has been that people already struggling have been hardest hit.

It’s those on the margins of society who were more likely to have died or suffered loss from Covid. It’s those living in crowded homes, less able to socially distance, whose low-paid work, if it hasn’t disappeared, has put them more at risk of contracting the virus. And it’s those for whom Covid, far from being a chance to save money, has added costs in the form of additional heating and food. London has been especially hit; reliance on foodbanks has more than doubled in the capital this year.

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.

More than £2,000 has so far been raised as part of a campaign to provide winter clothing for Afghan refugee children arriving in the UK.

The initiative is organised by Christian group Afghan Welcome – whose director is Krish Kandiah (see photo), and whose supporters include en contributor Graham Miller of the London City Mission, Gavin Calver of the Evangelical Alliance and many others.

Nicola Laver

Date posted: 1 Nov 2021

First birthdays are special, and for an Essex ‘church in the home’ – its first birthday marked an encouraging year despite the pandemic.

Cornerstone Church in Colchester, an Anglican church, began on 18 October 2020 under the oversight of Anglican Mission in England (AMiE). It has coined the phrase ‘… starting in the home, sustained in the home!’ to reflect the church’s conviction of the value of meeting in the home.

The annual conference of ReNew for conservative evangelicals in the Church of England has been held in-person again, after a virtual session last year due to the pandemic.

The event tackled issues of spiritual abuse following recent high-profile cases and the publication of the Thirtyone:eight report into Jonathan Fletcher’s time at Emmanuel, Wimbledon. It also focused on ‘establishing healthy churches’ – the theme for the gathering.

The Evangelical Alliance is launching a new three-year initiative to help people think Biblically about what it means to be human.

The ‘Being Human’ project aims to inspire and equip everyday Christians to be able to ‘understand, articulate and participate in the Biblical vision of humanity’.

letter from the

Columba and evangelicals

In the midst of the pandemic many churches across Ireland are celebrating a prince, born into a minor royal family 1,500 years ago, who became the founder of one of the greatest evangelistic movements ever in Europe.

Between 7 December 2020 and the same day in 2021, senior church leaders from across County Donegal in the northwest of Ireland are uniting to pray together, and walk together, to celebrate the life and ministry of Colmcille (Columba), born in a remote part of the county, who founded a movement that spread the gospel to the pagan Scots, and then to the pagan Anglo-Saxons, and inspired generations of Irish and English Christians to bring the gospel to their pagan kinsmen in mainland Europe.

Iain Taylor

Date posted: 1 Oct 2021

As UK Christians consider how they might help the sudden influx of refugees from Afghanistan, one church leader with extensive experience of mission to Muslims has warned that the overwhelming majority of evangelical churches will not see any asylum seekers placed anywhere near them by the government.

Stephen Kneale (photo left) of Oldham Bethel Church says: ‘Most of these asylum seekers are open to Christianity. We already welcome many Afghani refugees who are, typically, very receptive to a gospel that is demonstrably different to what they left behind. Dozens of those we have witnessed to have put their faith in Christ.

Co-Mission churches are finding new ways to get the gospel out into local neighbourhoods and beyond.

Christ Church Mayfair has redirected its London:Living? podcast to be an evangelism tool addressing current issues for their congregation members to share with the community. These include the topics of Death & Loss, Peace of Mind, and Racism & Injustice. Through these conversations the church can engage people in their Honest Questions and Christianity Explored courses.

A BBC News article has been ‘a lightning rod’ for a Scottish organisation’s mission to bring the gospel to the poorest and those afflicted by addiction.

Twenty Schemes says the news item has helped it refocus towards planting churches in the poorest areas around Glasgow. Peter Campbell of 20Schemes writes: ‘On 30 July 2021 BBC News published an article announcing that Scotland’s drug death total for 2020 was 1,339 people. It means that Scotland continues to have by far the highest drug rate in Europe, and over three and a half times that of England and Wales. The worst-hit areas are, of course, the poorest, with the schemes (housing estates) being 18 times more likely to have a drug-related death than other areas.

Iain Taylor

Date posted: 1 Aug 2021

Joel Edwards has died from cancer aged 70. The first black man to lead the Evangelical Alliance (EA), he leaves behind an inspiring legacy of unity in diversity, social engagement and Christ-centred service.

After serving as a probation officer and as a pastor in east London, Joel became the General Secretary of the African and Caribbean Evangelical Alliance, where he worked to show the transforming power of Christ in communities, bring predominantly black churches together, and build bridges between the organisation and UK churches.

Adam Malooly of the Co-Mission church planting movement writes: With 2020 being what it was, this Christmas was a particular opportunity to share a message addressing the loneliness and isolation many were feeling.

This was at the forefront of our minds when we released our latest Christmas film The Lonely Dinosaur. The film is the story of a toy dinosaur shadow that comes alive on Christmas Eve and finds himself alone. In his search for friends, his journey leads him to understand the truth about the Christmas season and what ‘Immanuel’ truly means – God with us. The film has been seen by over 10,000 people and downloaded by numerous churches.