Myanmar: ‘Your prayer is our hope...’
Luke Randall
Date posted: 24 Apr 2025
Following the devastating earthquake in Myanmar, which has killed thousands and destroyed many buildings, evangelicals are reporting a desperate need for aid – and glimmers of gospel opportunity.
The 7.7 magnitude quake has prompted an immediate humanitarian crisis in a country which has been gripped by civil conflict for four years, with missionaries in the nation already experiencing a “tenfold increase” in requests for missionary aid even before the earthquake.
news in brief
Netherlands: Euthanasia increases
The number of deaths by euthanasia in the Netherlands rose by 10% last year. The regional euthanasia review committees found that the vast majority of the 9,958 people to have been euthanised in 2024 had advanced physical illnesses, but doctors have been urged to take great care when dealing with psychiatrically unwell patients.
The Guardian reports that the number of people who died by euthanasia increased by nearly 1,000 between 2023 and 2024 and, perhaps most startlingly, the number who were killed due to psychiatric illness rose from just two in 2010 to 219 last year.
Network celebrates 15 years
en staff
Date posted: 18 Apr 2025
The Grace Baptist Partnership, a network dedicated to planting, training and revitalisation, is celebrating 15 years of mission and outreach.
Representatives from more than 20 churches gathered at Dunstable Baptist Church for the annual Grace Baptist Partnership (GBP) Prayer and Praise gathering. The structure of the event flowed with the ministry emphases of GBP, namely growing leaders, planting and revitalising churches, and reaching nations.
USA: New task force to remove ‘anti-Christian’ bias
Emily Pollok
Date posted: 18 Apr 2025
President Trump is on a mission to get rid of “anti-Christian bias” in the US, creating a task force especially for the purpose.
Headed up by Attorney General Pam Bondi, the task force is to “immediately halt all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination within the federal government”, Trump announced in Washington recently during National Prayer Breakfast events.
Jack Hemmings, pioneer pilot, dies aged 103
Gary Clayton
Date posted: 23 Feb 2025
Jack Hemmings, who has died at the age of 103, was co-founder of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), the largest humanitarian airline in the world.
In 1945 Jack, an RAF Squadron Leader tasked with protecting the Bay of Bengal from Japanese invasion, read an article advocating the need to use planes to ‘carry messengers of peace and to unload cargoes of blessing’. As RAF Flight Lieutenant Murray Kendon wrote: ‘Instead of spreading destruction and death why should [aircraft] not now spread life and healing by that message wherein lie the seeds of peace and power?’
Pakistan’s little-known Christian story
Mike Wakely
Date posted: 5 Feb 2025
In a small town in western Punjab, now in northern Pakistan, there lived a Hindu from a caste of farmers. His name was Nattu Lal. He heard the gospel, put his faith in Christ and was baptised in November 1872.
Nattu was the son of the head man in his village. His family was wealthy, but Nattu wasted his money and proved himself to be a poor Christian witness. But he did one thing that was of immense importance. He brought a poor man called Ditt to faith in Jesus.
the ENd word
How questions about the resurrection are changing in 2025
Jon Barrett
Date posted: 7 Apr 2025
Alistair Begg recently said that preaching is often “less about telling them something new, but more about reminding ourselves what we mustn’t forget”.
He’s right. As a preacher I’m well aware that, to borrow a line from Oscar Wilde, “I have nothing original in me but original sin.” That’s not to say that I steal other preacher’s sermons (I don’t), but is an admission that I’m very unlikely to spot something brand new in a text that’s never been spotted before by anyone else. The truth has already been “once revealed to the saints” and my job is to bring out the meaning of what God has previously made known in the pages of Scripture.
safeguarding briefing
Safeguarding – it’s time for a critical conversation
Jules Loveland
Date posted: 28 Feb 2025
The news of Archbishop Justin Welby’s resignation at the end of last year sent ripples across the wider church. The news broke in the week leading up to Safeguarding Sunday where thousands of UK churches had already planned to shine a spotlight on the very issues that led to his resignation.
For some, the resignation was welcome news, for others it has raised concerns. But perhaps we can all agree that the safeguarding issues that have come to light are devastating, and we pray for all victims and survivors seeking healing and justice.
Creation care: It is a gospel issue, although not a salvation one
Chris Wright & Dave Bookless
Date posted: 25 Feb 2025
We appreciate the article ‘Is creation care a gospel issue?’ by John Samuel and Richard Buggs in the January issue of en, and share their concern that the phraseology of the Cape Town Commitment might be mistakenly interpreted as ‘adding works to grace,’ and thereby ‘undermining’ the message of the gospel itself.
That is certainly no intention of ours, or indeed of the Lausanne Cape Town Commitment, which elsewhere in Part 1.8 defines the gospel of grace very strongly in terms ‘trusting in Christ alone … on the work of Christ and the promise of God.’
‘Jesus is Lord, and I see my own sin’
Thomas McBride
Date posted: 1 Apr 2025
It has been a season of vibrant, missional events weeks for Christian Unions. With around 100 CUs taking part, the gospel message has been heard by thousands of students, and hundreds are exploring further.
Students in the University of Warwick Christian Union were some of the first to hold their events week this year, which was centred on the theme of “Hope”. Halfway through the week, Ben (name changed), a CU member’s housemate, decided to attend an event. His curiosity had been piqued after he heard the events week was taking place and he arrived with questions. Interested, but by no means certain of the truth of what he had heard, he said to CU members afterwards: “I don’t know why God loves us”.
FIEC appoints new Director for Essex
FIEC
Date posted: 30 Mar 2025
Simon Medcroft has been appointed to serve as Director for Essex with the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC).
Simon has served as pastor at Danbury Mission for 20 years and will now be seconded to FIEC for one day a week to serve affiliated churches in Essex – one of the fastest growing but least churched counties in the UK.
everyday theology
What is the most urgent need of the church today?
Michael Reeves
Date posted: 27 Mar 2025
What is the most urgent need of the church today? Better leadership? Better training? Healthier giving? Orthodoxy? Moral integrity? Each of these are undoubtedly needs, but underneath them all lies something even more vital: gospel integrity.
In Luke 12, when thousands had gathered together to hear Jesus, He began to say to His disciples first: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (v1). That might have been unsurprising had He been warning the people as a whole, but He said it to his disciples first, to those who had already left all and followed Him.
‘Why do so many gospel churches favour the rich?’
Jim Sayers
Date posted: 22 Mar 2025
“There is nothing inherently admirable about people with money. Why, then, do so many gospel churches favour the rich?” That was the challenge given by Steve Kneale at a recent conference, challenging leaders to a “religion that is pure and undefiled” (James 2:27).
Many ministries target the rich and successful for “strategic” reasons, but does that mean we have shown favouritism in our giving to mission? It is much harder to fund gospel work among the poor; there is no payback and lots of help is needed.
Keswick Convention: Celebrating 150 years
Luke Randall
Date posted: 14 Mar 2025
The Keswick Convention will ‘prioritise the emerging generation,’ its Chief Executive says, as the event prepares to celebrate its landmark 150th anniversary this summer.
The convention was started in 1875 by Canon Thomas Harford-Battersby and Robert Wilson and was attended by three or four hundred people. Now, around 12,000 travel to the small Lake District town which has a population of just over 5,000.
When harvesting honey’s not so sweet
Gary Clayton
Date posted: 4 Feb 2025
A South Sudanese pastor is rejoicing – two years after a honey-harvesting accident left him facing a lifetime of pain.
Elisama Edward, rural dean for the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, Maridi, was flown to hospital after his plight came to the attention of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF).
God’s grace at work in Central Asia
Mark Foster
Date posted: 3 Feb 2025
Anniversaries give opportunity to look back with thankfulness, and forward with hope and confidence. This year marks the 75th ‘birthday’ of Slavic Gospel Association (UK).
From relatively small beginnings the work has grown and prospered through God’s hand of blessing on it, so that today in the lands of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Far East Russia, hundreds of missionaries and Christian workers are helped prayerfully and financially by the supporters of the Mission. The Mission’s sponsorship scheme enables prayer partners to direct their support and their prayers to the work of faithful and trusted men and women, labouring to advance the cause of the gospel.
a Jewish Christian perspective
To the Jew first
Joseph Steinberg
Date posted: 31 Jan 2025
As a leader in Christian mission to Jewish people, I often hear people quote Romans 1:16 where Paul writes, ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile.’
But recently I was asked to speak from Paul’s corresponding words a few verses later in 2:9 where he writes: ‘There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.’
Giving thanks for the life of Peter Rowan
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 29 Jan 2025
On 10 January, over 120 gathered in St Nicholas’ church in Sevenoaks to give thanks for the life of OMF (UK) Co-National Director Peter Rowan, with 900 tuning in online from across the world.
The service included songs chosen by Peter, moving tributes from his children, and an address delivered by Dr Krish Kandiah on 2 Timothy 4:1-8. ‘Peter lived a life of service; just like Paul he can say his life was poured out like a drink offering,’ Kandiah said. ‘He can say that he fought the good fight… but his life offers us a challenge – what will we do?’
Israel: How outreach is changing
Luke Randall
Date posted: 29 Jan 2025
A Ukrainian-born Jewish missionary says his evangelistic approach to Jewish people has changed since the attacks on 7 October 2023.
Misha Vayshengolts, who works for International Mission to Jewish People and lives in Tel-Aviv (interviewed by en last year), revealed that he has had to change how he communicates with Jewish people since Hamas attacked and killed over 1,200 Israelis.
Defending the Youth and Children's Worker: it's not just the parents' job!
There has lately been a big push back in youth and children's ministry against leaving the job of discipling young people just to the "professional", the church youth and children's worker.
Instead there has been more of a return to the Biblical idea that God has given the responsibility of bringing children up to love the Lord primarily to their parents. This shift has encouraged churches to work with families and help them to do this discipling work, rather than just employing a youth and children's worker to do it instead.