Christmas evangelism in the Welsh valleys
John-Edward Funnell
Date posted: 25 Dec 2025
Christmas is a unique time of year where popular culture seems to marry with the Christian experience. For just one month, the stigma of association with the local church is gone. The most hardened atheists decorate their homes and exchange gifts in celebration of the birth of the God they do not believe in.
December is the time that our otherwise secular society loves a little bit of Jesus, something that we at Noddfa Church capitalise on every year.
South Korea: Gospel work thrives
John-Edward Funnell
Date posted: 20 Nov 2025
I recently returned from a wonderful trip to Seoul in South Korea, where I was asked to speak at the “East Meets West” Conference held at SaRang Church as part of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Assembly [see additional WEA article here].
SaRang Church has a membership just short of 40,000 and has a heart for mission. They give huge amounts of resources to the re-evangelisation of Europe. “East Meets West” is led by Sam Ko, who has supported many revitalisation projects and church plants across our continent and has a lead role at the Union School of Theology in Wales.
Ireland transformed: Peace, prosperity & the gospel's quiet advance
John-Edward Funnell
Date posted: 18 Oct 2025
This month, I had the privilege of being invited to Southern Ireland to speak. It had been over a decade since I last visited the area, and I could not believe how much it had changed.
I met with a number of Baptist ministers seeking to plant churches in working-class estates around Cork, and I was asked to advise them accordingly. I was so encouraged by what I saw.
Who should I pray for?
I am sure that many readers of en are rightly concerned about the conflict in Iran and the wider Middle East. I have a vested interest as my eldest son serves our country bravely in the Royal Navy.
I have spent the last few weeks glued to the 24-hour news coverage and have read countless articles and expert opinion pieces on the tensions – all to gain as much of an insight as possible, so that I can pray in an informed way for the needs of our service men and women and for our Christian brothers and sisters in Iran.