‘Patient, gracious’ Roger Forster dies
Luke Randall
Date posted: 1 Mar 2024
Roger Forster, the founder of Ichthus Christian Fellowship, has died aged 90.
A husband to Faith and father to three children, he was a well-respected theologian, best known for founding the neo-charismatic Ichthus Christian Fellowship in 1974.
Two new ministers for two new churches
Tom Hutton
Date posted: 1 Mar 2024
Two new AMiE churches have two newly ordained ministers.
One of the congregations is in Wolverhampton, and began in summer 2020, while the other is on the Isle of Wight, and started in 2023.
Fred Drummond
en staff
Date posted: 1 Mar 2024
Fred Drummond, the director of the Evangelical Alliance in Scotland, is leaving his role this summer, it has been announced.
Gavin Calver, CEO of EAUK, said: ‘Fred has been instrumental in leading the team in Scotland and has played an invaluable role on the leadership team; providing support for the leadership and wider team, engaging with our members, and inspiring us with his prayerfulness, wisdom and prophetic insight during his 17 and a half years on the staff team.’
defending our faith
The church is an apologetic!
Chris Sinkinson
Date posted: 1 Mar 2024
I have been writing this column in Evangelicals Now for many years. The general theme is apologetics – the defence of our faith – using reliable evidence and being aware of contemporary questions.
I have done so as a lecturer at one of our nation’s Bible colleges. Archaeology, Biblical texts, ethical dilemmas and philosophical questions are all familiar territory for anyone studying academic theology.
Contagious holiness in contentious settings? Making holy the unholy
Craig Blomberg
Date posted: 1 Mar 2024
In the ancient Middle East, people took hospitality more seriously than most of us, and were more guarded with whom they ate. Most cultures had dietary restrictions and taboos. In some instances, eating the wrong food could render a person ritually unclean.
But whereas the Pharisees avoided contact with ‘sinners’ so that they would not become ritually unclean, Jesus befriended sinners – because He believed that His holiness was contagious.
Orthodox Jew wants Gazans to ‘get a little Jesus’
Iain Taylor
Date posted: 1 Mar 2024
An Orthodox Jewish writer Jonathan Feldstein is currently ‘praying for Gazans to get a little Jesus in 2024’.
Feldstein is president of the Genesis 123 Foundation, whose declared mission is to ‘build bridges between Jews and Christians with Israel in ways that are new, unique, and meaningful’. He made the call as he believes ‘the best and safest way to change the situation and bring peace [in Gaza] is for the masses of Gazans, and Palestinian Arabs in general, to convert to Christianity’.
PNG: Mission in one of the remotest schools on earth
Gary Clayton
Date posted: 1 Jun 2023
Deep in the heart of the jungle lies Nomad Mougulu High School (NMHS), one of the remotest schools on earth.
Mougulu lies in the heart of a rainforest in Papua New Guinea’s (PNG’s) Western Province. The nearest secondary school is a week’s walk away.
Mission groups come to UK for first time
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 1 Jun 2023
Two mission organisations are planting a
foothold in Britain for the first time.
HeartCry Missionary Society
is now
supporting missionaries in England; while
the New Anglican Mission Society (NAMS)
is preparing
to establish a UK base
for
church planters.
Are you ‘two-kingdoms’ or ‘transformationist’?
Al Gibbs
Date posted: 1 Jan 2024
One of the perennial questions that Christians ask is how the church should engage with society.
The Bible is clear that individual Christians should share God’s love with everyone in the contexts that God has placed them, but to what extent should the church, as the church, seek to influence society? There are several ways of addressing this question, but in recent years many evangelicals have gravitated to one of two paradigms – either a two-kingdoms model, or a transformationist model. These models or views can get complicated, but it’s useful for Christians to have a basic sense of the strengths and weaknesses of each, as well as being aware of the history.
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.
OMF welcomes new General Director
OMF UK
Date posted: 1 Jan 2024
At a special gathering in Thailand on 27 November, Dr Patrick Fung handed over the role of General Director of OMF International to Dr Joseph Chang.
Joseph is OMF International’s 11th General Director in the organisation’s almost 160-year history. Originally from Taiwan, Joseph and his wife Lori have relocated to OMF’s International Centre in Singapore for the role.
The pastor saving lives in North Korea
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 1 Dec 2023
Twenty-four years ago, Kim Seongeun witnessed dozens of dead bodies floating down the Tumen River, which separates North Korea from China. Ever since, he has been committed to helping people escape Kim Jong-un’s totalitarian regime.
Pastor Kim, as he is known, organises these dangerous escapes from his base in Seoul, through a charity and church named Caleb Mission. They have rescued 1,012 people since it began in 2000, taking defectors on an ‘underground railroad’ through Southeast Asia to safety. The very first to be rescued was a woman named Park Esther, a lieutenant in the North Korean Army – who later became Kim’s wife.
a Jewish Christian perspective
Life from the dead!
Joseph Steinberg
Date posted: 1 Feb 2024
Twenty years ago I faced a personal catastrophic event. My 65-year-old Jewish mother suddenly died from a massive heart attack. She was not a believer in Jesus. The shock of the news choked me because I had no assurance of my mother’s salvation.
A powerful feeling of fear and anxiety overcame me as I imagined my mother lost in the loneliness of outer darkness, separated from God. Those thoughts haunted me for the weeks and months that followed.
Stand-up, be counted!
Judith Dennis
Date posted: 1 Feb 2024
Book Review
CHRISTIANS IN THE FIRING LINE 2:
Inspiring faith stories of the individuals
behind key legal cases and how their
faith stood up under trial
Read review
Evangelicals and the Church of England
Date posted: 1 Feb 2024
Dear Editor,
Thank you for publishing the article from a non-conformist, addressed to many Anglicans. The person writes seeking to be a good neighbour. It is evident they are trying to be friendly with their comments. In the same spirit of conversation, here is an offer of a cup of tea and a gentle, but firm, response.
The Bible comes to Balimo
Gary Clayton
Date posted: 1 Feb 2024
Thanks to MAF, nurse Reena Delesae was able to get hold of a Bible.
Reena is a senior nurse at Balimo Hospital in Western Province, Papua New Guinea (PNG), where the hospital is extremely short-staffed and the nurses must carefully manage the medication available because there’s a real danger of it running out.
‘Almost as monumental as the moon landing’
Adam Thomas
Date posted: 1 Feb 2024
Do you ever find yourself counting the endorsements at the start of Christian books? Probably not – but someone has to do it!
Which is why the ‘Christian Book Endorsement Awards’ was founded in 2021, to quantify the phenomenon of excessive book endorsements.
C of E evangelicals grapple with uncertain way ahead
Diocesan Evangelical Fellowships (DEFs) around the Church of England are grappling with what to do following the introduction of ‘Prayers of Love and Faith’ (PLF).
en contacted local groups in each part of the country following the CofE’s move in a more liberal direction in the run-up to Christmas.
Moldovan believers mark 30 years of Biblical training
Slavic Gospel Association
Date posted: 1 Feb 2024
Thirty years of a Biblical leadership training scheme in Moldova are being celebrated.
Recently, Slavic Gospel Association staff members had the joy of joining with church leaders, and past and present students of the Mission School in Balti, Moldova, to mark the anniversary.
Covid: government exceeded mandate – evangelicals
Affinity
Date posted: 1 Feb 2024
The government did overreach itself during the pandemic, delegates at an Affinity event have broadly concluded.
With the backdrop of the government’s Covid Inquiry, the organisation, which represents 1,200 evangelical churches and groups, recently held a symposium bringing various partners together to reflect on how Christians and churches responded to the pandemic.
Middle East: ‘Jesus can change terrorists’ hearts’
Luke Randall
Date posted: 1 Dec 2023
While world leaders have devoted a countless number of hours to finding a seemingly impossible solution to the ongoing Middle Eastern crisis, Misha Vayshengolts, who serves with International Mission to Jewish People in Israel, believes that ‘Jesus is the answer’.
In an interview with en, Misha spoke about what life is currently like in Israel, how recent events have impacted his work as a missionary, and why he thinks Jesus is the solution to the crisis.
letter from Mozambique
Growing hope in the land of tears
Janet Phythian, Mission Associate with Church Mission Society, writes: During my recent visit to Sofala, central Mozambique from July to September, I gave much thanks for abundant vegetable harvests grown on the Africa Naturally farm at our base in Mezimbite, for orphans in care.
This followed a slow start in April due to extensive flooding caused by cyclone Freddy (see en April 2023 for more details). We were also able to support Pastor Pires to start a children’s ministry at his church, Seed of Abraham, following the amazing training he had received from Rory Bell of TnT Ministries/Mustard Seeds.
Dating apps in decline: What’s our better alternative?
The sun appears to be setting on the dating app era, and culture is on a mission to re-codify love, but what will we find in the aftermath?
Amidst our hyper-digital age, the tide appears to be turning on the reign of online dating. Despite radically changing the art of modern romance after exploding onto the scene in the early 2010s, today apps like Tinder, Hinge and Bumble are all reporting a steady decline in users. What was branded as an efficient way to connect people sold a promise of dating minus the mess. However, ten years on, people have cottoned onto the reality that online dating carries its own set of messes and mishaps. Those leaving the apps are citing the ways in which these platforms prey on insecurity and cause ‘swipe fatigue’ by overwhelming users with choice.