‘Why do so many gospel churches favour the rich?’
Jim Sayers
Date posted: 22 Mar 2025
“There is nothing inherently admirable about people with money. Why, then, do so many gospel churches favour the rich?” That was the challenge given by Steve Kneale at a recent conference, challenging leaders to a “religion that is pure and undefiled” (James 2:27).
Many ministries target the rich and successful for “strategic” reasons, but does that mean we have shown favouritism in our giving to mission? It is much harder to fund gospel work among the poor; there is no payback and lots of help is needed.
Zambia to Abingdon
Jim Sayers
Date posted: 1 Apr 2023
Abbey Baptist Church
in Abingdon has
a new pastor – from Zambia! Chris and
Helen Hawthorne enjoyed many years of
ministry in St John’s Wood in London, and
have spent three and a half years serving
with Grace Baptist Mission at Proclamation
Institute Zambia (PIZ). Chris was inducted
as pastor in Abingdon on 18 February, with
Richard Underwood from FIEC preaching.
Chris said Zambia has been a great gospel
opportunity. People want to speak about
Christ,
supermarkets play Matt Redman
songs, and Christians are welcomed at many
doors. ‘One day at PIZ, we were doing some
text work and the passage clearly convicted
everybody
in
the classroom. The whole
class went quiet. The following day we were
talking about preaching, and the way God
worked the previous day made it clear that
the power is not in the presentation (like
the big show often seen in Zambia), but
in being clear with the gospel. Our time
in Zambia further convinced me that the
heart of church ministry
is
teaching
the
Bible
really clearly and prayerfully, and
making
sure people understand what
it
means for their lives. There are some great
Zambian churches doing
just
that, and
seeing significant fruit.’
Grief and growth in Basildon
Jim Sayers
Date posted: 1 Apr 2022
With news of how God brings blessing and
new life out of the darkest of situations in
His church, Jim Sayers of the Association of
Grace Baptist Churches writes:
What happens when your church building
gets destroyed in an air raid? That happened
to the church in Chatham Road, Wandsworth
Common on 15 October 1940. After World
War 2, large numbers of Londoners moved
out to the new towns. A number of Grace
Baptist churches were planted in these new
towns in the 50s and 60s, a time of real
social change. So Fryerns Baptist Church was
planted in Basildon, Essex in 1954 to replace
the church in Wandsworth.
The gospel in African soil
Jim Sayers
Date posted: 1 Jun 2017
Why is Africa so prone to falling foul of pernicious prosperity teaching?
Ian Flanders produces radio Bible-teaching programmes for Francophone Africa with Grace Baptist Mission Radio.
Roger Cook 1941 –2016
Jim Sayers
Date posted: 1 Oct 2016
Roger’s great contribution in his many years of
service was developing radio ministry in both
France and Francophone Africa.
Known widely
among Grace Baptist
churches for his work
in GBM Radio at
Abingdon, he and his wife Helen began their
missionary service in Belgium. In 1967 they
were the first GBM missionaries to be sent
into Europe by their church in Hounslow, as
GBM adopted a church-based approach to
mission.
In 1969
they moved
to Mons,
where they worked to plant a church, coming face to face with the growing ‘practical
atheism’ of an otherwise Catholic culture.
What is a nation?
Jim Sayers
Date posted: 1 Apr 2016
As the debate over the united nations of Europe floods our media, Jim Sayers asks a pertinent question.
2016 is the year for the people of Britain to think hard about nationhood.
