Tiffany Barrans
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 7 Aug 2026
Tiffany Barrans has been appointed as the new CEO of Open Doors UK and Ireland. She succeeds Henrietta Blyth who has held the position for eight years.
Barrans has worked for nine years as Director of Advocacy at Open Doors International. “Tiffany’s long history of working in the wider Open Doors family to support and stand alongside the persecuted church is an excellent basis for leading Open Doors UK and Ireland into this new season,” the organisation says. Barrans has also worked as an international human-rights barrister, and has served as an independent consultant for several international Christian charities. She is due to start in the position on 7 September 2026.
Austrian EA
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 6 Aug 2026
Andrea Sturm-Lauter has taken over the role of chair of the Evangelical Alliance of Austria (EAÖ). It is the first time a woman will lead the Austrian organisation.
According to Evangelical Focus, Sturm-Lauter has been a member of the EAÖ’s executive committee for three years and is a member of the Federation of Evangelical Churches (BEG), where she served “for many years” as a pastoral assistant. It’s reported that she has degrees in music, education, theology and psychosocial counselling.
Iranian pastor
James Patterson
Date posted: 4 Aug 2026
Edward Hosvepian-Mehr, an Iranian pastor and doctor who led the Iranian Church for more than three decades, has died.
Born in Iran, Hosvepian-Mehr pastored there for over five decades before shifting focus to the Persian-speaking world.
Jeremy Duff
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 2 Aug 2026
Jeremy Duff, an evangelical, has been announced as the new Dean of Emmanuel Theological College. The college was formed through a partnership between the Bishops of the six Church of England dioceses in north-west England, who sought to combine the strengths of the region’s existing colleges to form a single institution.
“Across the North West, day in day out, churches, chaplaincies, church schools, Fresh Expressions and cathedrals are doing a brilliant job in sharing the love of Jesus in their communities,” Duff said. “Emmanuel has a joyful but weighty calling to form … leaders to serve and empower that work.”
Mark Burkill
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 1 Aug 2026
Mark Burkill is stepping down as chairman of evangelical think tank the Latimer Trust.
He told en: “It was a critical time for Latimer when I took over as chairman in the year 2000. John Stott and Jim Packer both assured me then that good theology counts in the end. In the years since then, our focus on Anglican doctrine and history has indeed proved fruitful. The Trust is in good hands to carry on serving the worldwide church in this way in the future.”
Lord Mackay: A personal appreciation
David Baker
Date posted: 31 Jul 2026
Many years ago, Lord Mackay of Clashfern, who died on 7 July, aged 99, was kind enough to invite me for tea at the Palace of Westminster. This was not through any merit or distinction on my part. At the time, I was working as a young assistant minister at a church in East London.
In the small youth group that my wife and I ran at the time, there was a teenage boy who was distinctive among his secular peers in the area not only for being a Christian but also, in the ultimate act of rebellion, for being a young Conservative! (This was in an area where even the vicar put up Vote Labour posters!)
Colleges appoint 'dual' principal
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 23 Jul 2026
A pair of evangelical Anglican colleges have appointed a “dual” Executive Principal.
Sean Doherty will hold an oversight role for both Trinity College Bristol and St Mellitus College in a “new dual-institution leadership model”. Doherty has been principal of Trinity College since 2019; prior to that, he was part of the St Mellitus College staff team – first as Tutor and Lecturer in Ethics, and later as Director of Studies.
John Stott: 'A faithful servant to the very end'
Ros Clarke
Date posted: 12 Jul 2026
One of the most popular strands in the long-running Church Society podcasts looks at some of the great Anglican heroes (and heroines!) of the faith.
From Thomas Cranmer to Josephine Butler, from Lady Mary Vere to William Wilberforce, we have seen how God used men and women to build His church and bring the gospel to this nation and beyond.
Tanner Smith
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 5 Jul 2026
Tanner Smith, a star of Netflix show Love on the Spectrum U.S., has spoken publicly about what it means to be a Christian.
On the show, Smith mentioned his Christian faith multiple times, and, in a recent social media clip shared by podcaster Ryan Miller, Smith expanded on his gospel understanding: “My [mum] told me it’s not okay to just be good … you have to accept Jesus in your heart … and you have to know that He died on the cross for our sins.”
Rick Simpson
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 5 Jul 2026
Rick Simpson, former President of the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union (OICCU), is the new Bishop of Durham.
According to the BBC, Simpson said: “The church not handling power well, and its leaders forgetting humility, remain massive issues we have to remedy. I am here to try to bring love and encouragement to our local churches.”
Birmingham City Mission
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 4 Jul 2026
Birmingham City Mission (BCM) says Giles Coghlan is to be its new CEO. He will take over from Wes Erpen who is to retire after around 50 years’ service with BCM – 30 years as CEO.
Giles is a former city missionary with BCM and has maintained contact ever since. In the last few years, he has worked as a financial markets analyst and is actively involved with his local church, Grace Community Church, Tipton.
Joe Weller
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 2 Jul 2026
British internet personality Joe Weller says he’s been “saved by the Lord Jesus Christ”.
“Never did I think I’d be saying those words,” said Weller – who has more than 5 million YouTube subscribers – when he recorded a video posted to social media. “I thought it was a load of nonsense, but when it makes sense, it really does make sense,” he added. “[Jesus] has transformed me, He has renewed my mind, He is the truth, the way, the life, that we are all searching for.”
John Lennox & Steven Bartlett
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 1 Jul 2026
Reflecting on his podcast episode with Christian apologist and mathematician John Lennox, the entrepreneur Steven Bartlett wrote on social media: “I didn’t feel like I was being pushed towards an answer. Instead I was being invited to think more honestly about the questions.”
Lennox was a guest on Bartlett’s The Diary of a CEO podcast – which has over 17 million subscribers on YouTube – to talk about faith, artificial intelligence, and more. The duo’s conversation has acquired over 2 million views on YouTube alone.
Simon Byrne
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 30 Jun 2026
Simon Byrne has been appointed as en’s new Managing Director.
He comes to en from True Freedom Trust. Byrne has also been involved in helping the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) establish The Ephesian Fund – for which he continues to work on a part-time basis.
Dale Rhoton
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 26 Jun 2026
Dale Rhoton, one of the co-founders of international mission organisation Operation Mobilisation (OM), has died at the age of 88.
Rhoton was born in 1938 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. While studying at Maryville College in Tennessee, Rhoton met fellow students George Verwer and Walter Borchard; in 1957 the trio went on a mission trip to Mexico during which they distributed Christian literature. This outreach reportedly laid the foundation for what would become OM.
Duncan Woods
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 23 May 2026
Duncan Woods has been appointed as the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches’ (FIEC’s) Director for the North East. Woods joins a team of 13 local directors led by FIEC Associate National Director Graham Beynon.
Beynon said he is “delighted” that Woods is joining the team: “He brings lots [of] experience in local church ministry in the North East and so is ideal for this role.”
Former FIEC President Basil Howlett dies
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 22 May 2026
Basil Howlett, former President of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC), has died.
Howlett served as FIEC President from 1993–1994. In 2002, while ministering at Carey Baptist Church, Reading, Howlett became Secretary of the FIEC Pastors’ Association – now known as the Pastors’ Network, which aims to “strengthen ministers in independent evangelical churches through fellowship, encouragement, and mutual support in local church ministry”.
Tributes paid to evangelist Vijay Menon
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 21 May 2026
During a service of thanksgiving at Moulton Parish Church, Northampton, evangelist Vijay Menon – who died recently (see online obituary 1 May) – was described as having a “smile that so often reflected the deep assurance he had in the gospel”.
“To say that Vijay Menon lived a unique and extraordinary life would be the master of understatement,” began Lawrence English – a member of Moulton Church – during his tribute. “Throughout his whole life, he was driven by love for God and integrity, and an irrepressible sense of humour.”
