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On 29 January, Christian Concern hosted a conference – ‘What is the Gospel?’ – at the Emmanuel Centre in London. The speakers addressed some of the sociocultural issues faced by the Church.

Christian Concern is a non-profit organisation campaigning for a nation once defined by the Christian faith. The UK is now largely a secular, humanistic, morally relativistic nation, the fruits of which can be seen in widespread immorality and social disintegration.

What began as a pastor’s hunch about the lack of conversion growth in the local church, turned into a full-blown 24 hour Consultation on Evangelism in late 2015.

Evangelists and leaders partnered with Lansdowne Church Bournemouth to organise an event which brought together local, regional and national leaders of churches, theological colleges and Christian agencies.

Epic Biblical stories often become blockbuster movies. In 1956 it was The Ten Commandments starring Charlton Heston and in 2004 it was Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.

18 March saw the UK release date of a film based on the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Starring Joseph Fiennes, Cliff Curtis and Tom Felton, Risen is a fictional story about a powerful Roman Military Tribune tasked with discovering what happened to Jesus after the crucifixion (see review in March en).

With 140,000 people working and 40,000 living in London’s Canary Wharf, how are they going to hear the gospel?

It was this challenge that occupied the thoughts and prayers of working Christians and members of St Peter’s Barge as they met to hear Rico Tice explain the vision for ‘Questions of Life’ (www.questionsoflife.org.uk). This outreach aims to give everyone in the Wharf a chance to engage with the gospel – specifically through a week of talks arranged for 14-20 March.

These days, the annual get-together of supporters of Grace Baptist Mission alternates between venues in London and the Midlands. On Saturday 24 October it was the turn of the Renewal Centre in Solihull.

Around 650 people gathered and the theme highlighted the needs of Europe under the banner ‘A Light in Every City.’ Graham Field, chairman of the Mission’s Council, began the day emphasising that our mission is determined by our master, the Lord Jesus Christ. Daryl Jones, mission coordinator, used a cricket analogy to emphasise the need for partnership in mission, especially between the churches and GBM.

Ilford is in the London Borough of Redbridge, in north-east Greater London and, like most of London, it is booming.

The effects of the 2012 Olympic Games can be still felt, with improved transport links; trains get you from Ilford to Liverpool Street station in 18 minutes. In the next five years Crossrail will arrive, promising even more regeneration. Ilford town centre has a shopping centre which acts as a hub for the wider area and the schools are strong academically. For many people, it is a popular place to live. Being east London, property prices are cheaper than other parts of London.

Despite sadness in its first year, Christ Church Hemel (CCH), launched in December 2014, has seen the Lord’s guiding and sustaining hand throughout.

Spicer Street Church in St Albans were keen to plant another church and, three years ago, the door opened with an opportunity to plant into the neighbouring town of Hemel Hempstead. A core group was quickly identified, money was raised and Sam Buckley was given the opportunity to lead the plant. Lots of time was spent planning and praying in the lead up to the intended start date – early October in 2014.

Seventy-five years ago, the Christian Union at Oxford (OICCU) hastily threw together an outreach initiative to the university in the heart of the Second World War.

It was small and disorganised, and their speaker, Dr Martin Lloyd Jones, pulled out at the last minute with illness. But an enduring idea was born: a focussed initiative, once every three years, to give as many Oxford students as possible the opportunity to hear, engage with and respond to the gospel. That vision has remained constant, and so 9-14 February saw Uncover, the Silver Jubilee of triennial OICCU missions.

On 19 September, at the King’s Cross Baptist Church, there was cause for celebration as a congregation of supporters of the South Asian Concern (SAC) movement marked 25 years since their founding in 1989.

SAC is a charity focused on revealing the uniqueness of Christ in a cross-cultural effort to bring him among these multi-faith communities.

On 17 October, Heath Church Cardiff and Emmanuel Chapel Newport met together to ordain Ben Fiddian to the Christian ministry and to induct him as assistant minister at Emmanuel.

The ordination was conducted by Wyn Hughes, the minister and elders of the Heath, while the induction was conducted by the minister of Emmanuel.

Greenisland Baptist Church is an evangelical congregation meeting seven miles from Belfast along the north shore of Belfast Lough, with its building about to undergo demolition and rebuilding.

It was founded in 1996 after seven local people started to meet to pray for the community. The church had a number of temporary venues until 2000 when it purchased and renovated the old health centre at the heart of the village. Within a short space of time the Lord blessed the congregation, which grew fourfold. For the past ten years, a capacity of 200 for Sunday services has been severely strained. In 2006 the possibility of meeting in a replacement building at the current location, or elsewhere in the village, was explored.

November 21 and 22 saw the open day and dedication service for Netherside Hall, Yorkshire, the Yorkshire Camps venue that featured in April’s en.

After two weeks of torrential rain it was yet another answer to prayer that the official opening of Yorkshire Camps’ new venue was on a weekend which was dry, even if the countryside was dusted with snow.

The ‘Talking to Jesus’ report presented to the Anglican Synod in late November showed that 40% of people don’t believe Jesus was a real person. But it also showed that younger people are actively sharing their faith.

However, more than half of non-Christians have had a conversation with a practicing Christian about faith in Jesus (57%). Having had that conversation, of those who had not become a Christian, one in five (19%) still wants to know more about Jesus Christ.

On 4 November, Moorlands College welcomed Christian campaigner Baroness Caroline Cox to open the new Wessex Auditorium and Community Hub.

The building project saw the demolition of a ‘temporary’ dining hall and chapel built in the 1970s to make room for a Community Hub that has already revolutionised student life at the college. The Wessex Auditorium, which seats up to 300 people, is a focal point for student worship throughout the week, epitomised by the ten-foot tall steel cross standing to the north.

In the city centres of Oxford and Cambridge in June, people from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Libya, Turkey, China, Russia and atheists from the UK stopped to hear a presentation of the gospel as a United Beach Missions ‘Christian Answer’ team preached and witnessed for the Lord Jesus.

Many stopped, asked questions and listened to reasoned, interactive, Christian presentations: ‘How can God allow evil?’, ‘Who am I?’, ‘Reasons not to be an atheist’, ‘Did Jesus rise from the dead?’ And then there were the very many personal conversations as people willingly and eagerly discussed the claims of Jesus Christ.

The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) in partnership with the Free Church of Scotland is to offer a new training course at Edinburgh Theological Seminary (ETS), it was announced in September.

FIEC directors will deliver the lectures alongside other experienced pastors which will enable participating students to obtain a new ETS certificate in ‘Independent Church Ministry’.

On 30 June Minister David Meredith of Smithton Free Church was offered the position of Missions Director for the Free Church of Scotland.

In mid July he accepted the position after spending two weeks in prayer and discussion with the elders at Smithton, as well as others in the wider Church.

Supporters of the European Missionary Fellowship (EMF) in the north-west of England gathered at Chorlton Evangelical Church, Manchester on March 8 for an afternoon conference.

A report was given by EMF missionary Volodymyr Kostyshyn, who pastors a church in Ternopil, west Ukraine, both about his own ministry and also about recent political developments in Ukraine.

Beth Keel & Michael Taylor

On the first weekend of September around 25 young people arrived in Whitby for the annual September Bible School.

This year the theme of living as a Christian in the modern world was taken. Andy Patterson (FIEC Missions Director) and Phil Heaps (Grace Church, Yate) were the speakers. Kamal and Emma Zarour shared news of their work amongst Muslims in Manchester.