What do you think of when ‘mission’ is mentioned?
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 6 Feb 2026
Growing up in the UK church, when the word “mission” was mentioned, I’d instinctively picture overseas work. The phrase “mission field” conjured up images of far-away countries with people I perceived as different from myself. Was I correct in my definition?
David Baldwin, CEO of 2:19 Teach to Reach – which exists to help local churches share the gospel cross-culturally – maintains that there is a difference between evangelism and mission: “Whereas evangelism means sharing the gospel with those in our usual circles, mission always involves movement across some kind of boundary; geographical, cultural, ethnic or other.”
updates from the mission field
The UK as both mission field and mission force
Pioneers
Date posted: 9 May 2026
“Mission on our doorstep” is a phrase we’ve heard again and again over the last decade. The idea is simple and observable: record numbers of migrants (whatever their motivation – economic, educational, political, etc.) have been streaming into the United Kingdom, and we only need to step out our front gate to see that people from all over the world are choosing to make a life for themselves alongside ours.
Because of migration, cross-cultural mission has never been easier. The mission field is literally next door.
updates from the mission field
Why caring for mission partners matters
Kerstin Prill
Date posted: 14 Mar 2026
Caring well for mission partners can make the difference between silent struggle that leads to early departure and the reassurance needed to continue faithfully in ministry.
But what support is needed and who is best placed to provide it? How can agencies, sending churches and personal supporters offer meaningful care? And what would help mission partners communicate their needs with honesty and confidence?
updates from the mission field
Mission: Across the street and across the world
OMF International UK
Date posted: 11 Feb 2026
In this piece, mission organisation OMF International UK provides en readers with an update on its work.
The worker bee has represented Manchester’s hardworking spirit since the Industrial Revolution. In keeping with that spirit, OMF UK has been a hive of activity as we moved our office from Kent to Manchester in 2025.
updates from the mission field
Mission in Naples: 'Italian gospel workers are heroes'
Mark Oden
Date posted: 20 Jan 2026
In the heat of the summer of 2013, Jane and I, and our four kids (Sofia, Inez, Luisa, and Archie), moved from leafy Sevenoaks to noisy, crowded Naples, Italy, to work alongside a Brethren church we’d built links with previously.
We spent two years serving in Pozzuoli, then moved into the centre of the city to plant the Chiesa Evangelica Neapolis (the Greek name for the city, meaning "new community"). In March 2026, we intend to leave Naples, having been called to serve Chalmers Church, Edinburgh.
the Bible in action
Remember the unreached - 1 in 5 still waiting for the Bible in their language
Martin Horton
Date posted: 8 May 2026
For over two years, I have shared with you updates from the frontiers of mission. It has felt like watching a sunrise – each new Bible translation a ray of light reaching the one in five still waiting for God’s Word in their language.
This year, we are inviting people like you to help reach the “unreached” – those 3.4 billion people worldwide who live in communities without a local church capable of sharing the gospel with them. As we prayed for the unreached through our daily prayer diary last year, we remembered people like the Rofca* and the Ceren*. The reality for these people is often one of profound spiritual darkness.
updates from the mission field
A Christ-centred home for the 'forgotten' - 20 years of Casa Mea, Moldova
Matthew Martin
Date posted: 28 Apr 2026
April 2026 marks the 20th anniversary of the Casa Mea project in Moldova - an initiative providing community homes for adults with disabilities, offering a Christ-centred alternative to state-run institutions. This article is drawn from an interview with UFM Mission Partner Maureen Wise, conducted during the filming of a documentary marking the occasion.
The story behind Casa Mea
Faithful missioner retires
BCM / Nicola Laver
Date posted: 28 Apr 2026
After 43 years of devoted service, street evangelist Paul Olise has retired from Birmingham City Mission (BCM), which said he will be greatly missed by colleagues – and many across the city who have been impacted by his ministry.
Paul joined BCM in 1982 as an In-Service Trainee after Bible college. At a service marking his retirement, he wryly observed that he had originally intended only to stay for the year’s training but decided to remain longer to gain further experience in evangelism for future ministry!
Children’s ministry in Moldova: ‘My daddy fixes children’s hearts’
Abbie Watts
Date posted: 18 Feb 2026
“The love of Christ compels us.” Taken from 2 Corinthians 5v14, this verse is the strapline of Christian Mission International Aid (CMIAID) and underpins everything the Christian charity does.
I recently arrived back in the UK after spending two weeks with CMIAID in Moldova. Started by Matthew and Ruth Hillier and Dan Marianciuc, the multi-faceted organisation does whatever it takes to share the light and truth of the gospel to those of all ages and stages of life in Moldova and other Eastern European countries.
Jellyfish sting girl given urgent MAF flight
Gary Clayton
Date posted: 3 Jan 2026
A teenager who received an excruciatingly painful sting from the poisonous, transparent tentacles of a box jellyfish, was flown to hospital from a remote part of Arnhem Land, Australia in just 25 minutes – thanks to the Mission Aviation Fellowship.
By road, the tortuous journey from Nyinykay homeland to Gove would have taken about three hours – assuming that the rough bush tracks could be traversed without trouble or, during the rainy season, flooding.
From bird migration to Biblical mission
Karen Soole
Date posted: 28 Feb 2026
March is the month when flocks of overwintering birds begin to leave the UK. Bird migration is an incredible natural phenomenon that occurs around us, yet many of us do not notice it.
But each year, as many birds leave our relatively mild winters behind to breed further north, birders and conservationists wonder how many will return. Those who dedicate their lives to this work are acutely aware that all is not well. The decline in numbers of once-common garden birds, such as sparrows and starlings, is drastic. It is easy to miss until someone tells you: “House sparrow populations in the UK have declined by approximately 60 –70% since the 1970s, with nearly 30 million vanishing from the countryside and cities.” The biggest problems most declining species face are habitat destruction, food availability, and disease.
First City Mission marks 200 years
Emily Pollok
Date posted: 21 Feb 2026
The world’s first official City Mission, Glasgow City Mission, is celebrating 200 years of service in Scotland’s largest city.
Established in 1826, Glasgow City Mission was founded by young Glaswegian David Naismith at just 26 years old. Moved by the poverty he witnessed in Glasgow, Naismith put the gospel into action by caring for people’s physical, emotional and spiritual needs.
Churches gear up for Life ’26 nationwide mission
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 1 Jan 2026
Churches across the country are preparing for a focused period of evangelism. Life ’26 is a nationwide gospel mission, starting in March, where church fellowships will share the gospel with their communities. A Passion for Life (APFL) oversees the mission. This year, the theme is a question: “Ever feel like something’s missing?”
Alex Hillman, APFL’s Communications and Operations Lead, told en: “Over 250 churches, from Thurso in the North of Scotland to St Helier in Jersey, will be joining together to share the gospel with friends, family, neighbours and people in their communities, under a common banner [and] with a shared mission campaign identity.”
updates from the mission field
The power of 'welcome'
WEC International
Date posted: 14 Apr 2026
Baptisms are always a special time in any church but on this occasion my wife and I had special reason to rejoice. As Min shared her testimony before the congregation we found out that we had been a very small part of her journey to Christ.
Min (not her real name) came to the UK as a student with her young family and moved into some apartments near our inner city church. She comes from a country where there is no religious freedom and had never encountered Christianity before.
a Jewish Christian perspective
‘Give them less Jesus?’
Joseph Steinberg
Date posted: 8 May 2026
Give them less Jesus. That is the message that can quietly creep into the church when tensions rise around Israel and the Jewish people. We might never say it out loud, but our actions can begin to whisper it.
We stop praying for Jewish salvation. We neglect the mission. In practice we begin to treat the Jewish people as if they are the one group somehow outside the reach of Jesus. As if the arm of the Lord was suddenly too short to save. But is that really the Christian answer? Over many months I have watched a familiar and ugly ghost re-emerge with renewed strength: Jew-hate. It is a stain that has troubled the world for millennia and, heartbreakingly, one that has sometimes found a foothold even within the walls of the church. I see it on Christian social media. I even sometimes hear it in the prayers of Sunday services.
news in brief
Bangor Worldwide Missionary Convention
Bangor Worldwide Missionary Convention has launched its 90th conference with launch events in Bangor and Belfast, sharing its 2026 theme of “Pressing on”. Conrad Mbewe will be leading this year’s Bible studies at the Convention.
The organisation shared that its usual main venue isn’t available this year, so many events will be held in different locations – and has asked for prayer as “these necessary changes create the potential for confusion and frustration”. Its 90th Convention will be held from 14-23 August 2026.
Leadership and the danger of unrepentant sin...
Andy Mason
Date posted: 20 May 2026
Spiritual leaders face many tricky circumstances, setbacks and tragedies, but the biggest threat that we leaders ever face is the failings of our own character.
The rather disconcerting thing about spiritual leadership is that every leader contains within themselves the seeds of their own destruction: "...sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you…" (Gen. 4v7).
You need deep, gospel-centred relationships
Alistair Chalmers
Date posted: 15 May 2026
We live in the most connected generation in history, yet many people have never felt more alone.
We can message hundreds of people instantly, follow thousands online, and remain constantly updated on each other’s lives, but still lack genuine friendship.
updates from the mission field
My sponsor's words 'carried me for years'
John O.
Date posted: 9 Mar 2026
NB: The following content contains references to suicide and could be upsetting and triggering.
A childhood marked by loss
I grew up in rural Eastern Uganda. My parents were teachers and I had dreams, like any child. When I was nine, my mother became seriously ill. After a long and traumatic illness, she died when I was 12.
New £2.5m church building opens
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 4 May 2026
A Baptist church in Christchurch, Dorset has opened the doors of its new £2.5 million building, with total project costs reported to be over £3 million.
Christchurch Baptist Church, Bargates, has been planning and fundraising for the move since 2015. The church’s minister, Chris Brockway, told en why the move is significant: “Our previous buildings, though deeply valued and faithful to us for around 150 years, had become too small and no longer fit for the needs of our mission and ministry. In contrast, this new space provides both the capacity and a contemporary environment to support what God is continuing to do among us.” The church’s new site has 250 seats and is 60% larger than its previous location – a hall opposite.
How do you relate to your church's mission partners?
Don’t get me wrong, every missionary is grateful for the financial support they receive from churches.
They’re also blessed by knowing that churches are praying for them from the moment they leave these shores until they return at some future point. In fact, I was just sharing with a church yesterday that when a missionary says they’re travelling from one place to another and would like people to pray, they really mean it. It isn’t a filler item in a list of prayer points; the journey probably involves dangerous, ice-covered or corrugated desert roads, or even the risk of hijacking.