On the UK church scene, we are often proud to own the term "evangelical" like a badge of honour, and yet how does this relate to our day-to-day, month by month, year by year expression of our local church?
The term "evangelical" centres on the authority of the Bible and personal conversion through faith in Jesus Christ, and is a core term used by many of us in identification of who we are. If you delve into specific groups of churches which hold to the teaching of the Bible closely, it is evident that they may not place the word "evangelical" on the church door, but they are evangelical.
The growth of mature, Bible-teaching churches which proclaim a message of hope to congregations is something to give thanks to God for; we see across our land vibrant churches teaching truth in a day when truth is not taught, we see churches embracing worship and praise, we see churches developing home groups to deepen fellowship and understanding and we see activities which engage with our communities, with love and respect.
It's crucial to know the places we are called to reach
Most of us can tell people how many people were at our service on Sunday. We are usually less certain …