letter from the
Philippines: Mosquitoes, prison, tribes: mission in action today
Reuben & Cathy Saywell
Date posted: 1 Sep 2022
Some say that the first few months of long-term mission work are all about survival. Looking back, by God’s grace, we have managed a little more than that. As expected, we’ve had our fair share of highs and lows already.
It would seem that, since our arrival, blessings and trials have been handed out in equal measure. But all in all, we feel very much that the Lord is at work in Santa Maria, equipping us as we seek to be a witness for the truth to those trapped in false religion, and enabling us to take our first steps towards the planting of a church in this spiritually needy district of Bulacan.
What can the world’s biggest YouTuber teach you?
Jonny Abbott
Date posted: 1 Feb 2023
As a theology graduate, former pastor and now on the staff at Moorlands College in the communications department, I am learning all I can from everywhere I can about how we can get our message across in the contemporary world. Where to turn?
Well, I have just watched a video of a car with a jet engine strapped to it. The goal is to see how many buses it will jump over. If you were one of the 47 million people who have so far watched the video you will know that this was just one of eight other equally audacious ‘experiments’ put together by YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, AKA ‘Mr Beast’ (see photo). If you haven’t seen any of Jimmy’s videos before, they involve everything from subscribers competing for private islands, to creating a replica of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. As the most subscribed-to individual on YouTube, Mr Beast is redefining what the modern-day entertainer looks like.
‘Wise, gifted’ leader dies
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 1 Feb 2023
The Revd Dr Paul Bailie, Presbyterian minister, lecturer and lover of Africa, died unexpectedly on 15 November 2023, just days after turning 54.
He was ordained by the Presbyterian Church of Ireland (PCI) in 1995; and from 2007 he had been chief executive of Mission Africa, one of the oldest interdenominational evangelical missions in the UK. He had recently joined the ICC Executive Committee representing the Presbyterian Church.
Tony Thiselton: theologian
www.durham.ac.uk
Date posted: 1 Mar 2023
The death has been announced of evangelical theologian, Biblical scholar and college principal Professor Anthony Thiselton. He was Principal of St John’s, Durham, from 1988 to 1992.
Tony Thiselton was one of the leading Biblical scholars of his generation, where his main contribution was in the area of hermeneutics but he had a wide range of interests with contributions in systematics, philosophical theology and ethics. He was ordained in 1961, and served the Church England in both parish ministry and at General Synod. In addition to being Principal of St John’s Durham, he had also been Principal of St John’s Nottingham and head of theology at the University of Nottingham. As well as a number of honorary degrees, he was a Fellow of the British Academy.
Wallsend: hope
AMiE
Date posted: 1 Mar 2023
A church launched last year in Wallsend has a newly-ordained minister.
Hope Church Tyneside was launched in May 2022 after a local Church of England congregation voted to leave the denomination and join the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE). A significant number of the members chose to join them in this endeavour, following the spiritual course which had been set years previously.
politics & policy
What is free speech for?
James Mildred
Date posted: 1 Mar 2023
We all love free speech. It’s a precious thing that aids the mission of the church because it means we can proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, largely without fear of police interference.
Free speech also means that we can teach what the Bible says on issues where we are especially counter-cultural, like human identity and sexuality, or being genuinely pro-life.
Rob and staff
en staff
Date posted: 1 Mar 2023
Rob Munro has become the new Bishop of Ebbsfleet, the Church of England bishop with delegated oversight of 147 complementarian evangelical parishes.
Previously Rector of Cheadle, Cheshire, Rob trained for ministry at Oak Hill College and studied for his doctorate at Reformed Theological Seminary in the USA. He has also served on General Synod, is a member of the Dioceses’ Commission, chairs the House of Clergy for Chester Diocese, is the Chair of the Fellowship of Word & Spirit, and is on the Councils of Latimer Trust and Church Society.
And now Baptists face same-sex marriage battle too
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 1 Mar 2023
The Baptist Union (BU) could change its rules to allow the ordination of practicing homosexuals as early as October 2023 – but evangelical ministers within the union are making moves to defend the orthodox position.
In January, an in-person meeting of the newly-formed Evangelical Baptist Ministers for Marriage was held, against the background of increasing division over the issue of allowing the accreditation of practicing gay ministers. More than 220 orthodox evangelical baptists attended the meeting.
Persecution of Christians ‘doubles’ over 30 years
Iain Taylor
Date posted: 1 Mar 2023
Persecution scores have almost doubled over the last 30 years, the latest 'World Watch List' from Open Doors reveals.
2023 marks the 30th year that the gruesome chart has been compiled. To mark the occasion, Evangelicals Now obtained exclusive interviews with Jim Shannon MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Freedom of Religion or Belief (APPG FoRB), and Timothy Cho, Open Doors UK spokesperson for North Korea.
Successful missions in Guinea and Malawi
Iain Taylor
Date posted: 1 Aug 2022
The GoodWORD
Partnership,
based
in Minneapolis, USA,
has
facilitated
evangelistic
and
training
initiatives
in
largely Moslem parts of Guinea, West
Africa, and Malawi, southern Africa.
In Guinea, where
only
7%
of
the
population is Christian, experienced church
leaders from five African countries and the
United States undertook
three weeks of
joint ministry. It included outreach to seven
prisons where a
total of 3,600
inmates
were
fed, both physically and spiritually;
equipping a Christian medical clinic in a
Moslem community; a three-day conference
on evangelism attended by 225 church
leaders and encouraging the local churches to cooperate
in
sharing
the gospel. One
evangelical
denominational
leader
in
Conakry, a city of 2 million people, said: ‘We
are now ready and committed to cooperate
in sharing the gospel in our city.’
‘Flux’: students share Jesus in Aberystwyth
Daniel Stafford
Date posted: 1 Jan 2023
‘Our campus needs to know the good news of Jesus.’
These were the words of a member of Aberystwyth Christian Union following three days of outreach on their campus back in November. CUs traditionally hold outreach weeks in the spring term. These weeks provide an opportunity for focused mission: the CU hosts events aimed at welcoming every student at their university to consider Jesus. The gospel is clearly proclaimed, and every guest is given the chance to respond.
Abundant love
David Lowries
Date posted: 1 Jan 2023
Book Review
GOD SHINES FORTH:
How the nature of God shapes and drives the
mission of the church
Read review
Lausanne: a new landmark for mission?
Evangelical Focus, Evangelical Alliance
Date posted: 1 Jan 2022
The first major Lausanne conference in Europe since a landmark event in 1974 has taken place.
More than 1,000 evangelical influencers listened to plenary speakers and discussed issues like ‘Christian identity in the era of identity politics’, ‘Reaching university students’, and ‘The gospel and the city’.
Fuddy-duddy? Really we’re ‘slightly zany’
Vivienne Birch
Date posted: 1 Jan 2023
‘To be honest, some people see EMF (European Mission Fellowship) as a bit fuddy-duddy’, a pastor recently confessed to mission director Andrew Birch.
Well, if the next conference is anything like this year’s, it will be fresh, joyful, challenging, and totally encouraging. ‘Fuddy-duddy?’ Not so much!
The chilling history of Christian anti-Semitism
Gary Clayton
Date posted: 1 Jan 2023
Friday 27 January marks Holocaust Memorial Day – the commemoration of one of history’s most heart-rending chapters. But how did a plan that resulted in the death of 6 million Jewish people originate in what was a supposedly Christian nation?
The church in Acts was almost entirely Jewish, which explains why – in Acts 10 – Peter receives a vision of a large sheet full of unclean creatures to encourage him to visit the Gentile Cornelius.
culture watch
Anti-Semitism among us today
Joseph Steinberg
Date posted: 1 Jan 2023
As a Jewish believer in Jesus, and CEO of International Mission to Jewish People (www.imjp.org), I was interested to see what comedian David Baddiel had to say about the marginalisation of Jewish voices and the massively growing problem of anti-Semitism in the world today.
news in brief
Hatun Tash
The Metropolitan Police have apologised
to evangelical street preacher Hatun Tash,
paying her £10,000
compensation
for
wrongful arrest and unlawful imprisonment.
A former Muslim, Tash had asked the police
for assistance on two occasions when she was
being harassed by Muslim demonstrators
– but
they arrested her
instead.
In one
case, she was held in custody for 24 hours
before being
released without charge. A
police inspector wrote and apologised for
the distress she suffered and acknowledged
‘that on these occasions the level of service
did fall below the requisite standard’.
FIEC 100 multiplies into 170 and more
FIEC
Date posted: 1 Jan 2023
A bumper crop of mission initiatives is being highlighted by the the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) as it continues to mark 100 years since its founding in 1922.
‘Back in the spring we asked our churches to tell us about what they are doing to further the mission of proclaiming Christ and His gospel. We hoped 100 might respond and we could share their news; in the end we received more than 170 submissions,’ said Adrian Reynolds, FIEC Head of National Ministries and Chairman of the en Board.
Do we have a theology of disability?
Kay Morgan-Gurr
Date posted: 1 Jan 2023
We love theology in the evangelical church. We want to know what God says about all sorts of things in the Bible. We soak in what those who have studied theology say, and sometimes we study it ourselves with the books that we read and the podcasts we listen to.
But do we, as evangelicals, have a theology of disability?
FIEC: 1,000 gather to mark 100 years
Joel Murray
Date posted: 1 Dec 2022
Nearly 1,000 pastors, elders, women’s workers, youth leaders, and others in church leadership gathered at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool in November for the 2022 FIEC Leaders’ Conference.
It was the first national conference for three years, due to the Covid pandemic, but came just in time to mark FIEC’s 100th anniversary.
From royal events to churches – how do we welcome?
Recent media coverage of the Royal Family has included concerns about racism, including one event at Buckingham Palace.
Lady-in-waiting Lady Hussey’s role had been to put guests at ease at a reception. Unfortunately, whatever her intentions, the opposite happened. There were also allegations from Prince Harry and Meghan about related areas. I’m not going to comment on those events which have received so much coverage and divided opinion. However, it makes me think about the difficulties we have trying to connect with one another.