letter from Spain
Seedy clubs, drugs & alcohol... but the gospel too!
Trevor Ramsey
Date posted: 18 Jul 2024
Located on Spain’s sunny Costa Blanca, the town of Benidorm is known for many things - only a few of them are particularly healthy! Through popular TV programmes, such as Bargain Loving Brits in the Sun, A Place in the Sun or the sitcom Benidorm, many UK citizens have got a taste of life on the sunny coast.
Benidorm is still a very popular holiday destination - indeed nearly 800,000 UK tourists flock there every summer, seeking the perfect holiday of sun, sea and sand. Parts of the town are beautiful and peaceful but certain areas are awash with decadence and immorality, fuelled by excessive alcohol and a lax drug use policy, particularly on 'The Strip', the notorious street full of bars and seedy clubs. It’s a veritable hive of activity and noise and depravity, especially when the sun goes down.
everyday theology
Do we downgrade Christ?
Michael Reeves
Date posted: 18 Jul 2024
To be faithful to the gospel means treating Christ and His redeeming death and resurrection as matters ‘of first importance’ (1 Cor. 15:3-4). And yet, through the centuries, Christians have managed to downgrade Jesus, cast Him in their own image, or use Him as the icing to sell some other agenda.
But that is not the evangelical way. Evangelicals look to Scripture to know Christ, and there they find the unique Son of God, exclusive in His glorious identity and completely sufficient as a Saviour.
Canopy 2024 draws Scottish Baptists
Luke Randall
Date posted: 17 Jul 2024
Over 400 people attended Canopy 2024, an event for Scottish Baptists in Larbert. The event centred around the theme of everyday discipleship, inspired by Romans 12:1-2.
It featured a range of speakers including Solas Director Andy Bannister, Jenny Walley, Spiritual Director of Novo Mission, and Ken Benjamin, Director of Church Relationships at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC).
UCCF appoints new CEO
UCCF
Date posted: 17 Jul 2024
A new CEO, Matt Lillicrap, is heading to Christian student organisation UCCF.
He will begin his role at the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF) in the Autumn.
defending our faith
One man’s quiet legacy
Chris Sinkinson
Date posted: 17 Jul 2024
Archaeological excavations at Corinth have revealed a wealth of remains that help us understand the New Testament and also demonstrate that the books were written during the middle of the first century AD. We have just returned from filming there for a new series on the Bible – it really brings the Bible to life.
Corinth was an important travel hub for the Roman Empire, sitting on a narrow neck of the Greek mainland. Nowadays a canal joins the Ionian Sea to the Aegean Sea and saves boats a long journey around the coastline. In Paul’s day, boats were dragged overland along a portage road, remains of which can still be seen.
Church of Scotland continues freefall
Luke Randall
Date posted: 17 Jul 2024
The Church of Scotland (Cof S) has announced it is selling around 100 buildings following a period of drastic decline in worshippers and ministers. Buildings on sale range from churches to houses, some dating back to the 1800s – and it has described the decision as a ‘difficult’ and ‘painful’ move.
The news comes after the denomination recently announced at its General Assembly that it is set to close hundreds of churches in the coming years due to a large fall in membership, and that it was ‘unsustainable’ to keep over 1,000 churches open for the number of people attending services.
EMA: remaining ‘rugged’
Kate Peters
Date posted: 17 Jul 2024
The recent Evangelical Ministry Assembly (EMA) 2024 brought together evangelicals from across different spheres to encourage and strengthen those involved in Bible ministry.
Under the theme of ‘Steady’, EMA urged attendees to hold fast to evangelical convictions as they grapple over critical decisions facing their churches. The focus on steadiness was not only a theme but a call to action, encouraging all attendees to remain unwavering in their mission despite the challenges of our times. During the three days, the stage was shared by leaders from across the evangelical world: Kevin DeYoung, Michael Reeves, Conrad Mbewe, Andrew Sach, Jason Roach, and James Robson. Speakers challenged those present to remain rugged in faith, to stay true to evangelical history, and to rely on the power of God’s word in our proclamation.
East Midlands event unites
Pete Harrison
Date posted: 17 Jul 2024
More than 350 people of all ages, and from many different churches, gathered together at Brockington College in Leicestershire on Saturday 29 June to enjoy East Midlands Churches Day.
The speaker was Paul Mallard, there was a children’s and youth meeting, plus hog roast, Indian street food, ice cream and various mission exhibitions. There was also an ‘It’s a knockout’ event, five-a-side football, film, bouncy castle, face painting and crafts, and a Q&A session with Paul Mallard.
Keswick 24: God is at work today in the least expected places
Femi Adeleye
Date posted: 17 Jul 2024
Two years ago, I was invited by the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Henry Chukwudum Ndukuba, to speak at the Joshua Generation International Youth Conference (JGIYC). It was to take place at the National Stadium in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria.
When I was told 30,000 young people were expected at the five-day event, I had some reservations. To my pleasant surprise, there were about 33,000 young people in attendance, and they were all irrepressible in their response. At least one third committed their lives to serving God’s purpose in their generation.
Change of leadership for Bury Street Community Church
Luke Randall
Date posted: 17 Jul 2024
Jake Tasker has been inducted as the pastor of Bury Street Community Church, Enfield, London.
He has spent much of the past year serving as Pastor Designate and takes on the role having studied at Oak Hill Theological College. Formed in 2017, the church is a member of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) and Together for Mission (TFM).
Formation of The Gospel Coalition UK progresses
Affinity
Date posted: 15 Jul 2024
On Tuesday, 9 July 2024, Affinity invited a number of key evangelical leaders to come together to discuss and pray about whether further steps should be taken to launch The Gospel Coalition UK.
This follows a statement in April from Affinity and numerous one-to-one consultations within and beyond Affinity members, Council, and Trustees. Notably, well over half of those attending were from outside the current Affinity network.
everyday theology
Showing Christ personally
Michael Reeves
Date posted: 1 Jun 2024
If the desire of the Father, the work of the Spirit, and the purpose of Scripture is to herald Jesus, then so it must be for the faithful preacher.
If the Son’s great and eternal goal is to win for Himself a bride, then His heralds must woo for Him. They are like Abraham’s servant in Genesis 24, commissioned to find a bride for His master’s son. Only when we take our eyes off ourselves and herald Him will we truly glorify God. But when we do that, we may be sure that our preaching will always be evangelistic and, at the same time, always edifying to the saints.
everyday evangelism
What about the Crusades and the Inquisition?
Glen Scrivener
Date posted: 1 Jul 2024
There are any number of ways the subject might crop up, but crop up it will: ‘Religion causes all wars… ’; ‘Christians are hypocrites… ’; What about the Crusades / the Inquisition / conquistadors… ?’; ‘Those Christians really hurt me… ’.
These are different kinds of statements and, as we’ll see, they should be addressed differently – especially that last one. But there’s one thing they all accomplish: they tempt the Christian to dissociate from church.
A Nationalist election view: God’s workmanship
John Mason
Date posted: 1 Jul 2024
In Ephesians 2:10, the apostle Paul tells us: ‘For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.’ That is both encouraging and challenging!
Encouraging – because each of us has a specific task to do that is unique for us. Challenging – because we need to find what that task is and then follow it through. For me that has previously meant being an accountant with Operation Mobilisation in London; and later, with Interserve/United Mission to Nepal (UMN).
Warm-hearted and influential pastor dies
en staff
Date posted: 1 Jul 2024
The former pastor of one of the largest evangelical churches on the south coast of England has died.
Tony Sargent, who helped Worthing Tabernacle Church flourish into an even more thriving church, died aged 83. He had an extensive ministry across UK evangelicalism and was previously a director of Evangelicals Now.
A life of dedicated, humble service changing many lives
Jeremy Weightman
Date posted: 1 Jul 2024
Celebrating the life of Margaret Hill (1941–2024).
Veteran missionary and Bible translator Margaret Hill has died aged 82 after almost 60 years in service with Wycliffe Bible Translators.
news in brief
The Goodness of God
The songs Goodness of God, 10,000 Reasons and In Christ Alone have topped a new list of favourite contemporary worship songs.
CCLI (Christian Copyright Licensing International), has published a roundup of the latest favourites among UK churches who are licensed with the organisation. The top ten also includes How Great Is Our God (4), What a Beautiful Name (5), O Praise The Name (Anástasis) (6), Here I Am To Worship (7) and Cornerstone (8). Other favourites making the list include How Deep The Father’s Love For Us at number 20, Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) (22), The Servant King (37), There Is A Redeemer (46), Come People Of the Risen King (50) and The Power Of The Cross (94). The list does not include classic Christian hymns as they are already in the public domain and not within CCLI’s remit.
Olympics then and now: What can Eric Liddell teach us today?
Luke Randall
Date posted: 1 Jul 2024
The Olympic Games are almost upon us. They start in Paris on 26 July and countless storylines will inevitably surround what is arguably the world’s biggest sporting event.
Can Novak Djokovic finally claim the gold medal, the one accolade which has eluded him during his glittering career, in what is surely his last realistic chance to win it? Can Tom Daley win a fifth Olympic medal? Can Simone Biles become the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history? These are just some of the headlines which will fill papers around the globe as the games draw near.
What’s your church like? I mean, really like?
I don’t mean, where it is or what kind of building and programmes you have. Or even why you exist (something perhaps you capture in a mission statement). All these reflect the individual context of each gathered congregation.
What’s your church like? I mean who makes up the congregation. Each of us might answer that question differently, and there will be large variations, but for the most part our churches are – to a greater or lesser extent – intergenerational.