Creation care: It is a gospel issue, although not a salvation one
Chris Wright & Dave Bookless
Date posted: 25 Feb 2025
We appreciate the article ‘Is creation care a gospel issue?’ by John Samuel and Richard Buggs in the January issue of en, and share their concern that the phraseology of the Cape Town Commitment might be mistakenly interpreted as ‘adding works to grace,’ and thereby ‘undermining’ the message of the gospel itself.
That is certainly no intention of ours, or indeed of the Lausanne Cape Town Commitment, which elsewhere in Part 1.8 defines the gospel of grace very strongly in terms ‘trusting in Christ alone … on the work of Christ and the promise of God.’
‘Jesus is Lord, and I see my own sin’
Thomas McBride
Date posted: 1 Apr 2025
It has been a season of vibrant, missional events weeks for Christian Unions. With around 100 CUs taking part, the gospel message has been heard by thousands of students, and hundreds are exploring further.
Students in the University of Warwick Christian Union were some of the first to hold their events week this year, which was centred on the theme of “Hope”. Halfway through the week, Ben (name changed), a CU member’s housemate, decided to attend an event. His curiosity had been piqued after he heard the events week was taking place and he arrived with questions. Interested, but by no means certain of the truth of what he had heard, he said to CU members afterwards: “I don’t know why God loves us”.
FIEC appoints new Director for Essex
FIEC
Date posted: 30 Mar 2025
Simon Medcroft has been appointed to serve as Director for Essex with the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC).
Simon has served as pastor at Danbury Mission for 20 years and will now be seconded to FIEC for one day a week to serve affiliated churches in Essex – one of the fastest growing but least churched counties in the UK.
everyday theology
What is the most urgent need of the church today?
Michael Reeves
Date posted: 27 Mar 2025
What is the most urgent need of the church today? Better leadership? Better training? Healthier giving? Orthodoxy? Moral integrity? Each of these are undoubtedly needs, but underneath them all lies something even more vital: gospel integrity.
In Luke 12, when thousands had gathered together to hear Jesus, He began to say to His disciples first: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (v1). That might have been unsurprising had He been warning the people as a whole, but He said it to his disciples first, to those who had already left all and followed Him.
‘Why do so many gospel churches favour the rich?’
Jim Sayers
Date posted: 22 Mar 2025
“There is nothing inherently admirable about people with money. Why, then, do so many gospel churches favour the rich?” That was the challenge given by Steve Kneale at a recent conference, challenging leaders to a “religion that is pure and undefiled” (James 2:27).
Many ministries target the rich and successful for “strategic” reasons, but does that mean we have shown favouritism in our giving to mission? It is much harder to fund gospel work among the poor; there is no payback and lots of help is needed.
Keswick Convention: Celebrating 150 years
Luke Randall
Date posted: 14 Mar 2025
The Keswick Convention will ‘prioritise the emerging generation,’ its Chief Executive says, as the event prepares to celebrate its landmark 150th anniversary this summer.
The convention was started in 1875 by Canon Thomas Harford-Battersby and Robert Wilson and was attended by three or four hundred people. Now, around 12,000 travel to the small Lake District town which has a population of just over 5,000.
When harvesting honey’s not so sweet
Gary Clayton
Date posted: 4 Feb 2025
A South Sudanese pastor is rejoicing – two years after a honey-harvesting accident left him facing a lifetime of pain.
Elisama Edward, rural dean for the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, Maridi, was flown to hospital after his plight came to the attention of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF).
God’s grace at work in Central Asia
Mark Foster
Date posted: 3 Feb 2025
Anniversaries give opportunity to look back with thankfulness, and forward with hope and confidence. This year marks the 75th ‘birthday’ of Slavic Gospel Association (UK).
From relatively small beginnings the work has grown and prospered through God’s hand of blessing on it, so that today in the lands of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Far East Russia, hundreds of missionaries and Christian workers are helped prayerfully and financially by the supporters of the Mission. The Mission’s sponsorship scheme enables prayer partners to direct their support and their prayers to the work of faithful and trusted men and women, labouring to advance the cause of the gospel.
a Jewish Christian perspective
To the Jew first
Joseph Steinberg
Date posted: 31 Jan 2025
As a leader in Christian mission to Jewish people, I often hear people quote Romans 1:16 where Paul writes, ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile.’
But recently I was asked to speak from Paul’s corresponding words a few verses later in 2:9 where he writes: ‘There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.’
Israel: How outreach is changing
Luke Randall
Date posted: 29 Jan 2025
A Ukrainian-born Jewish missionary says his evangelistic approach to Jewish people has changed since the attacks on 7 October 2023.
Misha Vayshengolts, who works for International Mission to Jewish People and lives in Tel-Aviv (interviewed by en last year), revealed that he has had to change how he communicates with Jewish people since Hamas attacked and killed over 1,200 Israelis.
Giving thanks for the life of Peter Rowan
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 29 Jan 2025
On 10 January, over 120 gathered in St Nicholas’ church in Sevenoaks to give thanks for the life of OMF (UK) Co-National Director Peter Rowan, with 900 tuning in online from across the world.
The service included songs chosen by Peter, moving tributes from his children, and an address delivered by Dr Krish Kandiah on 2 Timothy 4:1-8. ‘Peter lived a life of service; just like Paul he can say his life was poured out like a drink offering,’ Kandiah said. ‘He can say that he fought the good fight… but his life offers us a challenge – what will we do?’
everyday theology
The good life in Christ: rejoicing in suffering
Michael Reeves
Date posted: 5 Mar 2025
Is ‘the good life’ a life without suffering? Ease and prosperity in and of themselves are not really what make up the good life. Christ Himself was made like His weak and tempted brothers in order that He might help those who are tempted (Heb.2:16-18), and in the same manner, it is weak and suffering people that God has chosen to minister to the weak and suffering.
The great Refiner uses the days of small things. He uses the setbacks and discouragements, and even severe suffering, for our ultimate blessing. He did just that at the cross: it was through that darkest and most discouraging day that He definitively overturned and defeated the very root of darkness and suffering. Through that death He defeated death; through our comparatively light sufferings He is able to defeat our selfish independence and our foolish wandering and to make us more like His free and victorious Son. For those who have even glimpsed the unfettered beauty of Jesus, that thought itself puts mettle in our joy.
Puritans ‘sheikh up’ Gulf in 2025
David Woollin
Date posted: 3 Mar 2025
A series of remarkable conferences, including the Puritan Conference – Dubai 2025, have been held in the United Arab Emirates, for the first time, in January.
The first conference of the series saw a gathering of 106 ministries from 46 nations who collaborated to bring excellent Reformed resources to the world through the Global Resources and Training Initiative.
Record 4,000 toys distributed
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 25 Jan 2025
In Birmingham, 1,700 families received a record number of toys at Christmas from Birmingham City Mission, with the assistance of dozens of local companies.
Around 4,000 children received the gifts in December via the Birmingham City Mission’s (BCM) annual ToyLink project, with around 70 local companies who, between them, held toy collections, wrapped presents or delivered them to families.
World-first Christian app powered by AI launched
A first-of-its-kind Christian Artificial Intelligence (AI) app, that provides personalised, Scripture-based theological insights has been launched by technology company bible.ai.
The first religious app to use voice and virtual AI on a theological platform, bible.ai allows users to ask questions and provides personalised answers based on the Bible and other theological data sources.
letter from America
When should Christians fight to protect?
Josh Moody
Date posted: 23 Jan 2025
A former marine, Daniel Penny, was recently acquitted of all charges - despite putting a black homeless man, Jordan Neely, in a chokehold and killing him while they and others were travelling on a New York underground train.
Neely, apparently well-known locally for his Michael Jackson impressions, had allegedly made violent threats against other travellers on the subway car (as carriages are known). But he reportedly says he could not have lived with his conscience if any harm had come to his fellow passengers.
everyday evangelism
We’re almost ALL digital evangelists now
Glen Scrivener
Date posted: 27 Feb 2025
After this month I’m taking a break from writing this Everyday Evangelism column. It’s partly so I can focus more energy on reaching out online. This article explains a little of why.
There are 2.5 billion monthly users on YouTube. Three billion on Facebook. If these were countries, they would be easily the biggest countries on earth. How can we be missionaries to these lands?
Martyn Lloyd-Jones: From Doctor to Pastor
Ray Gaydon
Date posted: 22 Jan 2025
Martyn Lloyd-Jones was born in Cardiff on 20th December 1899 and died in London on St David’s Day 1981.
His early years were spent at Llangeitho in Cardiganshire and in his youth attended Daniel Rowlands Chapel in the village. His father, like so many others in Wales at that time, relocated to London in 1914 seeking a better life for himself and his family. A couple of years later, Martyn began medical training at St Bartholomew’s Hospital and, at the age of 23, earned a Doctorate in Medicine and became the chief clinical assistant to the King’s physician, Sir Thomas Horder.
Prison Bible programme sees remarkable results
Every movement has a moment when momentum becomes unstoppable. It doesn’t happen overnight — it’s a gradual process that eventually shifts everything. At Prison Fellowship International, that moment is unfolding right now within prisons around the world.
These pivotal shifts are what we call tipping points. A tipping point is a moment when the power of a few reaches a critical mass, when a small percentage of individuals within a system are so deeply transformed that they catalyse broader change. In prison systems, that means when just 20% of prisoners experience a true transformation, the other 80% are affected, ultimately leading to culture and behaviour shifts.