updates from the mission field
Mission: Across the street and across the world
OMF International UK
Date posted: 11 Feb 2026
In this piece, mission organisation OMF International UK provides en readers with an update on its work.
The worker bee has represented Manchester’s hardworking spirit since the Industrial Revolution. In keeping with that spirit, OMF UK has been a hive of activity as we moved our office from Kent to Manchester in 2025.
updates from the mission field
Mission in Naples: 'Italian gospel workers are heroes'
Mark Oden
Date posted: 20 Jan 2026
In the heat of the summer of 2013, Jane and I, and our four kids (Sofia, Inez, Luisa, and Archie), moved from leafy Sevenoaks to noisy, crowded Naples, Italy, to work alongside a Brethren church we’d built links with previously.
We spent two years serving in Pozzuoli, then moved into the centre of the city to plant the Chiesa Evangelica Neapolis (the Greek name for the city, meaning "new community"). In March 2026, we intend to leave Naples, having been called to serve Chalmers Church, Edinburgh.
Children’s ministry in Moldova: ‘My daddy fixes children’s hearts’
Abbie Watts
Date posted: 18 Feb 2026
“The love of Christ compels us.” Taken from 2 Corinthians 5v14, this verse is the strapline of Christian Mission International Aid (CMIAID) and underpins everything the Christian charity does.
I recently arrived back in the UK after spending two weeks with CMIAID in Moldova. Started by Matthew and Ruth Hillier and Dan Marianciuc, the multi-faceted organisation does whatever it takes to share the light and truth of the gospel to those of all ages and stages of life in Moldova and other Eastern European countries.
Jellyfish sting girl given urgent MAF flight
Gary Clayton
Date posted: 3 Jan 2026
A teenager who received an excruciatingly painful sting from the poisonous, transparent tentacles of a box jellyfish, was flown to hospital from a remote part of Arnhem Land, Australia in just 25 minutes – thanks to the Mission Aviation Fellowship.
By road, the tortuous journey from Nyinykay homeland to Gove would have taken about three hours – assuming that the rough bush tracks could be traversed without trouble or, during the rainy season, flooding.
updates from the mission field
My sponsor's words 'carried me for years'
John O.
Date posted: 9 Mar 2026
NB: The following content contains references to suicide and could be upsetting and triggering.
A childhood marked by loss
I grew up in rural Eastern Uganda. My parents were teachers and I had dreams, like any child. When I was nine, my mother became seriously ill. After a long and traumatic illness, she died when I was 12.
Gafcon's G26 conference: What's the agenda?
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 2 Mar 2026
The Gafcon Global G26 Conference begins tomorrow (3 March) in Abuja, Nigeria, lasting until Friday (6 March). en will be providing coverage of the conference, with some introductory key details below.
What is Gafcon?
The Global Anglican Future Conference (Gafcon) is an international movement and fellowship of orthodox Anglican churches, bishops, clergy, and laity united around the historic Christian faith as received in the Anglican tradition.
letter from Moldova
Bălți encouragements
www.sga.org.uk
Date posted: 29 Jan 2026
At the end of 2025, a group of 26 students graduated from the Slavic Gospel Association Mission School in Bălți, North Moldova.
It was the 16th such group to complete a two-year Bible training course designed to prepare men and women for a wide range of ministries in their spiritually needy land.
Saudi Arabia: Is a door opening for the gospel?
Luke Randall
Date posted: 28 Mar 2026
Gospel opportunities are on the rise amidst surging investment in tourism in Saudi Arabia.
The Middle Eastern nation has invested almost £600 million in its tourism sector as it aims to become a key global competitor in the industry by 2030. Platform 67, an organisation which liaises with missionaries around the world, says opportunities to share the gospel on the ground have increased as tourism booms.
Iran: ‘Streets smell of blood’
Luke Randall
Date posted: 20 Feb 2026
Christians in Iran continue to meet to grieve and pray amidst ongoing unrest and state brutality, with one person on the ground revealing that “the streets smell of blood”.
Early 2026 has seen Iran plagued by mass demonstrations, fuelled by economic hardship, against the nation’s brutal Islamic regime, led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
letter from Kenya
My great-grandfather was a murderer
Kip’ Chelashaw
Date posted: 7 Mar 2026
Do you know who was the first Christian in your family tree? My great-grandfather was a murderer. Shocking, and even today many traditional cattle herders in Northern Kenya kill and are killed in violent cattle raids.
After some time in prison, this murderer started attending church and was baptised with the name Noah. His son, Laban, walked 60km to find a school where he could learn to read and write. He was sent away, being too old for school, but found a mission station where he learnt to read the Bible. Laban was sent back home to start a school and a church, and he was the first in his family to reject the practice of polygamy.
letter from America
‘The Times They Are A-Changin’. Again. Tumultuously
Josh Moody
Date posted: 29 Jan 2026
“The times they are a-changin’.” So sang Bob Dylan. “Change” was a prophetic theme when the song first came out. And change is upon us once more, albeit this time a different kind of change. The times they are a-changin’.
Ever since the 1960s, America – and I suppose most of the quote-unquote “Western World” – has lived with the revolution of those turbulent years. Fuelled by protest against Vietnam, and singing along to the tunes of not just Bob Dylan but (of course) The Beatles, and others, much of the discourse and context in which the church lives and works in the Western World has been shaped by the changing times in which we live, and which have been bequeathed by the 1960s.
Bible Society hopes to return to Iran 'soon'
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 5 Mar 2026
An Iranian Bible Society worker says she hopes to return to Tehran to resume the organisation's work there - decades after it was banned.
"My prayer is to see the freedom of my country... I will be among the very first people who will go back to rebuild," says Nahid Sepehri, who leads the Iranian Bible Society from abroad.
DRC: People ‘hungrier than ever’ for truth
Luke Randall
Date posted: 2 Mar 2026
People in Goma are “hungrier than ever for the basic truths of the Christian faith” a year on from attacks by M23 rebels on Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The Rwandan-backed force invaded the city in January 2025, leaving around 3,000 dead and 700,000 displaced. However, Martin Gordo, the Bishop of Goma, has revealed to the Church Mission Society (CMS) that a spiritual awakening has captured the area amidst the negative headlines, with thousands exploring matters of faith and becoming Christians.
Middle East: Growth brings fears of ‘discipleship gap’
Luke Randall
Date posted: 2 Mar 2026
Despite much turmoil across the Middle East, reports indicate that the gospel is advancing rapidly throughout the region, so much so that a “discipleship gap” could be looming if more church leaders are not found.
Local church leaders say that this “spiritual awakening”, which kick-started during the Covid pandemic, is growing at such a rate that positive problems are appearing, including the need for more spiritual leaders, as people increasingly search for meaning amidst the difficulties facing the region, according to the Church Mission Society (CMS).
Ukrainian soldiers reached with the gospel
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 3 Feb 2026
A day after I wrote this article, en was informed that Andrew Killick had died. This article has been amended accordingly. It is a great privilege to tell the story of his desire for Ukrainian soldiers to hear of God’s love. (Written by Lydia Houghton.)
What began as a quiet conversation over church coffee has ended with 1,000 Christian books being distributed to Ukrainian soldiers.
Venezuela's evangelicals: 'It's time to fast and pray'
en staff
Date posted: 5 Jan 2026
Venezuelan evangelical leaders are calling believers in the country to a week of fasting and prayer after President Trump's dramatic intervention in their nation's life.
In a statement issued by the Evangelical Council of Venezuela (known by its Spanish abbreviation, CEV), its directors state: "The Church is called to be a community and a space of hope, comfort, and spiritual strength. In the midst of uncertainty, gathering to pray, sing, affirm the faith, and proclaim the Word of God is an act of trust in God and a source of encouragement for many.
AI and faith converge in Silicon Valley
Emily Pollok
Date posted: 4 Jan 2026
Christianity and tech appear to be converging alongside the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and the questions it’s raising for developers in Silicon Valley.
Prominent figures in the tech world like Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, and former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, have both spoken out recently about their Christian beliefs, particularly in the context of technological breakthroughs such as AI.
