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The April edition of en covered the 6 April changes to access to NHS healthcare for missionaries based overseas.

The clarification of ‘ordinary resident’ has now been more clearly defined (!) by the government. This is the key criteria for receiving free NHS treatment, beyond emergency / GP treatment for returning missionaries, for whom until recently, an exemption existed.

The first service of Emmanuel Church Marlborough (ECM) was held on 19 April.

Behind Marlborough’s lovely exterior is a needy area in many ways, especially the need to hear about Jesus. Emmanuel Church Marlborough is a group of Christians who live in and around the town but until now have travelled to evangelical churches in other towns. The new church is not planned to be a cosy clique, nor one that competes with others, but to reach out to the community with the Bible’s message of God’s love in Christ.

Lancaster, 6 March 2005, 10am

In a tiny ‘gospel hall’ in a back street in Lancaster around 20 people begin to gather for the weekly meeting of Moorlands Church. The church is a mainly elderly congregation, who want to see their city reached for Jesus, but have found their numbers and energy dwindling. This morning, however, there is the excitement of a new beginning.

Yorkshire is a county which needs no introduction.

Famous for its landscapes, agriculture, industrial past and present, and modern commercial clout, its sporting success and the warmth (and pride) of its people, Yorkshire is a well-known brand.

Since its formation in 1991, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales (EPCEW) has been passionate about church planting.

Over the past two decades God has grown this little denomination from five congregations to 18, with churches in England, Wales and even Sweden and Germany. There remain, however, many places without a distinctively Presbyterian and Reformed influence and they see much work to be done. It is their prayer that God will continue to raise up churches upholding the inerrancy of Scripture, adhering to the Westminster Standards, and fulfilling the Great Commission.

Each Monday evening, for the last 12 months or a so, a small group has come together to pray.

They were praying for the provision of a centre which could provide a strategic base for gospel witness amongst young people in Yorkshire and beyond. On 24 February God answered their prayers in a remarkable way. To understand the story we have to roll back around three years.

The Easter period had some very changeable weather conditions. This was a feature of the two separate weeks of the Word Alive convention at Prestatyn Sands, N. Wales which ran from 28 March – 2 April and 2 – 6 April.

The main speaker for both weeks was David Cook, Principal of Sydney Missionary and Bible College, Australia. He took the gathered participants through sections of the book of Romans with great insight and encouragement. During Week 1 the main marquee was damaged by the wind and this led to one morning Bible Reading having to be received by everyone via TV in their chalets. The second week had mixed weather and a lot of sea mist, which was eerily beautiful and did not diminish the enjoyment of a great time.

The Banner of Truth Leicester Conference, 13-16 April featured a galaxy of speakers. Alongside Kevin De Young from Michigan the main speakers were Stuart Olyott and Michael Reeves ably assisted by Alan Davey (SW France), Geof Kingswood from Canada and Gary Brady and Geof Thomas.

The theme was ‘The Suffering of this Present Time.’ Kevin De Young set out the rational behind our suffering in the suffering of Christ and our identity with him. There was a mind blowing sermon focussing on the shame of the cross. Stuart Olyott took the pattern of ministerial suffering set by Paul in 2 Corinthians. This included some remarkable words of personal testimony which were both humourous and profound. Michael Reeves spoke on Puritan teaching concerning suffering and suffering in the life of Spurgeon. Alan Davey covered the cost of commitment on the mission field. Father and son-in-law Geof Thomas and Gary Brady provided the opening and closing sermons. At first glance the theme may have appeared gloomy but the speakers handled it with wisdom, warmth and scriptural integrity. It was a particularly affecting time of fellowship. Well done Banner!

Saved 2 Serve (S2S) is a conference for people ages 15 – 25 considering Christian mission. It took place in Ware on 28 March.

The main speaker was David Hircock, and the theme was on the work of the Holy Spirit in conversion, conviction, transformation and reassurance. A reminder was given that life is not going to be a ‘spiritual high’. Sometimes we feel distant from God, other times we are keenly aware of his presence. But God is always with us. Our feelings don't affect that fact.

‘We shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us.’

So said Winston Churchill defending the adversarial nature of the House of Commons debating chamber. The same could be said of our church buildings. They are monuments to the era in which they were built and reflect its values.

Concerns have been raised regarding the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015 which will come into force on 6 April and as to how these will affect missionaries who require hospital treatment.

The Government has taken the view that, since the UK has a residency-based health-care system, free NHS hospital treatment should only be provided to visitors in rare cases, for example when they are working for the UK Government (including on humanitarian projects) or when an international obligation requires it.

Sixty years after Billy Graham held the 1954 Greater London Crusade in the old Harringay Arena, another gospel mission in Harringay took place in mid-October with an amazing conversion story with a link to that original event.

A lady who went to hear Billy Graham preach the gospel in the Harringay Arena in 1954 left that event without committing her life to Christ but 60 years later she came to the ‘Hope For Harringay’ mission and received Jesus as her Saviour! Like the others who came to the Saviour of the world during the mission, she shone with the joy of her salvation.

After their church building was compulsory purchased, one might think that the church family, moving into a new building, might just take a few years to settle.

But this has not been the case at Enfield Evangelical Free Church (EEFC) in the north of London.

A new church is being planted on the South Bank of the Thames in London during 2015, and just in case you were wondering about the reasoning behind this, the FIEC have put together a very valuable Q&A about the real need for another Bible-centred church in the metropolis that is the UK capital city.

Q: Aren’t there already lots of gospel churches in London?

‘Afflicting the comfortable’ could be taken as the keynote of this year’s Carey Conference held at the Hayes, Swanick, 6-8 January.

The main speaker was Professor Greg Beale of Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. He is the author of a landmark and voluminous commentary on the Greek text of the book of Revelation and he treated the participants to a magisterial introduction to John’s apocalypse. The book is meant to be understood symbolically, according to its opening verse. The dramatic word pictures of the apostle will sedate the nominal Christian but shock God’s true people into action. There are seven churches addressed in the opening chapters of which only two are faithful. The others must change or be judged with the world. Hence John’s writing is addressed first to the whole professed church, but only the faithful remnant will ultimately benefit.

There was a glossy feel to the annual meetings of the Grace Baptist Mission on Saturday 27 October.

First of all, the venue, the Friends Meeting House in Euston, London had been refurbished – new seats, new stage, flashy data projector equipment and perhaps best of all new loos!

The first week of November saw over 460 delegates meeting on the Norfolk coast for what is fast-becoming a key gathering for gospel-focused leaders in the free churches. It was this year’s FIEC Leaders’ Conference. Julian Hardyman (Eden Baptist, Cambridge) described it as ‘unmissable’ and ‘one of the highlights of my year’!

By any standards it was an outstanding time with spiritually nourishing, expository preaching, excellent seminars, encouraging reports of developments within the FIEC family of churches, well-led corporate worship and many informal opportunities to encourage one another in ministry. In the final session, John Stevens (FIEC national director) said simply: ‘I think we met the Lord Jesus together’. It would be hard to find a better or truer description of the week.

A service of thanksgiving for the new building of Lower Ford Street Baptist Church (LFSBC) in Coventry was held on 11 October.

The official opening had already taken place on 14 September when the Lord Mayor of Coventry, the local MP, and those involved in the construction attended. The previous building, strategically located on the edge of the city centre near to Coventry University and opened in 1857, was no longer fit for purpose. Rebuilding started in 2013. Hillfields Evangelical Baptist Church and Durbar Avenue Evangelical Church kindly shared their services/buildings while LFSBC were ‘homeless’.

‘Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them’ (Psalm 111:2), were the words with which Martin Leech, director of the European Missionary Fellowship (EMF) opened one of the sessions at the mission’s October Autumn Conference.

EMF missionaries came from Belarus, Belgium, Czech Republic, Romania, Spain and the UK to stay at Guessens, Hertfordshire – the Mission’s HQ – for a long weekend of Bible ministry, reports, prayer, discussion and fellowship. Public meetings were held at Guessens on the Friday evening at which Matt Hill, the new director of Spanish Christian publishing house Editorial Peregrino and István Salánki from London’s Hungarian Reformed Church spoke of their ministries.