Christians and evangelists from all over the country gathered at Loughton Baptist Church in Milton Keynes to joyfully celebrate 150 years of God’s faithfulness to Outreach UK.
The mission organisation, born in 1874, started life as the Christian Colportage Association. A Colporteur (French col = collar, portage = to carry) was a person who carried a shoulder bag from which to sell Bibles and other Christian books and literature. In order to convey significance to subsequent generations, the name changed over the years from Christian Colportage Association to Home Evangelism and then to Outreach UK, as it is known today. More than 70 evangelists, supported by five Area Field Officers now work alongside churches, supporting and training others in sharing the good news one-to-one.
At the anniversary event, which took place on 2 November, encouraging reports were given. Duncan Hunter, Area Field Officer based in Manchester, spoke of the thrill of being involved in a joint outreach in Newcastle this year in partnership with Bible organisation Good News for Everyone, where local churches were given training sessions on door-to-door outreach before visiting 120,000 homes, offering a copy of the Explore magazine (Luke’s Gospel).
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