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Date posted: 1 Oct 2018

The government opened a consultation¹ in July (closing on 7 November) on Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education, seeking views on the draft regulations and statutory guidance to schools.

This is already part of the curriculum in most schools as PHSE, but is due to become compulsory. Many parents, including Christians, are abdicating their responsibility to teach sex and relationships to their own children. Aware of this, the government has taken the chance to construct a curriculum which includes some helpful elements, but also some unhelpful teaching about sex and family life.

It is with a sense of great anticipation and with thankfulness to God that the congregation of Stranmillis Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Belfast returned to its normal location in September.

For the past 12 months the church has been in a period of transition. Having vacated their normal location at 36 Stranmillis Road at the end of July 2017, due to the major building and redevelopment project, services of worship relocated to Stranmillis University College on Sunday mornings and to Lisburn Road Hall in the evenings.

On 3 July George Verwer celebrated his 80th birthday and announced a tour of the UK to 20 or so train stations to give friends a chance to meet him and pray.

He said he needed a ‘sabbatical’ from big events after last year’s OM 60th celebration. George said he wanted to be able to have time to sit with people, and big parties don’t allow for that. So through July and August he plans to sit in coffee shops and train stations for a few hours so people can have a few minutes conversation, ‘maybe a prayer and for sure a photo – for me maybe a few tears’.

‘A name change on its own doesn’t really mean much… but it’s a great opportunity for us to use this to talk to people in Enfield about Jesus!’ said pastor, Nathan Howard, to a room full of church members.

And so it was put to the church: a ‘relaunch’ as Enfield Evangelical Free Church became Enfield Town Community Church. There would be new signage, a new website and a timely excuse for a big invitation to all their community.

In the 2001 census Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims represented 4.6% of the population of England and Wales.

This rose to about 7% in 2011 and is expected to be over 10% in the 2021 census. A conservative estimate is that people of these faiths will constitute over a quarter of the population of England and Wales by 2050 in only about 30 years time. Many inner city areas have seen church after church closed down, with some being converted into mosques or temples. What is the church doing to reach this burgeoning mission field on our doorstep?

The new-look Association Day ‘Foundations 18’ took place on 7 July with the theme ‘Growing and Going’, held at a new venue, the Faith Mission Centre at Earl Stonham outside Stowmarket.

Lewis Allen of Huddersfield preached twice, supplemented by seminars from Graham Daniels, Ray Evans and Jim Sayers.

During the week beginning 13 May, the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland held its annual assembly meetings in Lisburn.

The 118 churches across the island work together in evangelism, church planting, mission, training, women’s and youth work. The assembly kicked off with ‘Association Sunday’, when churches are encouraged to engage in pulpit swaps and joint services.

A mission in the tradition of Billy Graham, with his grandson Will Graham preaching, took place in the Falkirk Stadium during June.

Central Scotland Will Graham Celebration of Hope was advertised as ‘not just an evangelistic event; it is a process of prayer, training, outreach, and follow-up that takes place over a 12-month period – and it begins and ends with the local church’. Around 9,500 people attended over the weekend, with 31,000 watching on mobile devices from 87 countries across the world. 65% of the spiritual responses to the event came from those under the age of 35. Will Graham preached with clarity and conviction: about the prodigal son; time; and the thief on the cross at the finale on Sunday.

The Pastor Training International (PTI) and Christian Books Worldwide (CBW) supporter’s day on 12 May was inspiring.

With reports from across the globe showing how the work of PTI and CBW has grown, a highlight was Pastor Andrew, from Myanmar, sharing how PTI’s training benefits local pastors. Many new churches have been planted in the rural Buddhist country. Congregations have grown, with many new converts, but pastors need training in how to disciple and feed them. PTI encourages pastors to read the text carefully, to interpret its true meaning, then preach and apply it.

Between 8 August and 11 November, The Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Scripture Readers is asking churches, Association (SASRA) join a to individuals small groups and Prayer Event called 100days.

SASRA shares the gospel with serving personnel in the Army and the RAF. It is able to go ‘behind the wire’ where local churches can’t, with 16 uniformed Scripture Readers, all of whom have served in the Military.

Some 60 Christian coders, designers and entrepreneurs completed an intensive weekend of computer programming to help the church and charitable projects, in the early Autumn.

The event, held at the Innovation Warehouse in central London, started with short project pitches. Teams were then formed to work on the different ideas. Projects included one to aid people struggling with depression or addiction to get help right when they need it from trusted family or friends.

The purchase of an historic church building in Lancaster in recent months provided Moorlands Church with the opportunity for more gospel growth.

Thirteen years ago, Moorlands Church Lancaster had a fresh start. Originally founded as a Brethren Assembly in 1940, the congregation had dwindled to the point of closure when it was revitalised by a team of people moving into the area, including the church’s first full-time pastor, Danny Rurlander. The church resolved to prioritise the proclamation of the Word of God in the city, trusting Paul’s words in Colossians that it is the gospel which brings the growth.

James Seddon’s challenging hymn ‘Go Forth and Tell’ was the title for The Open-Air Mission’s training day held on 14 April in Bromsgrove.

160 people interested in open-air evangelism attended from different parts of the country. After the hymn, which set the tone for the day, Mike Mellor tackled the subject ‘How do we keep going?’ We were exhorted to persevere in our service for the Lord. What motivated the apostle Paul in his gospel endeavours should also motivate us to continue.

‘Questions for Life’ is a new initiative which will allow many office workers across Central London to hear about Jesus Christ from their own Christian colleagues.

Across the month of March, individual Christians, workplace Christian groups, and the ‘Gospel at Work’ Lunchtime Talks network are making a special effort to take Jesus Christ’s answers to life’s biggest questions into their workplaces.

Over a hundred gathered for this year’s ‘Connected’ leadership conference at Dewsbury Evangelical Church, drawing in (mostly) men from the North of England.

In a period of profound changes in our culture, the theme of this year’s conference was ‘Things we dare not forget’. John Benton was the main speaker, giving two papers and sharing an afternoon Q & A platform with Luke Jenner (Pastor, Grace Baptist Church Halifax). There was also an informative and encouraging church reports session with six ‘messengers’ from across the footprint of the conference.

‘The Christian Union should be banned from having a freshers’ stand.’

This was the unilateral announcement last October (2017) of two rogue members of Oxford’s Balliol College Junior Common Room Committee. This was to make the Balliol freshers’ fair a ‘safe, secular space’. This decision was subsequently overturned by an irate student body, but the incident caught the attention of the national media.