Leading evangelical missiologist Andrew Kirk dies
Daniel Kirk
Date posted: 1 Feb 2026
J. Andrew Kirk died on the first of January, at the age of 88, from an unexpected heart attack.
Kirk, an ordained Anglican minister for over 60 years, was a leading Evangelical missiologist in the second half of the 20th century, who was a co-founder of the influential Latin American Theological Fraternity (FTL in Spanish) as well as the London Institute of Contemporary Christianity (LICC). He wrote over 20 books, co-authored many more and wrote hundreds of journal articles; firstly as a New Testament scholar and then as a missiologist. His most important books were Liberation Theology: an Evangelical View from the Third World (1979), What is Mission? Theological Explorations (1999) and Being Human: An Historical Enquiry Into Who We Are (2019). Kirk visited and lectured in over a hundred countries and supervised postgraduate students from all the world’s continents.
Martin Goldsmith: Much-loved Jewish disciple of Jesus
Charles Gardner
Date posted: 21 Feb 2026
One of Britain’s most well-known Jewish disciples of Jesus, Martin Goldsmith, has died peacefully, aged 91, after an extraordinary life of service to Christ.
After ten colourful years as a missionary in South East Asia with the Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF), he served for over 50 years as a gifted teacher at All Nations Christian College in Hertfordshire.
Tom Muir
Sarah Robinson
Date posted: 25 Mar 2026
Tom Muir has been inducted into the role of Church Planting Director in the Free Church of Scotland.
The induction took place at a meeting of the Edinburgh and Perth Presbytery. The Free Church is seeking to strengthen church planting across the denomination and support the development of new gospel communities in the years ahead.
Adrian Brixey
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 27 Jan 2026
Adrian Brixey has been appointed the new Chief Executive Officer of Grace Baptist Mission and takes up the role this month. Adrian and his wife Antonia are members of Trinity Baptist Church, Gloucester, where he was an elder until the end of 2024. He will work alongside mission director Daryl Jones who will be retiring in the coming months.
Brixey brings a wealth of mission experience, including 11 years’ service in Thailand; and a UK-based ministry among refugees.
Andrew Anderson: FIEC President with zest for life
Mike Hitchings
Date posted: 24 Feb 2026
Andrew Anderson was called home on 1 November 2025. FIEC President in 1987, Andrew was the first to serve a longer term, becoming President again from 1992 to 1995.
Born on 2 June 1935 in Mill Hill, London, Andrew was converted at an early age. He was married to Pearl, who survives him; they had two daughters, Fiona and Colleen. He attended LSE and led the Christian Union there and went on to train at London Bible College.
Daniel Cozens
en staff
Date posted: 23 Feb 2026
Daniel Cozens, who has died suddenly, aged 81, was the founder of Through Faith Missions who also became well-known for pioneering the “Walk of 1,000 Men”.
A Church Times obituary by Paul Preston said that when he preached, “Daniel’s palm would be resting on his open Bible, his earnest expression engaging all in the room, as he gently helped us to place our hands into the hands of Jesus and look to Him, through His love and grace to prepare a place for us.”
Paul Kinnaird
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 14 Feb 2026
Paul Kinnaird has been appointed as the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches’ (FIEC’s) Director for Bristol. Kinnaird was the pastor of Bankhall Mission, Liverpool.
Kinnaird will use his “wisdom and ministry experience to serve church leaders on the ground in a way that FIEC is not able to do centrally,” said FIEC’s Communications and Media Officer Joel Murray. Graham Beynon, who leads FIEC’s team of local directors, said he is “delighted” to have Kinnaird on the team.
Tony Wales: Remembering a Christian publishing expert
Julia Cameron
Date posted: 8 Jan 2026
Tony Wales, who had a possibly unrivalled knowledge of global publishing, has died.
He was born in the Belgian Congo (now DRC) to missionary parents. His family returned to the UK when he was ten. His father was to lead Scripture Gift Mission (SGM).
Nick Williams
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 3 Feb 2026
Anglican evangelical mission agency CPAS (Church Pastoral Aid Society) has appointed Nick Williams as its Patronage Development Officer. His work in CPAS’ Patronage Team will commence in April.
Williams has been the vicar of Christ Church, Guildford, since 2011. He is “passionate about helping people discover who Jesus is and the difference He makes to their lives,” CPAS said. “He will bring his wealth of experience in church leadership and ministry to the role.”
Jamie Grant
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 28 Jan 2026
Highland Theological College (HTC), Dingwall, Scotland, has welcomed Dr Jamie Grant as its new Principal.
“With decades of experience in [Biblical] studies – particularly his renowned work on the Psalms – Dr Grant is well placed to lead HTC into its next chapter while keeping our mission at the centre: providing high-quality theological education rooted in the life of the church and engaged with the world,” HTC writes. His main teaching responsibilities are in the OT poetic texts, Biblical languages and hermeneutics.