New Director for European Mission Fellowship
Rev Scott Moore has been appointed as the new European Mission Fellowship (EMF) Director.
Scott will take up his role in early 2024, replacing current Director Andrew Birch, who will remain with EMF in a new role of Field Director. In a message on the EMF website, Andrew shares: ‘I am looking forward to working closely with Scott… We would appreciate your ongoing prayers that, with the Lord’s help, we would work together for the building of Christ’s Church all over our needy continent.’
Reaching ‘satan’s last stronghold’: the fatal mission of John Allen Chau
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 1 Jan 2024
In 2018, American John Allen Chau bribed five fishermen to take him to Sentinel Island in the Indian Ocean. A new documentary tells the story of his ultimately fatal mission to share the gospel with one of the last ‘uncontacted’ tribes who were living there.
‘My name is John. I love you and Jesus loves you. Jesus Christ gave me authority to come to you. Here is some fish!’ These were John’s first words to the North Sentinelese as he approached in his kayak. The two tribesmen strung their bows and moved towards him aggressively.
Over 800 youth equipped for mission
Iain Taylor
Date posted: 1 Jan 2024
About 850 young people and youth leaders attended this year’s Sorted one day youth conference, which took place at Westminster Chapel.
Attendees came from a wide variety of Anglican, Baptist, Free/Independent churches and many others. Most were from around London, but there were also groups from Essex, Hertfordshire, Surrey, Kent, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Oxfordshire, Brighton, Bournemouth, and Norwich.
Carl Knightly
Luke Randall
Date posted: 1 Jan 2024
Carl Knightly has been appointed as the new leader of the City Mission Movement (CMM) UK and Ireland.
CMM was founded in 1991 and exists to support the 18 City Missions across the UK and Ireland. City Missions work to serve their cities and take the gospel to the people of their cities across the country.
Javier Milei: Do cry for me, Argentina?
Iain Taylor
Date posted: 1 Jan 2024
The Church Mission Society (CMS), which absorbed the South American Mission Society (SAMS) in 2009, has responded to the election of far-right populist outsider Javier Milei as the new President of Argentina.
Speaking exclusively to Evangelicals Now, CMS spokesperson Naomi Steinberg commented: ‘From a mission point of view, we can see that the political, economic and environmental situation in Argentina is precarious and needs much prayer. Our people in mission in the region are praying that the new President will be surrounded by a leadership team that is wise, compassionate and full of integrity’.
Are you ‘two-kingdoms’ or ‘transformationist’?
Al Gibbs
Date posted: 1 Jan 2024
One of the perennial questions that Christians ask is how the church should engage with society.
The Bible is clear that individual Christians should share God’s love with everyone in the contexts that God has placed them, but to what extent should the church, as the church, seek to influence society? There are several ways of addressing this question, but in recent years many evangelicals have gravitated to one of two paradigms – either a two-kingdoms model, or a transformationist model. These models or views can get complicated, but it’s useful for Christians to have a basic sense of the strengths and weaknesses of each, as well as being aware of the history.
OMF welcomes new General Director
OMF UK
Date posted: 1 Jan 2024
At a special gathering in Thailand on 27 November, Dr Patrick Fung handed over the role of General Director of OMF International to Dr Joseph Chang.
Joseph is OMF International’s 11th General Director in the organisation’s almost 160-year history. Originally from Taiwan, Joseph and his wife Lori have relocated to OMF’s International Centre in Singapore for the role.
First pastor for 50-year-old church
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 1 Jan 2024
Ferniehill Evangelical Church in Edinburgh finished the year praising God for two big encouragements in 2023 – they moved back into their renovated building and employed their first pastor, Alistair Chalmers.
For over 50 years, Ferniehill Evangelical Church has been faithfully witnessing to the local community in Gilmerton, Edinburgh.
Chris Wigram
Luke Randall
Date posted: 1 Jan 2024
Chris Wigram has been announced by trustees as the Interim Chief Executive Officer of Global Connections (GC). He started in the post in late November, having previously served as GC’s Chair of Global Conventions between 2006 and 2008, and also as a board member. Chris has also served in leadership positions with OMF and ECM.
Global Connections is made up of several organisations and individuals including churches and charities, as well as others. It exists to support the UK church’s mission community at home and abroad.
Climate hope – if promises are kept, say evangelicals
Iain Taylor
Date posted: 1 Jan 2024
Even as it opened, the UN Climate Change Conference COP 28 was making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
The BBC revealed claims that hosts, the United Arab Emirates, were planning to make oil and gas deals with 15 other countries at the event. Despite that, many Christian groups were represented there, some as part of the Christian Climate Observers Program, a non-denominational Christian presence advocating for God’s creation. All are, perhaps, encouraged by the fact that COP28 for the first time featured a ‘faith pavilion’. Evangelicals Now spoke to four leading Christian environmental organisations about their hopes and fears for the conference.
Moscow via the US to Wales...
Dave Gobbett
Date posted: 1 Jan 2024
Dave Gobbett, Lead Pastor, Highfields Church Cardiff, writes: It is a great thrill to report the launch of a new gospel congregation in South Wales.
November 5th will be the date to remember as the first meeting of Penarth Evangelical Church (penarthchurch.org.uk), planted by Highfields Church, Cardiff. With a core team of around 30 led by three elders, between 70 and 80 people, young and old, mature believers and interested enquirers, are now gathering together each week, committed to Bible-believing, cross-preaching, soul-reaching, and community-creating life together.
Stay, says bishop
Iain Taylor
Date posted: 1 Jan 2024
Jill Duff, Bishop of Lancaster, who is orthodox on issues of sex and sexuality, and has been a leading voice opposing change, spoke to en.
She said: ‘Why should we leave? One of my heroes of church planting in the Polynesian islands was George Selwyn, an architect of the Anglican Communion. He had a compellingly pragmatic response to error: “But how, you will ask, shall the truth of doctrine be maintained if we tolerate in the mission field every form of error, and provide no safeguard for the purity of the faith? I answer that, as running water purifies itself, so Christian work is seen to correct its own mistakes.” I urge evangelicals to resist any intimidation, but instead to stay and contend for the gospel through the Church of England.’
Testing the fire
Tony Wilkinson
Date posted: 1 Jan 2024
Book Review
ISLAND AFLAME:
The Famed Lewis Awakening that
Never Occurred and the Glorious
Revival that Did (Lewis & Harris 1949–52)
Read review
Baby-boomers to Generation Z?
Charlotte Mayhew
Date posted: 1 Jan 2024
How do we bridge generational divides to make Jesus known together?
The recent London City Mission ‘Diaspora Conference’ was an opportunity to bring Christians together from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and elsewhere, to explore this vital question. With no easy answers to the complex tensions that often exist between generations in our church communities, we focused on listening and learning from each other’s experiences.
Punched leader prays for attackers
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 1 Jan 2024
London City Mission’s chief executive Graham Miller and his wife Alison are recovering after an assault in Earlsfield. Their daughter witnessed the attack.
Miller said they were assaulted after he ‘challenged some kids for abusing a cafe manager next to the station’. He tweeted: ‘We were both punched repeatedly in the head from behind and Alison was knocked down. Kids were still hitting her whilst on the floor and passers-by had to tear them off.’
news in brief
Andy Croft resigns from Soul Survivor
On 23 November, it was announced that Senior Pastor Andy Croft would leave Soul Survivor Watford. He made the decision despite being allowed to return to ministry following an investigation into his safeguarding practices, and the practices of his former colleague Mike Pilavachi (who was found guilty of an abuse of power and spiritual abuse across 40 years of ministry).
In a letter to his congregation, Andy shared that he made the decision ‘after much soul searching and prayer’ and said that he and his family ‘intend to stay as part of the congregation’ while they discern their next steps. ‘I need to acknowledge that I myself have also been deeply impacted by aspects of Mike’s abusive behaviour’, he added.
The future of the West
Date posted: 1 Jan 2024
Dear Editor,
I read with interest Josh Moody’s view that the West is at a tipping point. Sadly, I believe the West has long passed that point. For years in the US, Christians have aligned themselves with the Republican Party rather than the Democrats, presumably because they felt there was more hope in politics than in God. In Britain, the Christian Institute has successfully garnered funding at a time when missions struggle to get sufficient for their needs. This is not to cast aspersions on the Institute, which does a fine job, but it does make me think that British Christians are more interested in preserving their disappearing public presence and protection than in promoting the gospel of Christ, which is the only hope for turning the tables, as it always was. Europe has lost its hold on the Biblical truths rescued by the reformers, and we have to look to places where the church is persecuted to see growth!
Unity? This spurious unity is sinful and deadly
In the aftermath of November’s General Synod, there has been a lot of talk about unity, whether the lack of it or the form of it.
When asked about division in the House of Bishops, Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London, has been quoted as saying: ‘What we’re trying to model is how do you, despite the fact we may have different views, seek to try to find a place we can occupy together.’ Justin Welby, reflected: ‘Archbishops of Canterbury must always work for the maximum possible unity in the Church, however impossible that may seem and however deep our differences.’