Dateline Christianity
As we start 2016, Joy Horn has been discovering some significant anniversaries in Christian history for en
Events
In AD 66, after years of frustration under Roman rule, the Jewish Revolt broke out in Jerusalem against the occupiers. The desperate and bloody strife culminated in the sack of Jerusalem four years later by Titus, son of the Emperor Vespasian.
Spend it, save it, give it
Graham Beynon
Date posted: 1 Jan 2016
Graham Beynon on how to review our finances at the start of the new year
How is your bank balance?
OMF: ‘staying aligned’
Julia Cameron
Date posted: 1 Dec 2015
Julia Cameron on the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Overseas Missionary Fellowship
A spoof of the Bee Gees song ‘Staying Alive’, was sung by senior leaders at OMF’s 150th anniversary, as a gathering in July celebrated its beliefs, vision, mission and values.
GBM: a light in every city
JEB
Date posted: 1 Dec 2015
These days, the annual get-together of supporters of Grace Baptist Mission alternates between venues in London and the Midlands. On Saturday 24 October it was the turn of the Renewal Centre in Solihull.
Around 650 people gathered and the theme highlighted the needs of Europe under the banner ‘A Light in Every City.’ Graham Field, chairman of the Mission’s Council, began the day emphasising that our mission is determined by our master, the Lord Jesus Christ. Daryl Jones, mission coordinator, used a cricket analogy to emphasise the need for partnership in mission, especially between the churches and GBM.
A new church planned for Ilford
Simon Arscott
Date posted: 1 Jan 2016
Ilford is in the London Borough of Redbridge, in north-east Greater London and, like most of London, it is booming.
The effects of the 2012 Olympic Games can be still felt, with improved transport links; trains get you from Ilford to Liverpool Street station in 18 minutes. In the next five years Crossrail will arrive, promising even more regeneration. Ilford town centre has a shopping centre which acts as a hub for the wider area and the schools are strong academically. For many people, it is a popular place to live. Being east London, property prices are cheaper than other parts of London.
Terrorism from abroad
Dr Mahilan Hoole
Date posted: 1 Jan 2016
Dear Editor,
Let me give a Third World perspective on
the recent actions of Islamic extremists.
South Africa: a vision for new freedoms
Chris Sugden
Date posted: 1 Jan 2016
South Africa witnessed
two major campaigns in October and November. Tens of
thousands of students protested against a
rise in student fees, ‘Fees must fall’, and the
Anglican Archbishop, Thabo Makoba, and
the Director of the Evangelical Alliance of
South Africa, the Revd Moss Ntlha, led an
anti-corruption march of 6000 people.
These protests against the government by
churches which had
supported
the anti-apartheid struggle marks an important step
in the development of South Africa since
freedom from apartheid came in 1994.
Family worship
Ruth Williams
Date posted: 1 Feb 2016
Book Review
GOD’S ALPHABET FOR TRAINING IN TRUTH
An Alphabet from God’s Word for Transforming
Young Lives
Read review
Philippines: pastor shot
Morning Star News
Date posted: 1 Feb 2016
Christians on the island of Mindanao believe insurgents with the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, were responsible for shooting Pastor Feliciano ‘Cris’ Lasawang (50) and his 24-year-old son Darwin as they bathed in the Culaman River north of Jose Abad Santos, Davao del Sur Province, early one morning in November.
Pastor Lasawang was shot three times in the body and his son once in the face. The two men died at the site. They had conducted baptisms in the same river where they died, according to US-based Christian Aid Mission, which assists native ministries around the world. NPA rebels are suspected because the guerrillas believe church growth dampens insurgent recruitment efforts, and the pastor had received reports that the Communist militants were monitoring his movements.
Hemel Hempstead: fragile, yet confident
Sam Buckley
Date posted: 1 Feb 2016
Despite sadness in its first year, Christ Church Hemel (CCH), launched in December 2014, has seen the Lord’s guiding and sustaining hand throughout.
Spicer Street Church in St Albans were keen to plant another church and, three years ago, the door opened with an opportunity to plant into the neighbouring town of Hemel Hempstead. A core group was quickly identified, money was raised and Sam Buckley was given the opportunity to lead the plant. Lots of time was spent planning and praying in the lead up to the intended start date – early October in 2014.
IS THERE REVIVAL IN ETHIOPIA?
JEB
Date posted: 1 Feb 2016
In the last 20 years something like 70,000 people have come to Christ in Ethiopia.
This is a story untold by the secular media, but it is a vibrant movement of God’s Spirit in this land presently facing food shortages. Most of the people whose lives have been touched are from an Orthodox Church background, but many Muslims have found Christ too. Those who have seen what the Lord has been doing have been astonished.
A day trip to Calais
Ruth Bullock
Date posted: 1 Feb 2016
Ruth Bullock tells us about a recent mission trip to the ‘Jungle’
In early December, seven Christians from Guildford set off for their first visit to the ‘Jungle’ refugee camp in Calais.
The culture war in South Africa
Philip Rosenthal reflects on how the church needs to up its game
Sometimes it is helpful to step back.
Mali: three killed
World Watch Monitor
Date posted: 1 Feb 2016
Eight young people were shot and three
killed when
an unidentified
gunman
opened fire outside a Christian radio station
in Mali on 17 December.
The motive for the attack on the Tahanint
radio station in Timbuktu is unknown, but
witnesses described the gunman as a turbaned
Tuareg. Tahanint, which means ‘mercy’ in
the local dialect, had just finished broadcasting for the day when the eight were shot outside the building. The radio station is closely linked with a local Baptist church and
evangelical mission.
Nigeria: sacrificial faith
Morning Star News
Date posted: 1 Dec 2015
Amid ongoing dangers, Christian leaders in Nigeria in October recalled the exemplary faith of indigenous missionaries who gave their lives in areas overrun by Islamic extremist militants.
While President Muhammadu Buhari told an India-African summit in late October that Islamic extremist group Boko Haram has been contained to ‘sporadic’ attacks in remote areas, leaders of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) told how Nigerian missionaries sent to those areas have suffered.
Taking every opportunity
Daniel Shwe
Date posted: 1 Dec 2015
How Christmas invitations led to conversions of Chinese students
My name is Daniel Shwe.
Oxford: Christ uncovered at CU mission
Alistair Reid
Date posted: 1 Apr 2015
Seventy-five years ago, the Christian Union at Oxford (OICCU) hastily threw together an outreach initiative to the university in the heart of the Second World War.
It was small and disorganised, and their speaker, Dr Martin Lloyd Jones, pulled out at the last minute with illness. But an enduring idea was born: a focussed initiative, once every three years, to give as many Oxford students as possible the opportunity to hear, engage with and respond to the gospel. That vision has remained constant, and so 9-14 February saw Uncover, the Silver Jubilee of triennial OICCU missions.
South Asian Concern celebrates
Victoria Vinet
Date posted: 1 Nov 2015
On 19 September, at the King’s Cross Baptist Church, there was cause for celebration as a congregation of supporters of the South Asian Concern (SAC) movement marked 25 years since their founding in 1989.
SAC is a charity focused on revealing the uniqueness of Christ in a cross-cultural effort to bring him among these multi-faith communities.
news in brief
Burma: building protested
Buddhist structures have been erected in a Baptist church compound, it was reported in late October.
Ethnic Karen Christians in Hpa-An, capital of Karen state, have protested a Buddhist pagoda and a stupa since building began in August. Myaing Kyee Ngu Sayadaw, a revered Buddhist abbot and founder of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, led the building despite the protests of the Christian community. The Karen Buddhist community reportedly did not support the monk’s decision. The Baptist church has been a functioning fixture at the site since 1919.
Assisting in Newport
Bernard Lewis
Date posted: 1 Dec 2015
On 17 October, Heath Church Cardiff and Emmanuel Chapel Newport met together to ordain Ben Fiddian to the Christian ministry and to induct him as assistant minister at Emmanuel.
The ordination was conducted by Wyn Hughes, the minister and elders of the Heath, while the induction was conducted by the minister of Emmanuel.
Yorkshire: ready for action
www.yorkshirecamps.org.uk
Date posted: 1 Jan 2016
November 21 and 22 saw the open day and dedication service for Netherside Hall, Yorkshire, the Yorkshire Camps venue that featured in April’s en.
After two weeks of torrential rain it was yet another answer to prayer that the official opening of Yorkshire Camps’ new venue was on a weekend which was dry, even if the countryside was dusted with snow.
