everyday evangelism
Should we ‘forget church, and just look at Jesus’?
Glen Scrivener
Date posted: 1 May 2024
In evangelism Christians have an incredible asset which too many think is a liability: the church.
Last month we considered the advertising campaign ‘He Gets Us’, and its tendency to pit a compassionate Jesus against His judgmental people. But it happens in personal conversations too. The failures of Christ’s people might come up, and the strong temptation can be to throw the church ‘under the bus’.
Move over Equality, Equity is the new kid in town: Here’s what it means
Tom Underhill
Date posted: 1 May 2024
Over the past few years, corporate HR departments and public bodies have quietly been wielding their Tipp-Ex in a bulk deletion of the letters ‘a’ and ‘l’. ‘Equality’ has been changed to ‘equity’ in a mass rebranding of EDI (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) departments and initiatives.
Or maybe it wasn’t quiet: perhaps in your experience it was heralded with great fanfare. Either way, this deletion represents a significant extension of the EDI mission, now almost synonymous with the one term, Equity. So what is Equity, what does this change imply, and how should we think Christianly about these matters?
Mormonism: ‘A different Jesus,’ says former member
Luke Randall
Date posted: 1 May 2024
An ex-Mormon says she believes plans for a Mormon temple to be built in Sutton Coldfield spring from a financial controversy that the sect is facing.
The structure will be built on a site currently occupied by the church’s Birmingham mission offices and will be their first new temple to open in the UK since 1998, and the third of its kind in the country.
AMiE leaders consider how to be ‘rich’ in ministry
Tom Hutton
Date posted: 1 May 2024
Leaders of the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE) considered the theme ‘Rich’ at this year’s conference in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Leeds.
This was drawn from 2 Corinthians 10:6, where Paul writes: ‘Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, poor, yet making many rich, having nothing, and yet possessing everything.’
a Jewish Christian perspective
‘Are you for us or our enemies?’ Joshua 5:13
Joseph Steinberg
Date posted: 1 May 2024
Joshua entered the boundaries of Jericho at the start of Israel’s move into Canaan after the Exodus and 40 years of desert wanderings. There seems to have been a misunderstanding about the nature of what God was seeking to do – using Israel to eradicate sin from the land and establish a kingdom of righteous true-God worshippers.
It is no accident then that Joshua meets a man with a sword drawn in his hand. ‘Are you for us or our enemies?’ The man exclaims ‘No!’ He is for neither and reveals that he is none other than the ‘Commander of the LORD’s army’. Joshua, realising that he was standing before the Lord God, fell face down to the ground in reverence.
'Intense discussions' as Anglican Primates gather in Rome
Rebecca Chapman
Date posted: 1 May 2024
As I write, humid and thundery showers are predicted in Rome, Italy, as the Primates of the Anglican Communion reach half-time in their historic meeting.
Senior archbishops, presiding bishops, and moderators from churches across the globe have gathered for what we are told will be a time conceived as a pilgrimage. They will pray and study the book of Acts, visit holy sites in Rome, and reflect together about the mission and witness of the Church in the world.
Gaza: can Christianity now survive?
Iain Taylor
Date posted: 1 May 2024
Thirty out of the estimated 1,000 Christians still left in Gaza have been killed, according to local church sources.
And as Gaza’s Christian population continues to shrink, down from about 3,500 before the war began, commentators fear that one of the oldest Christian communities in the world may be literally dying out.
What is the value of running intensive preaching training weeks cross-culturally?
Neil Watkinson
Date posted: 1 May 2024
Having been involved in short intensive weeks of preaching training for pastor-preachers and Bible teachers in Africa and Asia for the last 17 years – six of them based in SE Asia with Crosslinks – it’s been good to reflect on the question: ‘Of what value are these – do they not simply run the risk of cultural imperialism, even in preaching style?’
Local churches across the globe are growing without us, as Christ is proclaimed and the gospel bears fruit. So why do such Bible teaching and preaching training?
The crossroads of evangelism
Jason Roach
Date posted: 1 Mar 2024
The most powerful information we hold as Christians is the good news of Jesus. But how can we be confident in sharing the gospel?
Picture the scene: a busy day, rushing to your local corner shop to quickly get something you have run out of at home. In the chaotic moment, you start observing the other people there, hearing the echoes of their steps and catching snippets of various conversations. Amidst the bustle, your attention is drawn to the woman behind the till. Your heart is prompted to remember that she's an image-bearer of God, precious and treasured. As your focus shifts towards her, you find yourself curious about who she is, her expression and her story - does she know Jesus? As you approach her to pay, you see the opportunity. An opportunity to reach out, spark up a conversation and find a way to talk to her about Jesus. You find yourself conflicted because you're in a hurry and there's a chance you might be misunderstood, or she might not be interested.
From casino to Christ to Kosovo... and beyond
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 1 Feb 2024
A former gambler turned evangelist is planning his next mission at the age of 79.
As a young man, Fane Conant bet on horses every day and spent his Saturdays in the casino. After meeting some Christian sportsmen in his twenties and seeing they ‘had something’ he didn’t, he gave his life to Christ – but it took a decade for him to finally stop gambling.
women in mission
Two mums, terminal cancer, shared tears - and gospel hope
Naomi Dawson
Date posted: 22 Jul 2024
For two years, Chloe and I stood in the same playground, at the same time, picking our daughters up from the same class and yet our conversation and friendship never went much further than a brief chat.
At times in those first few years it felt like I was back at school myself, wondering how everyone knew each other and how on earth I could make friends.
Keswick ‘getting younger’ as it seeks to expand
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 1 Mar 2024
After 30 years of working in mission both in the UK and across the globe, Mark Ellis became Ministry Director for Keswick Ministries in September 2023.
Six months into the role, he talks to en about how things are going, what’s new at the convention this year, and the future of Keswick Ministries.
Ten Questions: Addressing your own heart
Carl Chambers
1. How did you become a Christian?
Ten Questions: Is our gospel ‘too safe’?
Paul Woolley
1. How did you become a Christian?
Coekin severs final C of E links – and unveils ‘gym’ plan
en staff
Date posted: 1 Apr 2024
Richard Coekin, the Senior Pastor of Dundonald Church, Wimbledon, says the 1,100-strong congregation has finally severed all links with the Church of England because of its ‘tragic denial of God’s word’.
Speaking to en, Coekin said the CofE’s so-called Prayers of Love and Faith ‘encourage same-sex attracted people down a path which leads away from God and His salvation instead of lovingly warning and supporting them in godliness’. He added: ‘We cannot accept this – or walk with those who do.’
news in brief
Hope Church Blackwood and Kirkmuirhill celebrates tenth anniversary
Hope Church (Blackwood and Kirkmuirhill) recently celebrated their tenth anniversary as a Free Church of Scotland congregation. Original members of the congregation, along with minister Rev. Ian Watson, had left the Church of Scotland in 2014.
The church’s anniversary weekend featured a meal and ceilidh on the Saturday and a service focused on the anniversary on the Sunday, which included Communion. Rev. Watson said: ‘as we review the past decade the verse that keeps coming back to us is Psalm 118:23: ‘The Lord has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes.’’
letter from America
‘In wrath, remember mercy’
Josh Moody
Date posted: 1 Apr 2024
It was an unusual Sunday. A group of Ukrainian pastors had been in conversation with the missions leadership of the church to see if we might be able to partner with them.
Their ministry in Ukraine was very active. Church planting. Training pastors. Fruitful evangelism. Baptisms. As they were meeting that weekend with the church, news emerged of war breaking out in Ukraine. The Ukrainian pastors were prayed for in a new context, and they bravely made the hard decision to return to their homeland to shepherd their people.
Haiti: missionary evacuation plan
en staff
Date posted: 1 Apr 2024
Missionaries trapped amid escalating violence in Haiti are to be evacuated under a plan by Florida Governor Ron De Santis.
Speaking on television, DeSantis said: ‘I have authorised rescue flights like we did in Israel after the 7 October (Hamas attacks) because we’ve got a lot of folks who are part of Christian missionary groups and they do things to try to actually help a very troubled country.’
Bridge building
Simon Bowkett
Date posted: 1 Apr 2024
Book Review
STRANGE RELIGION:
How the First Christians Were Weird,
Dangerous, and Compelling
Read review
Where is the next generation of leaders?
Numbers are down. This is a nationwide observation about people applying for ministry apprenticeships, training courses, and responses to church job adverts. The question is frequently asked: ‘Where are the next generation of leaders for the church in the UK?’
We have never had more access to gospel resources: courses, online teaching, excellent conferences, and sermons downloadable at the touch of a button, so why are we not producing disciples who are ready to take on more responsibility, try new ministries, or move to other parts of the country to spread the gospel? Why do so many want to stay in the safety of their known church family and not have the confidence to consider more radical alternatives?