Prayer times literally ‘out of this world’
Luke Randall
Date posted: 8 Oct 2024
During the Covid pandemic, Christians had to learn how to engage with church differently because of national restrictions. Now, two NASA astronauts have taken virtual church to a whole new level.
Christians Barry Wilmore and Tracy Dyson, who were among the four astronauts on the Boeing Starliner’s flight to the International Space Station (ISS) in June, are members of Providence Baptist Church in Pasadena, Texas.
Beach missions bring smiles
en staff
Date posted: 1 Sep 2023
United Beach Missions (UBM) holds a variety of outreach events every summer.
Among them, is a ‘Smugglers Trail’ in Benllech, Anglesey.
Why is some ‘sound’ expository preaching just so dull and boring?
Jon Barrett
Date posted: 4 Oct 2024
‘The preacher pulls the little cord that turns on his lectern light and deals out his note cards like a riverboat gambler. The stakes have never been higher.
‘Two minutes from now he may have lost his listeners completely to their own thoughts, but at this minute he has them in the palm of his hand. The silence in the shabby church is deafening because everybody is listening to it. Everybody is listening including even himself. Everybody knows the kind of things he has told them before and not told them, but who knows what this time, out of the silence, he will tell them?’
Ten questions with: Oliver Wyncoll
1. How did you become a Christian?
I was blessed to grow up in a Christian family, attending an Open Brethren assembly in Banbury during my childhood. When I was eight, I went to a Christian boarding school in Bath for ten years. I was known as a Christian at school, but had no real relationship with Christ as my Lord and Saviour and rarely wanted to read the Bible on my own.
Three churches unite to launch new plant in Kidderminster
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 30 Sep 2024
In a display of unity, three churches in Worcestershire have overcome stylistic and theological differences to form a new church plant, recognised by the FIEC (Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches).
Set to officially launch in January 2025, the formation of the new Grace Church Kidderminster occurred after two churches in the Wyre Forest each approached the lead pastor of nearby Woodgreen Church, Richard Lacey, for help. With small and aging congregations, both Kidderminster Evangelical Church (KEC) and Christ Church Wyre Forest, (CCWF) had recognised a need for external assistance – they contacted Lacey within weeks of each other.
When pens are an answer to prayer
Luke Randall
Date posted: 17 Jul 2024
God answers prayer in amazing ways, and He did so in Kenya with just a few pens and pencils, as Robbie Toop of Mission Africa revealed.
The organisation has been sending mission teams to the African nation for ten years and sent Kathryn Lindsay, its first long-term worker, in 2023.
Post-election: A tale of two speeches
John Woods
Date posted: 17 Jul 2024
Preachers, politicians and stand-up comedians still speak to crowds. President Zelensky of Ukraine has combined the last two of these in his colourful career. He has demonstrated the power of well-chosen words delivered in the right place to the right people.
Many speeches have been delivered during the UK election campaign that drew to a decisive conclusion on 4 July.
letter from Madagascar
Prosperity gospel challenges evangelicals
Joel Morris
Date posted: 12 Sep 2024
Last month, I had the privilege to visit our ministry partner in Madagascar, Pastor Faly, who is based in a local church in the capital, Antananarivo.
His ministry is doing an impressive amount of gospel work in the community and across the nation – from publishing and printing theological books, to training preachers, a youth camp, a new medical ministry, and working with people with disabilities.
Nigeria believers face ‘brutal violence’
Luke Randall
Date posted: 10 Sep 2024
The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) has said, in a statement at the 56th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review in Geneva, Switzerland, that the Nigerian government must do more to protect Christians from the ‘brutal violence’ of extremist groups.
The WEA spoke of ‘patterns of repeated violence’ by extremist groups in Nigeria which are wiping out communities and displacing thousands. It called on the country’s government to do more to ‘disarm violent groups’ and ‘boost security’ in the nation.
Keswick 24: Feeling spiritually dry?
Mark Ellis
Date posted: 17 Jul 2024
I know what it’s like to feel dry. To feel Jesus is distant. To know in my head I couldn’t be closer; that my life is now hid in Christ. But not to sense that in my heart. To feel my eyesight is clouded and my heart is stale.
And the Keswick Convention is not the answer to my problem. But it can help. Because our good God gives us many ways to bring our hearts closer to the sunshine of the gospel; many ways that will melt our hearts as we look to Jesus. And what I love about the Convention is that it’s like an oasis. It’s an opportunity to be refreshed. And then sent back out again.
Scripture Union’s new boss aims for 95% of children
Iain Taylor
Date posted: 17 Jul 2024
Dave Newton took over as National Director of Scripture Union (SU) in March. Now he has his feet under the desk, Evangelicals Now asked him about his vision for its future.
SU was originally founded in 1867 to help adults and children know God through the Bible. Today, its 1,500 volunteers run over 60 camps and missions a year.
Teesside outreach sees 1,400 respond
Iain Taylor
Date posted: 7 Jul 2024
Festival Teesside, featuring evangelist Andrew Palau, was ‘a massive success’ and the ‘fruition of 15 years of hard work,’ says mission organiser Stephen Sutton.
Sutton, who is pastor of Beacon Baptist Church, Middlesborough, also said that the gospel seed had been sown and that local churches were now deploying ‘the skills of the harvest field’ which the Palau team provided.
Christian schools alarmed by charging of VAT on fees
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 24 Aug 2024
The imposition of VAT on private school fees threatens the survival of small Christian schools, which are ‘worlds away from the Harrows and Etons of this world’, the Association of Christian Teachers (ACT) is warning.
Meanwhile, the head of a small private school says Christian parents are being punished, and has challenged the church to support families and Christian education.
‘I was born with no eyes and my husband is blind too’
Philippa Lomas
Date posted: 22 Aug 2024
Philippa Lomas shares her journey of faith and discipleship:
I was born without any eyes and am completely blind. As you can probably imagine, this was a great shock to my parents, who had other, fully sighted, children. My parents are both Christians, but they really wondered what good God could bring out of the situation.
How do we help avoid evangelical civil war and promote real unity?
Andy Mason
Date posted: 17 Jul 2024
We conservative evangelicals need each other. The challenges before us are just too big. We really can’t be what God has called us to be on our own. Our future should really be together. The stewarding of the gospel in our time demands it.
However, our future is also very tied to our ability to get on with one another. We need a very good capacity to navigate internal disagreements. Above all, we need a deep resistance to fracture and splintering. Some might feel that this is unproblematic. After all, we have the gospel of God, and one would’ve thought that that was enough to overcome any difficulties. Things are, though, a bit more complicated.
Chance conversation leads to church gift of £10,000
Rob James
Date posted: 17 Jul 2024
‘A lift for Narberth’ is more than a building project. It sums up the church’s vision, says Phil Prosser, senior leader of Grace Church.
Narberth is a small but growing market town in south-west Wales with a lively shopping centre, arts and cultural scene, a very active community life, and a charismatic evangelical church with ‘high hopes’ for its future mission in the community.
Irish Presbyterians plan ahead
Luke Randall
Date posted: 17 Jul 2024
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) agreed at its General Assembly for 2024 that it needs a radical shake up of mission and ministry, while new Moderator Richard Murray called on the PCI to find better ways of connecting the gospel’s message to an uninterested and at times ‘hostile’ world.
About 1,000 ministers and elders from the denomination’s more than 500 congregations attended the three-day Assembly in Belfast which agreed to what it described as a ‘radical process that will see a comprehensive reconfiguration of ministry’ across the denomination.
New role for Tom Creedy
IVP
Date posted: 1 Jul 2024
Tom Creedy is taking up a new role as Publishing Director at IVP. Evangelical publisher IVP counts Amy Orr-Ewing, John Stott and Tim Chester among its authors, and says it is ‘committed to producing books that are faithful to the Bible, share the gospel with the world, and equip the church for mission and discipleship’.
IVP also produces books for an academic audience under its Apollos imprint, and has a global impact and reach through worldwide distribution licensing and partnerships.
Major consultation event addresses ‘recruitment crisis’
9:38
Date posted: 1 Jul 2024
Where is the next generation of church leaders coming from? Is there really a crisis in ministry recruitment? And if so, how can we work together to address it? This was the theme of a major consultation day held just recently.
The National Consultation Day organised by 9:38 – which serves local churches as they envision people in gospel ministry and raise up the next generation of gospel workers – was held at Yarnton Manor in Oxfordshire.
letter from Moldova
A ‘big God’ for a small and suffering land
Graeme Innes
Date posted: 1 Jul 2024
Until a couple of years ago, Moldova was a largely obscure backwater but, due to the war on its doorstep, Moldova now finds itself near the new dividing line between East and West.
Though great upheaval continues to dominate the region, Operation World statistics show that Moldova, and her neighbours Romania and Ukraine, are the three countries which have seen the greatest gospel growth within Europe in the last 35 years. After significant openness to Christ during the period following the collapse of the Soviet Union, there is now a deepening hunger for faithful Bible preaching amongst numerous evangelical churches in Moldova.
‘Your money & your life’ – but he lived
Gary Clayton
Date posted: 1 Jul 2024
Although John thought they only wanted his goods, they also wanted to take his life.
Early one morning, John was walking back from the market to his home in Habai village, in Papua New Guinea’s isolated Highlands. He was carrying three bags of flour and eight litres of oil, which he was hoping to sell so he could pay for his sons’ school fees.
Tom Houston: Gifted leader with huge global influence
Julia Cameron
Date posted: 1 Jul 2024
Tom Houston was one of the most highly-gifted leaders of his generation. He led three movements of global reach, bringing a fine mind to analysis and strategy, and an unusual gift in preaching.
Tom grew up in Dumbarton, on the Clyde, and read Classics at Glasgow University. From teenage years he was a keen member of Glasgow Youth for Christ, and through YFC he met his future wife, Hazel Findlay. At the age of 23 he was appointed pastor of Johnstone Baptist Church, while completing a BD, and teaching Greek to undergraduates. From there he became Chaplain of Quarriers Homes in Bridge of Weir, ministering to 500 deprived children, as well as 150 epileptic patients, and 250 staff.
Joy at Co-Mission’s ‘Revive’
Adam Malooly writes: Praise God! 23–25
June was a fantastic weekend away as people
from 29 Co-Mission
churches
around
London gathered on a field in Canterbury
to worship, pray, learn from God’s word
and enjoy fellowship.
The occasion was the Co-Mission REVIVE
festival, with this being its 19th year running.
We were
so grateful
to have over 2,000
people come together at the University of
Kent. Being Christians
in our corners of
London sometimes leaves us feeling isolated,
so to be reminded of God’s goodness
in
growing His church here in London for His
glory was a real encouragement. The theme
of the weekend was ‘Faithful through the
Storm’. We reflected on this topic and heard
from our main speakers: Matt Fuller (Pastor,
Christ Church Mayfair), Ray Galea (Pastor, Fellowship Dubai) and Jack Sara (President,
Bethlehem Bible College).
UCCF appoints new CEO
UCCF
Date posted: 17 Jul 2024
A new CEO, Matt Lillicrap, is heading to Christian student organisation UCCF.
He will begin his role at the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF) in the Autumn.