Ben Stansfield to lead Global Connections
Luke Randall
Date posted: 17 Jul 2024
Ben Stansfield has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of Global Connections, (GC) replacing Chris Wigram who had served in an interim capacity in recent months.
GC exists to equip the UK church and mission community in the world. Ben has spent over 25 years working for international charities, church ministries and discipleship ministries, so has helpful experience ahead of taking on the role.
Faith in the ring: Wrestling fans hear the gospel
Emily Pollok
Date posted: 23 Dec 2024
Certain things just make sense together. Batman and Robin. Tea and biscuits. But, church and wrestling?
‘Wrestling and faith evolved alongside each other for me,’ explains Gareth ‘Angel’ Thompson, founder of Kingdom Wrestling, a ministry that combines throwing down in the ring with sharing the gospel – all for the glory of God.
‘A rising tide lifts all boats:’ Why your church should back this mission
Nick McQuaker
Date posted: 3 Apr 2025
Almost 40 years ago, I entered the workplace as a new Christian and soon formed a friendship with Richard, who had joined the company as part of the same intake of school-leavers.
I began to share my faith and witness as best I could. A few months later, my local church held a mission weekend. I invited Richard to one or more of the special events that were taking place. To my delight, he said yes and came along. To my far greater joy, Richard gave his life to the Lord that weekend. This was a wonderful introduction to God using a local church mission to bring someone to faith.
Terry Puttick
en staff
Date posted: 9 Dec 2025
Tributes have been paid to Terry Puttick, a London City Missioner, who has died.
Writing on X, Graham Miller, LCM CEO, wrote: “Loyalty, love, selflessness, good news, humour and perseverance were visible in all that Terry did.
‘The last two years have been the most encouraging... of the past 30 years’
John Woods
Date posted: 13 Nov 2025
en Reviews Editor John Woods speaks to John Stevens about his time thus far serving with the FIEC.
en: You have been serving as National Director of the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches (FIEC) for 15 years. What was you first experience of the FIEC?
Church Mission Society CEO resigns after six years
en staff
Date posted: 29 May 2025
Alastair Bateman, CEO of Church Mission Society (CMS), has resigned from his post and announced he will step down at the end of July 2025 after six years, saying: “I believe the time is right.”
Reflecting on his time at CMS, Alastair said: “Serving in this community – so deeply committed to following Jesus, rooted in prayer, and bearing the fruits of the Spirit – has been the privilege of a lifetime.”
engaging with culture today
How well do we know our different cultures?
Debbie D.
Date posted: 16 Nov 2025
The articles in this series are about “engaging with culture”. Recently I have been pondering “just which culture should I engage with, or try to understand more?”
In my neighbourhood I meet people from many countries, shopping, working in the supermarket, waiting for the bus. In church too the percentage of people who were born outside the UK has increased greatly. I wonder what they make of us locals!
Franklin Graham groups quit accountability body
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 24 Oct 2025
Franklin Graham – the son of late American evangelist Billy Graham – has withdrawn his two ministries from an evangelical accountability group which was co-founded by his father.
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and Samaritan’s Purse have formally resigned from the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), ending more than four decades of membership.
Young people are ‘open to reading the Bible’
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 6 Dec 2025
Lots of young people are responding positively to the question “What would you say if a friend asked you to read the Bible with them?”
In an Instagram reel posted by @uncoverJesus, seven out of nine young people said that yes, they would read the Bible if a friend asked.
New Equipping Pastors Worldwide role
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 25 Oct 2025
Equipping Pastors Worldwide has welcomed David Bhadreshwar as its new Head of Resourcing and Partnerships.
Bhadreshwar and his wife, Naomi, spent almost 20 years in Peru as missionaries – serving indigenous churches through preaching, teaching, discipleship, and pastoral ministry in villages and cities across the jungles, highlands, and coast. Registered with Global Training Network (GTN), Bhadreshwar has remained actively involved in overseas missions training since returning to the UK in 2023.
South Korea: Gospel work thrives
John-Edward Funnell
Date posted: 20 Nov 2025
I recently returned from a wonderful trip to Seoul in South Korea, where I was asked to speak at the “East Meets West” Conference held at SaRang Church as part of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Assembly [see additional WEA article here].
SaRang Church has a membership just short of 40,000 and has a heart for mission. They give huge amounts of resources to the re-evangelisation of Europe. “East Meets West” is led by Sam Ko, who has supported many revitalisation projects and church plants across our continent and has a lead role at the Union School of Theology in Wales.
everyday evangelism
We need to talk about judgement
Gavin Matthews
Date posted: 14 Oct 2025
God’s judgement is a central Biblical theme, and for vast numbers of evangelical Christians, it was the experience of conviction of sin which led them to trust Christ as Saviour.
It certainly did for me. Knowing that I had sinned against God, and seeing the sombre truth about the rotten state of my soul before His righteous judgement, made the realisation that Christ had borne my punishment total liberation and joy!
‘Remarkable’ Bible translation progress
Wycliffe Bible Translators
Date posted: 26 Sep 2025
Imagine being in rural Kenya last March, where the Upper Pokomo people gathered in eager anticipation. After years of waiting, a joyous procession arrived carrying boxes wrapped like precious gifts. Inside lay something more valuable than gold: the New Testament in the Upper Pokomo language.
As the packages were opened, singing and dancing broke out. Then, for the very first time, God’s word was read aloud in the Upper Pokomo language. The moment was unforgettable. The Scriptures were no longer distant for the Upper Pokomo people, but they could finally hear God speak directly to them in the language they dream in, laugh in, and cry in.
Immigration & integration: A debate on how can we consider it wisely
Krish Kandiah & Tim Dieppe
Date posted: 14 Nov 2025
en invited Dr Krish Kandiah and Tim Dieppe to consider the question: "How can UK Christians respond in a Christlike way to issues of immigration and integration?"
Tim is Head of Public Policy at Christian Concern, the campaigning evangelical organisation and author of The Challenge of Islam: Understanding and Responding to Islam’s Increasing Influence in the UK (Wilberforce Publications 2025). Krish is the Director of the Sanctuary Foundation, which supports vulnerable individuals, families and children including refugees and those seeking asylum. He is a regular advisor to government on refugee resettlement and child welfare reform.
Moldova: Repression or liberalism?
Luke Randall
Date posted: 4 Nov 2025
A Russian-inspired clampdown on evangelicals – or the advance of social liberalism.
That was the choice many evangelicals in Moldova faced. And it appears they opted for religious freedom first and foremost, according to a Crosslinks mission partner.
OMF investigation: No end in sight yet
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 29 Sep 2025
An investigation into allegations against several individuals from two former pupils at a former Chefoo school is “complex and sensitive”, mission organisation OMF International has said.
The investigation into “harm caused by several alleged perpetrators” at the school commenced after the former pupils made a complaint to OMF UK in June 2024. In January this year, OMF said in a statement that three specialist teams had been set up to conduct interviews.
Birmingham ban raises street preaching fears
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 28 Sep 2025
Street evangelism will be hindered, it is feared, after Birmingham City Council imposed a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO).
The order prohibits the use of amplification equipment, musical instruments, or “other items used as musical instruments” within the stated “restricted area” – a designated part of Birmingham city centre highlighted by the local authority in the order.
‘Mother of modern Bible translation’ dies
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 29 Oct 2025
Wycliffe Bible Translators has paid tribute to one of its long-serving missionaries who has died at 87.
Dr Katharine “Katy” Barnwell served with Wycliffe for over 60 years. Barnwell pioneered locally-led Bible translation: after helping to see the New Testament published in the Mbembe language in 1985, she found that the Mbembe people wanted more translation – the Old Testament as well as translation into other Mbembe dialects – and so concluded that the best way to do this was to get some Mbembe speakers trained. “And so began the revolution in training local Bible translators that has led to the huge growth in Bible translation today,” says Wycliffe Bible Translators. Barnwell’s textbook Bible Translation: An Introductory Course in Translation Principles – first published in 1975 and now in its fourth edition – is the primary training resource for Bible translators worldwide.
Is it still possible to be Anglican and evangelical?
Andy Lines
Date posted: 24 Oct 2025
The appointment of Dame Sarah Mullally to one of the highest offices in the land has generated a huge amount of comment on different media platforms. As an Anglican leader myself, I’m going to try to briefly answer four questions that commonly arise.
- What message does the appointment of a theologically liberal woman as Archbishop of Canterbury send to the world and to the church?
For supporters, this shows that one of the last remaining “glass ceilings” for women in public life has been broken. A former senior nurse being the Archbishop now explicitly links the national Church of England, the kindness and care of the NHS, and the liberal values of the ruling establishment. Theologically orthodox churches around the world have received the message that their views have been ignored, even though this office is supposed to bring unity to a Communion of churches. The impact will go wider than this: how will the appointment be interpreted by powers with political, religious and commercial agendas around the world concerning the state of Britain today?
- Is it still possible to be Anglican and “evangelical” (in the sense understood by the founders and readers of en)?
The Thirty-Nine Articles, one of the key founding documents or “formularies” of the Anglican Church, locates the source of authority concerning knowledge of God as trinity, human sin, the gospel of salvation, the Christian life and the church in the Scriptures not in any church leader, office or institution. The Book of Common Prayer on which Anglican worship is based, is reformed and evangelical in its theology. Article 26 recognises that “sometimes the evil have chief authority in the Ministration of the Word and Sacraments”, but this does not invalidate “the grace of God’s gifts” which are received by faith regardless of the faithfulness or otherwise of the minister. Despite leadership by theologically compromised senior leaders especially in the Western world, there are many congregations in the Cof E where the word of God is faithfully preached and received, and millions of Anglicans around the world committed to “proclaiming Christ faithfully to the nations” (the GAFCON slogan of the 2018 Jerusalem conference).
- Can a faithful believer in England be a member of an Anglican church and yet not be associated with the leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury?
The GAFCON Jerusalem Statement of 2008, of which the shorter, 14 point Declaration is a part, states clearly that the foundation of Anglicanism is doctrinal: “While acknowledging the nature of Canterbury as an historic see, we do not accept that Anglican identity is determined necessarily through recognition by the Archbishop of Canterbury.” This ground-breaking concept has been backed up with action. In parts of the world where governing bodies have led the “official” Canterbury-aligned denomination away from Bible-based faith, GAFCON, representing the majority of the world’s Anglicans, has stepped in to authorise a separate, orthodox Anglican jurisdiction. This means that, here in the UK and in continental Europe, there is a structure led by godly, Biblically faithful bishops, under which individuals can join existing congregations, congregations from other jurisdictions can join, and new churches can be planted. This is the Anglican Network in Europe (ANiE), and perhaps it needs to be stressed, our region of Europe includes Britain and Ireland!
- Why would any genuine Christian continue as an Anglican today?
Many Anglican evangelicals have reiterated their commitment to remain in the Church of England, in impaired communion with bishops, perhaps with the hope of reforming it in future, while taking advantage of opportunities for mission which remain at local level. Some question the integrity of this, and are leaving, feeling that Anglicanism itself is inherently compromised. ANiE holds out another option: retaining good aspects of Anglican church governance, Scripture-soaked liturgy and being part of an historic movement of a genuinely global fellowship, having completely broken ties with Canterbury.
Lausanne: Mission, unity, joy – and controversy
Iain Taylor
Date posted: 24 Oct 2024
More than 5,200 delegates from 202 countries shared bread and wine in a powerful display of evangelical unity at the end of the 2024 Lausanne Congress on World Evangelisation held in South Korea.
The informal Lord’s Supper was led by Korean and Japanese individuals as an example of how reconciliation in Christ brings different individuals and nations together.
Obtaining Bibles off the back of a plane
Gary Clayton
Date posted: 18 Oct 2025
Because remote Karimui has no roads to connect people to the rest of Papua New Guinea, the only way villagers can obtain Bibles is to get them from the back of an MAF aircraft.
Pastor Kimin Mauwe, the community-appointed agent for Christian aviation charity MAF, began ministry in Karimui 33 years ago. For the past 32 years, he’s served MAF by providing weather reports and preparing passengers and cargo for travel.
Holiness rooted in the heart
Michael Reeves
Date posted: 16 Oct 2025
The difference between an evangelical and a non-evangelical understanding of holiness can be seen well in a difference between the 17th-century Puritans and their contemporaries, the high-church Caroline Divines. Perhaps the most influential of the Carolines was William Laud (1573–1645), Charles I’s Archbishop of Canterbury.
Laud loved what he called “the beauty of holiness”, by which he meant liturgical orderliness. He strictly insisted that the clergy must follow all the rubrics of the Church of England’s prayer book, and was deeply concerned with clergy attire and the maintenance of church buildings and their physical beauty. And it was a particular sort of building he preferred: despising the Reformation – or “Deformation,” as he called it – he preferred new churches to be built in the pre-Reformation, Gothic style, with an architectural emphasis on an altar instead of a Communion table. For, he said, “the altar is the greatest place of God’s residence upon earth, greater than the pulpit; for there ’tis Hoc est corpus meum, This is my body; but in the other it is at most but Hoc est verbum meum, This is my word.”
An interview with new UCCF head Matt Lillicrap
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 14 Oct 2025
This summer saw more than 1,000 students descend on The Quinta Christian Centre in Oswestry, Shropshire, for the annual Forum conference, hosted by the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF).
Attending the gathering for the first time in his role as CEO was Matt Lillicrap, who took over leadership last autumn. en had an exclusive opportunity to chat with him about all things student ministry, just as UCCF is launching its brand-new Uncover Luke publication.
Ten questions with Chris Sugden
en staff
Date posted: 12 Oct 2025
Chris Sugden has been married for 52 years to Elaine, a retired consultant cancer doctor, with three married children and nine grandchildren. He leads the PhD Programme of the Oxford Centre for Mission and Public Life with Stellenbosch University and is an associate minister at St Andrew’s Dean Court, Oxford.
1. How did you become a Christian?
My father was a vicar, as was my maternal great grandfather in Ireland, and I was a choirboy. So I grew up in the Christian community. I committed my life to Christ in the Sixth Form through the work of VPS camps at Lymington.
2. What lessons have you learnt since that you would want to pass on to a younger Christian version of yourself?
Do not be afraid to stand up for what you know is right. You may lose (a role or post) in the short term, but God will use it to open new and wider fields of ministry.
3. How would you describe your prayer life?
Based on a daily reading of the Bible, focused on family and ministry needs and tasks, and shared with and helped by my wife.
4. Which two or three Christian books apart from the Bible have most influenced your faith?
Shadow of the Almighty by Elizabeth Elliot which I read as a student, to dare great things for God and expect great things from God. Theology of Liberation by Gustavo Gutierrez challenged me to take the Bible seriously on its teachings about the poor.
5. Who or what have been your biggest Christian influences?
My senior colleagues Vinay and Colleen Samuel with whom we worked in Bangalore for six years, and their family, and have continued to work with in a variety of ministries since then. They combine global vision, high academic standards, and grassroots involvement among poor people.
6. What are the main challenges you believe Christians face today?
To maintain the Biblical and Christian teaching and practice of man/woman marriage as taught in the Bible against the pressure to conform to passing preferences in the culture.
7. What encourages and what discourages you?
I am encouraged when someone steps forward and takes up a task as part of a team. I am discouraged when I see clergy trying to be one-man bands.
8. What makes you laugh?
Morecambe and Wise, Yes Minister, Dad’s Army, Private Eye, and jokes our grandchildren send us.
9. What would you want to say to the wider evangelical world?
Do not give up on the Anglican Communion around the world, whatever some noisy people in the CofE might do. Christians in Africa and Asia have a lot to teach us about keeping faith and passing it on.
10. Which Biblical person (other than Jesus) do you most look forward to meeting in glory and why?
The apostle Thomas. Did he really travel through West and South Asia and establish churches there, including the churches in India which are thus far older and have a deeper history going right back to Jesus than many Western churches?
Is it still possible to be Anglican and evangelical?
The appointment of Dame Sarah Mullally to one of the highest offices in the land has generated a huge amount of comment on different media platforms. As an Anglican leader myself, I’m going to try to briefly answer four questions that commonly arise.
For supporters, this shows that one of the last remaining “glass ceilings” for women in public life has been broken. A former senior nurse being the Archbishop now explicitly links the national Church of England, the kindness and care of the NHS, and the liberal values of the ruling establishment. Theologically orthodox churches around the world have received the message that their views have been ignored, even though this office is supposed to bring unity to a Communion of churches. The impact will go wider than this: how will the appointment be interpreted by powers with political, religious and commercial agendas around the world concerning the state of Britain today?
The Thirty-Nine Articles, one of the key founding documents or “formularies” of the Anglican Church, locates the source of authority concerning knowledge of God as trinity, human sin, the gospel of salvation, the Christian life and the church in the Scriptures not in any church leader, office or institution. The Book of Common Prayer on which Anglican worship is based, is reformed and evangelical in its theology. Article 26 recognises that “sometimes the evil have chief authority in the Ministration of the Word and Sacraments”, but this does not invalidate “the grace of God’s gifts” which are received by faith regardless of the faithfulness or otherwise of the minister. Despite leadership by theologically compromised senior leaders especially in the Western world, there are many congregations in the Cof E where the word of God is faithfully preached and received, and millions of Anglicans around the world committed to “proclaiming Christ faithfully to the nations” (the GAFCON slogan of the 2018 Jerusalem conference).
The GAFCON Jerusalem Statement of 2008, of which the shorter, 14 point Declaration is a part, states clearly that the foundation of Anglicanism is doctrinal: “While acknowledging the nature of Canterbury as an historic see, we do not accept that Anglican identity is determined necessarily through recognition by the Archbishop of Canterbury.” This ground-breaking concept has been backed up with action. In parts of the world where governing bodies have led the “official” Canterbury-aligned denomination away from Bible-based faith, GAFCON, representing the majority of the world’s Anglicans, has stepped in to authorise a separate, orthodox Anglican jurisdiction. This means that, here in the UK and in continental Europe, there is a structure led by godly, Biblically faithful bishops, under which individuals can join existing congregations, congregations from other jurisdictions can join, and new churches can be planted. This is the Anglican Network in Europe (ANiE), and perhaps it needs to be stressed, our region of Europe includes Britain and Ireland!
Many Anglican evangelicals have reiterated their commitment to remain in the Church of England, in impaired communion with bishops, perhaps with the hope of reforming it in future, while taking advantage of opportunities for mission which remain at local level. Some question the integrity of this, and are leaving, feeling that Anglicanism itself is inherently compromised. ANiE holds out another option: retaining good aspects of Anglican church governance, Scripture-soaked liturgy and being part of an historic movement of a genuinely global fellowship, having completely broken ties with Canterbury.