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A church plant on an urban housing estate will this month celebrate its first anniversary and its success in building a congregation that represents around a dozen nationalities.

While Hope Church Vauxhall’s first year has brought some challenges, including the death of one of its young couples, Senior Pastor Sam Gibb says he is seeing tremendous gospel progress.

‘The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the very power of God.’

The words of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians opened REVIVE, Co-Mission’s Annual Bible Festival which took place at the University of Kent at Canterbury in June. In a Big Top filled with attendees from 28 Co-Mission churches across London, the weekend began with an evening of praise, prayer, interviews and a talk by Richard Coekin, CEO of Co-Mission, on ‘The Power of the Cross’. While the message of Christ crucified is despised as weak and foolish by the world, it is central to the Bible, history and Co-Mission. Indeed, it remains the only way that Co-Mission will grow as a network.

The Evangelical Alliance announced in July that Gavin Calver will be its new Chief Executive Officer. He will succeed general director Steve Clifford, who announced in April that he is stepping down.

Dr Tani Omideyi, chair of the Evangelical Alliance’s board of trustees, said: ‘With a strong field of applicants, Gavin impressed the board with his extensive expertise and his vision for the future, and he left us with a sense of excitement and great expectation. We came out of the process feeling confident that we have found someone chosen of God for this new season.’

I long to see people come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ all over London – particularly people from other cultures or faith backgrounds, or those who are marginalised by society or living in some of London’s most deprived communities.

Well before the horror of the 2017 fire at Grenfell Tower brought the area to national attention, my colleagues at London City Mission were talking with churches, praying and planning how to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to more people in the area. Having marked the two-year anniversary since that terrible night on 14 June 2017, I want to share with you some of the stories I’ve heard from people who are now ministering in the area alongside local churches.

The Free Church of Scotland will facili-tate a focused outreach initiative called ‘Generation19’ which aims to encourage local churches to reach out to their com-munities with the gospel.

In 2017 a census of Scottish churches was carried out by Brierley Consultancy which indicated a sharp decline in church attendance and engagement. The report showed that ‘some 390,000 people regularly attended church, being 7.2% of the Scottish population, down from 17% in 1984.’ This decline was the equivalent of ‘losing ten congregations per month’.

In the last week of August 1,000 Christian Union leaders gathered at the Quinta Christian conference centre in North Shropshire for the 100th Forum conference.

Over the last century, 40,000 students have been equipped for witness in their universities through Forum, and it was a privilege to stand alongside students this year.

A lot has happened with 20schemes over the course of this summer, from holiday clubs to conferences to new partnerships. God is always at work in all things, but over the past few months 20schemes have seen Him do many big things.

On 20 June, the church-planting network hosted ‘Sing Scotland’ with Keith & Kristyn Getty and John Piper. The day began with a day conference where over 300 Christians from across the UK gathered. Topics focused on how we sing corporately and the preaching of God’s word.

Didcot is England’s most normal town. Statisticians reached that conclusion after crunching the numbers in 2017.

With a working-class population connected with the railway and power station, a sizable benefits class in social housing, alongside large numbers of nuclear scientists and biotech research labs, and huge new housing developments that are more affordable than Reading and Oxford, Didcot is an interesting microcosm of English life. It is set to double in size by 2035 as a ‘Garden Town’ with 10,000 homes being built. It is also home to the Baptist Union headquarters, but, given its rapid growth, not overwhelmed with churches, particularly on the new estates.

Frances Whitehead brought unusual energy and passion to her role as John Stott’s secretary – ‘a most understated job title’, as Hugh Palmer made clear in his opening remarks at her thanksgiving service in All Souls, Langham Place.

It is widely agreed that the reach and extent of John Stott’s ministry was doubled by Frances. Days were long and full. She handled an enormous correspondence, typed Stott’s books from longhand, and oversaw the infrastructure of each of his endeavours until it could be handed on. Their partnership was unequalled; and they would become known around the world as ‘Uncle John’ and ‘Auntie Frances’.