Prioritising mission
Andrew Marsay
Date posted: 1 Jul 2017
Dear Editor,
John M’s article,
‘Mixing mission’ (en
May), highlights concerns about churches
no longer prioritising missions as they used
to. While this concern is understandable, the
power of the plea is diminished because no
biblical analysis of the problem is offered.
Mixing mission
John McLernon
Date posted: 1 May 2017
John McLernon, UK Director of People International, examines the relationship between mission agencies and the local church.
The Christian missionary community is approaching a pivotal point.
Modern mission pressures
Luke Jenner
Date posted: 1 Dec 2017
The Grace Baptist Mission (GBM)’s Annual Mission Day took place on 21 October and proved to be an encouraging time.
It contained the usual mix of missionary updates, the chance to pick up high-quality resources to help us to pray, give and think more effectively, and treasured fellowship with hundreds of other globally-minded Christians from across the UK.
Missional motherhood
Gloria Furman
Date posted: 1 Feb 2017
Gloria Furman on how the Second Coming throws a new light on being a mother
The missional vision of motherhood helps correct our nearsighted mothering.
Peterson, marriage & missions
Gavin Peacock
Date posted: 1 Sep 2017
Though we may be greatly distressed by the rise of the LGBT agenda, Gavin Peacock argues that we should seize the moment
Recently Eugene Peterson hit the headlines in the US with his affirmation of same-sex marriage.
Zambesi Mission: enabling not patronising
Mike Beresford Mission Director – Zambesi Mission
Date posted: 1 Dec 2017
Zambesi Mission (ZM) celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2017.
It was established in 1892 as a self-supporting, self-propagating mission in Malawi (formerly Nyasaland), a place then described as ‘beyond the habitation of white men’.
Making ‘gospel sandwiches’
Alex Hays
Date posted: 1 Dec 2017
Alex Hays shares news of some encouraging gospel work in Asia
It was Charles Spurgeon who said: ‘If you give a man the gospel, wrap it in a sandwich. And if you give a man a sandwich, wrap it in the gospel.’
Bearing fruit in old age
Jonathan Worsley
Date posted: 1 Dec 2017
Amongst the Israelites, old age was held in
high regard and respect for the elderly was
obligatory. Proverbs 16.31 tells us that, ‘grey
hair is the crown of glory.’ As a follicularly
challenged minister in his 30s it is easy to
subtly downplay the truth of such verses.
Unquestionably, modern Western society
does not honour old age to the extent to
which it once did.
Perhaps it is unsurprising, then, that 1.2
million elderly people
in England would
describe
themselves as chronically
lonely,
with almost half of
those going without
seeing anyone
for five days out of every week (Age UK). The astounding nature of
such statistics is only furthered when one
considers that by 2035 almost half of the
adult population will be over 65 (Office for
National Statistics). While many churches
are unquestionably working hard amongst
an aging population, Christian
resources
aimed at the elderly are comparatively sparse.
Just a boy amidst the Revival
Richard Bewes
Date posted: 1 Nov 2017
Richard Bewes recounts his childhood with missionary parents in East Africa
My parents were missionaries in Kenya.
Evangelist
Jeremy Brooks
Date posted: 1 Nov 2017
On 9 September, over 150 people gathered
for the
induction of Peter Sherwood as
evangelist at Welcome Hall Evangelical
Church (WHEC), Bromsgrove.
Pastor Brooks explained how the elders
had been seeking the Lord’s will over the
appointment of a second full-time worker for over a year, and were
increasingly
convinced that the role should be that of
an evangelist. In March, Peter Sherwood
was put in touch with Pastor Brooks by a
mutual contact, and after an extended period of prayerful consideration, was called by
WHEC in July.
Good news in F.E. Colleges
Claire Povey
Date posted: 1 Nov 2017
It all started for Festive ten years ago.
An eclectic mix of people with a heart for Further Education Colleges and Sixth Forms sat around a table and prayed for God to take what they had and multiply it.
Churches in jeopardy
Eric Barger
Date posted: 1 Dec 2017
Eric Barger on the liberal roots of the Emergent Church
Over a century ago, spiritual liberalism swept through the once-sound mainline denominations, wreaking theological havoc on anyone in its path.
Canada: new confessing Anglicanism
Andrew Symes
Date posted: 1 Dec 2017
The Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC)
consists of over 70 congregations, which
over the past ten years have seceded from
the Anglican Church of Canada (ACoC), or
have begun as new plants.
The movement
began with
biblical-ly orthodox groups coming
together as
‘Anglican Essentials’ in the 1990s, to re-state
the basics of apostolic faith in a context of
increasing influence of secularist and liberal
thinking among the leadership of Anglican
and other mainline churches.
Letter from America
Wars and rumours of wars
Josh Moody
Date posted: 1 Dec 2017
Many of us would suppose that we live in unusually disturbed times.
A leading relief organisation in America estimates that they are dealing with, on average, far more serious crises in the early part of this century than in previous decades. There appears to be a growing flame of upsets, civil wars, brutality – and downright barbarism. Not to mention North Korea: what on earth is the world going to do about that most unstable situation?
Beach, teach and reach
J.P. Earnest
Date posted: 1 Oct 2017
The two-week-long OAM Tenby beach mission took place during July and August on the sunny Pembrokeshire coast.
Converted through the work of a beach mission, each summer this writer now leads the work, beginning every day with personal and team devotions and prayer times, before leaving for the beach.
Just who is raising objections?
Chris Sugden
Date posted: 1 Oct 2017
Five bishops in the Anglican Church of Australia have asked their church lawyers whether bishops can take part in consecrating another bishop of a church which is not formally part of the Anglican Communion.
They raised objections to the consecration in May of the Rt Revd Andrew Lines of the Anglican Church in North America by the Archbishop of Sydney and bishops of Tasmania and Northwest Australia. These proceedings were set to dominate the meetings of the Church’s General Synod in September.
The Third Degree
The last best opportunity
Kate Duncan
Date posted: 1 Oct 2017
University is a key moment.
From day one, university promises a chance to reinvent yourself, to make lifelong friends and to load your CV with qualifications that will guarantee you your dream job upon graduating.
Acts in Aberystwyth
Dylan Brady
Date posted: 1 Oct 2017
August saw 1,000 believers descend on Aberystwyth for the annual Evangelical Movement of Wales Aberystwyth Conference.
The main speaker for the week was Art Azurdia, a pastor and professor from Portland, USA. He spoke from Acts, with the theme for the week being Spirit Empowered Mission. He faithfully and dynamically explained what Pentecost means for today.
Ailish Ferguson Eves 1938 –2017
Ray Porter
Date posted: 1 Oct 2017
Her Irish Christian name reflected her ancestry, but she died with a traditional Batak scarf (ulos) around her neck, signifying her adoption into the Hasibuan clan during her time working in North Sumatra, Indonesia.
Converted at the age of 15 through the ministry of Humphrey Newman at St John’s Church Welling, she went to university in Leeds, then taught RE in Yorkshire. After further study at London Bible College she was sent to Asia with OMF in March 1969 by Sidcup Baptist Church. She served in Bandung, West Java, as a lay Elder in the Gereja Kristen Indonesia, whose members were mainly Chinese. She preached, taught and counselled regularly in the congregations, but her greatest ministry was to students and other young people.
standing together
The yawning gap
Graham Nicholls
Date posted: 1 Aug 2017
‘Sending missionaries abroad is boring.
‘It belongs to a bygone pioneering age. It’s part of cultural imperialism. It’s no longer necessary. It’s not a priority.’
news in brief
Africa: Study Bible
Earlier this year, Oasis International launched the Africa Study Bible, with notes by more than 300 African pastors and scholars.
The Study Bible uses the New Living Translation and contains more than 2,600 features casting light on Scripture from an African perspective. Christian ministry African Christian Textbooks is a ‘cornerstone partner for the distribution’, according to Oasis.
