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Nicola Laver

Date posted: 1 Oct 2022

With modern slavery in the UK escalating, evangelical churches are being challenged to dedicate Sunday 25 September to prayer and taking action to help trafficking victims.

‘Freedom Sunday’, coordinated by the International Justice Mission (IJM), has been chosen as a day dedicated in the UK and abroad for corporate prayer for individuals trafficked into modern slavery – and to take action to end it.

The Free Church of Scotland’s 69th School in Theology began with the life of Alexander Moody Stuart by the Rev John W. Keddie.

It was a resounding and thrilling commencement to the School, writes E.T. Kirkland. It is important to note that this is not a conference but a school, meaning the papers are given by those who regularly attend as opposed to recruiting conference speakers. This has the benefit of enabling ministers to study a particular subject which ordinarily they may not do. Because of this, the quality of the papers exceeds those delivered at conference level.

Iain Taylor

Date posted: 1 Feb 2022

Meron (Mary) Haile has become the first woman missionary from Ethiopia to be a part of Serving in Mission (SIM) UK’s Engage programme. The 29-year-old is now serving with Inspire at St James, Clerkenwell, as part of SIM’s strategy of bringing experienced workers from overseas to work with churches in their multicultural contexts.

Engage helps (mainly urban) UK evangelical churches to share the gospel cross-culturally with the different ethnic and religious communities now embedded where they are. Many churches now recognise the strategic gospel opportunity – on their own doorsteps – to reach those who have not heard the good news of Christ.

Nicola Laver

Date posted: 1 Aug 2022

From two to more than 120 people in nine years – a London church plant which began with a couple meeting individuals in the first year before launching as a living-room Bible study, is now planning to send its very first convert to start a new church in West London.

Malcolm Riley and his wife moved to London in 2013 with a desire to reach the next generation from the city centre. They came with literally nothing, having just left St Ebbe’s Oxford; with no staff team, no core group, no salary, no vicarage and no church building. ‘But we had two Bibles,’ said Malcolm.

The Keswick Convention 2022 brought thousands of Christians together this summer under the banner of ‘All One in Christ Jesus’ (see also en, August).

The theme was ‘Grateful’ and there was certainly much for which to be grateful, writes Emma Harrison.

Nicola Laver

Date posted: 1 Jul 2022

The gospel of Jesus Christ is not for Jews, a trustee of a Christian-Jewish council has claimed – suggesting that to think otherwise is anti-Semitic.

In an opinion piece in The Times newspaper calling for the end of Christian missions to convert Jews, Zaki Cooper (photo right), a trustee of the Council of Christians and Jews, cited historical Jewish massacres and anti-Semitism in England going back to the 1100s.

The Anglican Mission in England (AMiE) has two new bishops.

The AMiE Synod endorsed Tim Davies and Lee McMunn as Assistant Bishops under the leadership of Convocation Bishop Andy Lines.

Around 70 delegates attended the ‘In a Big Country’ conference about rural ministry held at Dingwall Free Church in Scotland.

The conference, which was organised by the Free Church of Scotland, was a great opportunity for delegates to study God’s word, to hear what He is doing in rural Scotland, and to encourage each other.

Welsh Baptist ministers spent some time recently focusing on the pressing issue of ‘Abuse of power in the local church’.

Phil Swann (see photo) of Llanelli Evangelical Church opened up a topic which the Baptist Union of Wales admits is not often talked about but ‘can do great harm’ to both ministers and members. ‘Recent public cases have drawn attention to how church leaders need be more aware of the potential abuses of power within the local church and the damaging effect this can have on those caught up in such situations,’ it said.

This summer young people and adult volunteers are coming together to run Sports Plus – seven, week-long, residential camps across five locations in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Sports Plus Director Ian Lancaster describes it as ‘serious sports action for the serious sporty young person.’ He added: ‘Competitive young people make friends with like-minded others from across the UK and come under the sound of the good news of Jesus. It is a vital work for these youngsters to start connecting their sport and faith – working out how the gospel enables them to play with freedom, and how it can define their identity in a performance driven world.’

Nicola Laver

Date posted: 1 Aug 2022

Around 120 people met on a damp Saturday in Cardiff to listen to renowned psychologist Dr Diane Langberg share her deep knowledge of different forms of abuse, grief and on ‘care for the caregiver’.

Dr Langberg has nearly 50 years’ experience working with trauma victims and survivors of different forms of abuse, ranging from sexual and physical abuse; experiences of war; and increasingly, abuse of power in churches.

Nicola Laver

Date posted: 1 Aug 2022

A new programme to help churches tackle issues of porn use and addiction within their congregations has been unveiled, against the background of rising consumption.

According to research carried out by the charity launching the programme, the Naked Truth Project, 13% of UK adults admitted to being addicted to watching pornography. The ‘Church Membership’ programme was launched at a House of Commons event, hosted by Tim Farron MP (photo) and attended by six other MPs and peers.

The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) is marking its centenary this year.

And to celebrate its 100th anniversary, the organisation has announced that it is gathering 100 gospel projects from around the country to enable church partnerships and fuel prayer for mission.

The 31st annual meeting of the Scottish Reformed Conference has taken place at Hamilton College.

Dr Joel Beeke from Heritage Reformed Congregation in Grand Rapids, USA was the main speaker. He preached on the words of Psalm 22 that Jesus reiterated at the Cross: ‘My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?’ In the course of his sermon, Dr Beeke reflected upon the profound depths of the real experience of Jesus whilst he prayed this, both what it does not mean and what it does mean. But also from the question ‘Why?’ – what was the purpose of this experience and the infinite love of God and the Lord Jesus Christ expressed in this cry. In his second address, he pressed upon Christians the urgent need to reflect upon the agony of Christ when we pass through sharp and painful experiences in life. He did so in a unique sermon of ten points each beginning with the letter ‘P’. In thanks, our chairman suggested adding another three points likewise beginning with ‘P’, to the positive pleasure of the people present!

Bob Marsden writes: To God be the glory, great things He has done, and He did great things in and through the life and ministry of Justin Mote, who died recently.

Justin was converted while at school and he was nurtured in the faith at Emmanuel Church, Northwood. He studied at Oak Hill but, being too young to be legally ordained, he served as a lay curate at St Mary’s Basingstoke with Alex Ross.

Iain Taylor

Date posted: 1 Jul 2022

Is it possible to be a committed Christian entrepreneur in the world of Scotch whisky? Duncan McFadzean (photo) reckons so.

He is an Investment Banker to the Scotch whisky industry and co-founder of Creo, which exists to ‘connect, train and resource Christian entrepreneurs to advance the common good’.

A new resource for evangelicals in the Baptist Union has been launched.

Evangelicalbaptist.uk says: ‘This website exists to help equip the Baptist church family to face the challenges and take hold of the opportunities from an evangelical perspective. We need to hold on to the truth found in God’s word and continue to communicate it in a real, relevant, and radical way.’

Milla Ling-Davies

Date posted: 1 Apr 2022

CU mission weeks are back.

Until recently, the idea of hundreds of students sitting chair to chair in a marquee, baguettes in hand and listening to a gospel talk, has seemed laughably out of reach. In the past few weeks however, 77 Christian Unions across Great Britain were finally able to run mission weeks in-person again. After a two-year break, they were uncertain how these weeks of focused evangelistic events might be received.

A town crier has been successfully used by a church to attract people to its mission week.

Morley Town Crier Steven Holt was engaged by Morley Community Church in West Yorkshire to publicise its events.

Nicola Laver

Date posted: 1 May 2022

A North Carolina folk duo is preparing to come to Chelmsford, Essex to share the gospel through music.

Songs of the Folk (aka classically trained married couple Andrew and Lauren Cason), discovered that music opened doors for them into people’s lives to share the Good News of Christ – often to the most marginalised in society or those harder to reach.

It has been an exciting first half of 2022 for Affinity, a network of around 1,200 churches and Christian organisations working in partnership for the sake of the gospel, writes Graham Nicholls.

We were delighted to welcome new members to Affinity – churches from a diverse range of backgrounds including majority Jamaican, Congolese and Chinese churches.

Naunton Lane Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Cheltenham, has inducted a new minister, The Revd Matt Faux.

The appointment ends a three-year gap. Matt, who originally trained as a teacher, had completed a BA in Theology at Union School of Theology, Bridgend. Matt is married to Rachel and they have three boys: William, Joshua and Isaac.