search

In June it was announced that Tony Brown would be joining the team of the Association of Evangelists.

As a former Jehovah’s Witness, his special interest is outreach to the cults, as well as teaching churches how to reach people caught up in cults.

Superficially we did the usual things: passing obscure legal provisions.

For example, there was giving official permission not to have to wear robes at main services (which I realise you all have done faithfully up until now); the valiant effort to put something to do with mission on the agenda. We even had the obligatory ‘current affairs’ motion, this time from the Archbishops following the surprises at the General Election, generally calling for more prayer and appropriate lobbying.

It wasn’t easy to find the Barbican Centre for this year’s Evangelical Ministry Assembly (EMA) amid London’s burgeoning road and building works. But it was worth the tricky navigation for Tuesday – Thursday, 27–29 June.

The conference theme was ‘Bearing Fruit and Growing’, with the morning Bible readings coming from Ephesians. These were given by Andy Gemmill of the Cornhill Training Course in Scotland and reminded those there that, amid the spiritual battle, ‘your church is what Christ’s rule looks like now.’ We need to ‘do church’ (I’m not sure I like that phrase) by faith, not by sight, because for all its present flaws the church displays God’s wisdom to the astonishment of the heavenly powers.

Durham Christian Union won an award for ‘Best Society Event’ at the National Society Awards on 19 May.

Hosted by the National Union of Students and Red Oak Roller, the evening celebrated university societies around the United Kingdom and what they contribute to their members, their campuses and to the wider community.

Bethesda Evangelical Church (Hay-on-Wye) and EMW, with Show Jesus, an evangelistic enterprise, supporting, spent four days seeking to share the wonderful news of Jesus and his love with folk attending the International Hay-on-Wye Literature Festival in late May.

Following the theme – ‘LIFE - what’s your question?’ the gospel was shared through artistic skills including pottery, storytelling, poetry and through preaching. Michael Ots spoke on suffering linked to the tragic Manchester bombing. Local author and church member Ollie Balch led a guided tour around Hay.

Reach out. Build up. Send out.

A mission statement of ‘sharing the life-giving story of God with London and the world’ could seem overambitious to say the least, but with the use of a vast building in central London surrounded by people from all around the world, this Euston Church statement is wonderfully appropriate.

Much-travelled pastor and missionary the Revd Gilbert McAdam started a new chapter of his life on 31 March, on the northern coast of Scotland with his wife Emily and their ten-year-old adopted daughter Claire from the Philippines.

Mr McAdam, 66, was inducted as minister of Wick Harbour Mission, answering the prayers of the church’s five woman members who had kept the cause alive since the death of their former pastor Jimmie Cormack in 2008.

On 8 June, the Scottish Episcopal Church voted at its General Synod to permit same-sex weddings in its churches.

The Scottish Episcopal Church (the SEC) is the Anglican Province in Scotland. A relatively small province, it ‘gave birth’ to the Episcopal Church of the United States (ECUSA), by consecrating America’s first bishop.

On 6 May, the European School of Biblical Studies, formally School of Biblical Studies, held its annual Open Day at Welwyn Evangelical Church.

About 200 people came to hear from this year’s students and from Dr Garry Williams, Director of the John Owen Centre. The theme Celebrating the Reformation not only reflected on this year being the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, but is also the subject on which Garry lectures at the School.

A new page has been turned. For over 50 years the Banner of Truth ministers’ conference met at Leicester University. This year (24-27 April) the venue changed.

Around 300 men gathered for the first time at Yarnfield Park in Staffordshire. It is a purpose-built conference centre and proved to be rather a pleasant upgrade.

What do you call a collection of evangelistic workers? Answer: F.E.W.

Under the banner of the Fellowship of Evangelistic Workers (www.thefew.org.uk) there is now an annual conference for evangelists, several regional days around the country with guest speakers, and time for prayer and fellowship.

Cumbria is an English county known worldwide, not least for having at its heart the beautiful Lake District National Park, nominated to become a World Heritage site.

Then there’s the Keswick Convention, a name which has also rippled around the world. And yet another famous export are Derwent Pencils.

The FIEC Leaders’ Conference, held in 2016 from 31 October to 3 November, is the main annual gathering for FIEC churches.

563 pastors, church leaders and church workers representing over 200 churches met this year in the metropolis of Hemsby on the Norfolk coast.’

In January, St James Clerkenwell played home to the first City to City UK DNA Download conference, with 45 churches and 13 UK cities represented.

The conference provided an opportunity to think about theological vision and ministry values that are needed to see the cities of the UK reached with the gospel. The Gospel: it renews hearts, changes lives, builds the church and impacts the world. The City: aim to equip churches for the challenges and opportunities that come from ministering in UK cities. The Movement: City to City UK is a movement of church-planting churches, working together from different tribes and networks.

Understandably, Luther and the great matters of the Reformation took pole position at the annual Carey Conference for pastors and wives and Christian workers this year.

Held at the Hayes Swanick, 3-5 January, there was quite a raft of different speakers. Paul Gibson, pastor at Wheelock Heath, roared away from the start with an excellent biography of Martin Luther that focussed helpfully on the great Reformer’s weaknesses. Anfechtungen became the buzz word! There were superb Bible readings from Rupert Bentley-Taylor on the power of the Word (Isaiah 55) and the power of the gospel (1 Corinthians 1) – very much Reformation concerns. John Benton spoke on lessons for leaders from the psychology of Samson. Linda Alcock did a brilliant job with the women’s track, leading the sisters through Titus, and Ian Fry gave a sparkling and yet very disturbing talk on the needs of children and the work among young people in today’s church.