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Mission weeks are the focal point of a CU’s evangelistic campaign. These weeks are where CU members can invite their friends to hear the gospel being preached in a way that is persuasive, attractive and relevant.

Pod Bhogal, UCCF’s Head of Communications talks to Michael Ots (Associate Christian Union Staff Worker, itinerant evangelist and mission speaker) about his involvement with CU mission weeks this year.

Horizons

Principle: The gospel enlarges my horizons, giving me a concern for God’s world.

Consider this

Barry had been on a foreign holiday once or twice, but he’d basically gone for the sun. Though he loved to eat curry, he’d always been suspicious of immigrants. And he’d never paid much interest to foreign news unless our troops were involved. What had any of it got to do with him?

Lindsay Brown, International Director of The Lausanne Movement, gave the closing address at the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelisation.

The first hope of Congress leaders was, he said, for ‘a ringing affirmation of the uniqueness of Christ, and the truth of the biblical gospel; and a clear statement on evangelism and the mission of the Church — all rooted in Scripture’. The Congress drew 4,000 evangelical leaders and influencers from 198 nations. In addition, the event extended its reach to 650 GlobaLink sites in 91 countries.

Leonardo De Chirico

Date posted: 1 Dec 2010

Setting up a new Pontifical Council is not something that happens often in the Vatican, given the conservative nature of the institution.

Yet Pope Benedict XVI has just released the motu proprio document entitled Ubicumque et semper (‘Everywhere and always’) that establishes the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation.

It became known that a group of foreign extremists — ‘terrorists’ to most people — had re-grouped in London after being imprisoned and tortured in their own country. A City Missionary who spoke their language was anxious to find them, so he quietly sounded out some of his contacts, and after several unsuccessful attempts, met with them in an area that had become almost totally populated by ethnic minorities. He told them that he had come on behalf of the Christians of London to offer advice and sympathy. He spoke of God’s love and of his justice. Most of the group were antagonistic, intent on violence, but the City Missionary went back repeatedly to talk with them.

In one of London’s poorest areas a City Missionary walked through an overgrown garden to knock at a door. A man opened the door, but would not let him in. He was suspicious and troubled. After a short conversation, the missionary offered to return and tidy the garden. The work was done — and the missionary was invited indoors. A friendship developed, and the man began attending the local mission hall to play pool, and joined a Bible study. He began attending Sunday services at a local church, whose members regularly helped with his garden.

Missionaries on home assignment have many responsibilities. They talk to their mission, report to churches, reconnect with their home church, contact supporters, deal with health issues, see family and maybe get some holiday. This article is not addressed to them!

UCCF loves it when students hear, engage with and respond to the love of God expressed in Jesus Christ. We want students to ‘live life to the full’ — that is, to know that Jesus loves them and see that life with him is the best way to live.

Here are some testimonies from students, UCCF Staff Workers and Relay volunteers from this last year for you to enjoy.

All over the UK today, supermarket chains, shops and restaurants are selling halal meat.

We may find it on the menu at our children’s school or the local hospital, or be offered it when we go to a sporting event. If we go for a meal with Muslim friends, any meat we are served will probably be halal. It can be hard to avoid eating this meat, especially as it is often not labelled and little information is available to the consumer.

Being a child of missionary parents is not easy. Heidi Sand-Hart has written a book on the subject and spoke to EN about it.

EN: Tell us about your background. Were your parents missionaries?

Does God have a plan for London? People from all kinds of ethnic and cultural backgrounds from across the globe pass through or have become part of Britain’s capital city.

The world is in London. This means that, even apart from what might happen as people come for the Olympic Games in 2012, London has enormous potential in God’s purposes for worldwide mission and it seems that many Christians have begun to understand this.

One of the big surprises of the 20th century was the dramatic growth of the churches in the non-Western world.

A bigger surprise was that, as Philip Jenkins asserts, those churches growing fastest are all strongly supernaturally oriented. ‘In this thought world, prophecy is an everyday reality, while faith-healing, exorcism, and dream-visions are all basic components of religious sensibility.’

A fresh influx of old ladies converted to lively Christian faith in their 80s is now sorely needed to revitalise small local churches.

An influx of old gentlemen of that generation would also be wonderful but an old lady born in 1930 brings the following benefits to a local church that is in urgent need of major spiritual surgery:

I was born blind, without eyes. This came as a great shock to my parents, but, despite this, and their questions as to why God had allowed this to happen, they were determined to treat me as normally as possible. I was included in all family activities, and I went through mainstream education all the way from playschool to sixth form. It was a challenge, but, with help from God and friends, family and staff, I got through it.

I was raised in a Christian family and attended church and Sunday school regularly at Potton Baptist Church. I can’t say what date I became a Christian, but I remember always asking God to help and forgive me, right from a very young age. He is my best friend. I was 12 when I knew for sure I was a Christian and wanted to make my faith public by being baptised.