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Michael Reeves

Date posted: 1 May 2021

A new theological centre along the lines of Tyndale House, Cambridge, is to open in Oxford this September.

Professor Michael A.G. Haykin, a regular contributor to en, will be serving as the first Director of Newton House when it is inaugurated.

en staff

Date posted: 1 May 2021

en explains the latest developments – and what may come

What has happened?

First, independent Christian safeguarding charity Thirtyone:eight published a ‘lessons learnt’ report into disgraced former minister Jonathan Fletcher’s time at Emmanuel Church Wimbledon from 1982 and 2012. Previously it had emerged that Fletcher had engaged in naked massages with men as well as beatings on their bare backsides, among other things.

Evangelism for Every Believer is the title of a new series on the website of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC).

FIEC Mission Director Andy Paterson explains the background to the launch of this new initiative:

Almost 1,000 church leaders have urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson not to impose controversial vaccine passports on churches in England.

In an open letter published a few days ago, the pastors and ministers say they are ‘are wholly opposed to this suggestion’ and say that to ‘deny people entry to hear this life-giving message and to receive this life-giving ministry would be a fundamental betrayal of Christ and the gospel.’

Jonny Reid

Date posted: 1 May 2021

Christians in Sport (CiS) is encouraging Christians to return to their sports clubs as lockdown measures ease across the UK.

Since March 2019 the majority of amateur sport has been under restrictions and since November 2020 all amateur sport clubs have been banned from training or competing together. With the stay-at-home order eased on 29 March, outdoor sports facilities have reopened and organised sports have been able to resume in England. Similar restrictions have been eased in other countries within the UK. Gyms and indoor sports facilities are all planned to open again in the next few months.

An evangelical congregational church in West Yorkshire is offering two different kinds of bread to its neighbourhood – the Bread of Life, and ordinary bread as well!

Each week Morley Community Church receives (free of charge) supplies of bread, confectionery, vegetables, fruit and innumerable packets of food of all descriptions. Pictured here is Ray Baker with some of the provisions.

Covid makes it more important than ever for Christians to be gossiping the gospel, according to the London City Mission.

Graham Miller, Chief Executive of London City Mission says: ‘Lots of meetings have been closed, but the opportunities for conversations are still there.’

Lis Goddard and Ed Shaw have become Co-Chairs of the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC), it has been announced.

Ed Shaw is pastor of Emmanuel City Centre Church in Bristol, a congregation established in recent years via a Bishop’s Mission Order. He is also Director of Living Out – an organisation run by same-sex-attracted Christians setting out an orthodox, Biblical view of sexuality.

More than 40,000 people have viewed a beautifully-illustrated presentation of Jesus in its first month of being released.

What is Christianity? was created by Christianity Explored Ministries (CEM). Using rich imagery and a voiceover from Thabiti Anyabwile, it tells the story of human history. It’s the story of our creation by God and our rebellion against Him; the story of salvation found only in Jesus.

The North West Gospel Partnership (NWGP) exists to help churches work together to reach the North West with the gospel. The region has a population of over 7 million people and so the task is great and complex. In recent months the Trustees have been revisiting and reviewing the Partnership’s purpose, aims and strategy. Mark Pickles tells us more:

To reach even 10% of the population (700,000 people) we would need 7,000 churches (assuming an average membership of 100); at present we have about 100. Put like that, the sheer size of the task is overwhelming. We are committed to the three-fold task of church planting, church revitalising and church strengthening.

David Skull (aka Skully) has been serving Grace Church Guildford for the past 13 years. In July he will be moving with his wife Naomi and their four children to lead Grace Plant Brighton. He explains how this happened.

Back in 2012, Montpelier Place Baptist Church sadly closed. It represented a community of Christians who had been gathering in Brighton since 1834. The building was demolished in 2017, but we don’t believe this is the end of the story. Grace Plant Brighton is sowing the seeds of a new church in central Brighton in 2021.

Chris Sugden

Date posted: 1 Feb 2021

Bishop Pat Harris, former Bishop of Northern Argentina and of Southwell and Nottingham, and onetime Secretary of Partnership for World Mission for the Church of England died peacefully in December.

His family write: ‘Patrick was a man of deep faith, with strong convictions as a Christian since his Army days as a young officer. From there he went to Oxford to study law (at Keble College) where he was President of the Christian Union. After attending theological college (Clifton Theological College, Bristol), he was a curate at St Ebbe’s in Oxford from 1960-63.

Dr Rachel Jordan-Wolf has taken over from Roy Crowne as executive director to lead HOPE Together in the UK.

Rachel has worked closely with HOPE Together since 2010, when she was the Church of England’s National Mission and Evangelism Advisor.

All Nations College has announced an ambitious plan to invest in technology for the College after a loss of £170,000 in expected income due to the pandemic.

They are budgeting £51,000 for a two-person team of ICT personnel that they say is needed. The scheme includes an ambitious new ‘Student Management System’ which will help All Nations to track and to manage all student data more effectively.

The Evangelical Movement of Wales writes:

‘Rather than holding our residential English language conference in Aberystwyth, we are making plans for the main speaker, Sinclair B. Ferguson, to preach in smaller venues around Wales in August. These meetings will also be live-streamed.

Two encouraging pieces of news from the Evangelical Movement of Wales (EMW). Steffan Job writes:

A group of officers and leaders from the camps and conference work have produced some online videos to fill the gap left by the summer cancellations, and so began Awr i blant (An hour for children).

Jonny Reid of Christians in Sport writes: In the first lockdown, Christians in Sport encouraged sportspeople to Pray STAY Say – encouraging Christians to stay in the lives of their sports mates. As part of that campaign we delivered five online sports quizzes with a short talk explaining the Christian faith. We’re thrilled that over 70,000 people joined in.

In November, the second lockdown saw elite sport able to continue, but for competitive amateur sportspeople, sport halted once more. However, the guidelines gave opportunities for sportspeople to do something outside with one other person, so we launched Train 1-2-1. This brand-new resource encouraged people to go for a run or cycle with friends, and then ask them three questions about Jesus’ identity, mission and call.

Along with churches throughout the country, Co-Mission churches in London are adjusting to life in the face of a global pandemic. We are finding new ways to keep congregations connected, preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and care practically for one another and our neighbours.

On Sunday 15 March, Dundonald Church met together for the last time before social-distancing rules made church gatherings impossible. Richard Coekin (Senior Pastor of Dundonald Church) led the congregation in this expanded version of the Lord’s Prayer:

en staff

Date posted: 1 Dec 2020

Scripture Union England and Wales (SU) has launched a mission framework, Revealing Jesus, based upon research undertaken about how people come to faith. Its aim is to see children and young people find a personal vibrant faith in Jesus.

It’s designed to connect with the 95% of under-18s who have no contact with church in England and Wales. In four steps, – Connect, Explore, Respond, Grow – young people are guided and supported on their faith journey.

Graham Miller of London City Mission writes:

Are we preaching the word in season and out of season? My friend, Jeremy Marshall, said that he’s never had so many take-ups for one-to-one Bible studies as he had at the beginning of lockdown. One of our missionaries, Olly Sherwood, had so many wanting to study with him that he had to train up extra study leaders. Preach the word in season and out of season.

Joel Murray of the FIEC describes how God has been answering the prayer of a church in Leatherhead:

How often do we really pray Ephesians 3:20, asking God to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine?

Evangelicals in the Church of England have been preparing to contend in the wake of the launch of Living in Love and Faith – while a new Anglican network has also been set up.

At the latest General Synod, a presentation was given on the new Living in Love and Faith (LLF) resources on issues of sexuality and gender.

With the aim of planting 30 churches by 2023, a Church Planting Director has been announced by the Free Church of Scotland.

The Revd Neil MacMillan said: ‘Planting new churches is a vital part of our mission in secular Scotland. As we sustain and nourish existing congregations, the gospel also drives us outwards to new places and new people. The most important element of this challenge is prayer, so pray for a movement of God’s Spirit in our nation so that we can do all this and much more.’