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How to thrive in Events Week
As any student might be able to tell from the sea of matching jumpers across campus, Christian Union Events Weeks are upon us. The publicity is beginning to pop up on social media, you've received pleas to brand your profile picture and start those ‘invitation conversations’, and you’re probably…
Rachel Bourner
Invitation - at the heart of the great commission
Twelve years ago a simple truth turned my life around – that before you can welcome someone to your church you have to go through the fear barrier of inviting them! I was working on the Back to Church Sunday project, which developed in 18 countries and has allowed me to conduct over 850 focus…
Michael Harvey
Junction moments
Prior to coming to serve at the Evangelical Alliance, I spent 14 years working for Youth for Christ. I loved seeing many young people come to faith and was constantly encouraged by the overwhelming percentage of people in the UK who do so under the age of 25. I was also quite taken with an image…
Gavin Calver
Mike Royal - Share his story
I’m convinced the opportunity the church has, to share the message of Jesus, is built on the credibility of the great work the church has done over the last 15 years. As the saying goes:people don't care about what you know, until they know that you care. My own story started in the leafy suburbs…
Mike Royal
Praying for those I love to come to know Christ
When I think of praying for my friends to come to know Jesus Christ I am reminded of the story told to me by Pete Greig, of an amazing man called DL Moody. DL Moody prayed daily for 100 of his friends to come to know Christ. During his life, 96 of those friends gave their lives to Christ and at his…
Emma Buchan
Reaching students in your city
On the university campuses in your city there are thousands of people open to talking about the gospel during one of the most pivotal seasons of their lives. Among them, you’ll probably find students not just from all over the UK, but all over the world. How can local churches in university cities…
Peter Dray
More than a playgroup
Childcare facilities are a crucial part of our society. They are places of retreat for parents, where they can seek help, guidance, or just find some time to talk to an adult. They are places where children can grow cognitively, physically, and emotionally. These are hubs; places that communities…
Joel Botham
Grace: better left unsaid?
It’s normally chaos before we eat dinner. We've battled to get the four of us around the table for dinner, but almost always one of our young kids is complaining about the menu, there's time pressure for one of us to get to an evening meeting, and then there's inevitably a spillage, so we've got…
Andy Frost
Sharing Jesus - not an added extra
It has become known as the Eisenhower Matrix after the President’s speech in which he explained "I have two kinds of problems: the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent." It seems that most of our churches believe that sharing Jesus is important…
Andy Frost
Stuck in maintenance mode?
As church leaders, it’s so easy to get caught up with our measurement for success being rooted in the ABC of church statistics: attendance, buildings, cash. It’s understandable, as these are tangible metrics against which we can measure the previous years. But while I’m not against their use per…
Iain Hesketh
This isn't how God made it
As part of our Inspiring Women series, Nell encourages us to be praying for women in difficult situations all around the world – that they may find healing and freedom, and ultimately to come to know Jesus themselves.I’ll be the first to admit it, I was an annoying child. One of my favourite games…
Alianore Smith
Top tips for preparing a Christmas preach
You can imagine the scene. Mulled wine and mince pies have been merrily consumed. A smattering of Santa hats and reindeer ears litter the congregation as fairy lights flicker above them. The dulcet tones of ‘Joy to the World’ die down; the talk is about to begin. You stand up to speak with…
Bekah Oliver
What's at the heart of your Christmas?
However, we feel increasingly challenged to make a point of Jesus being the 'reason for the season’, not just the presents, chaos and food. There is something about the build up to the 25th that needs to be reversed and reclaimed. Rather than just preparing earthly things like food, drink and…
Anne Calver
What's the Bible got to say about praying for lost loved ones?
It's so important that we are praying for our family and friends who don't know Jesus, but it can be hard to keep praying when we don't seem to see many results. How many times have we prayed something along the lines: "Lord, please save Julia," and yet nothing seems to change? I know I have many…
Dr Liz Linssen
Where do I start in prayer and evangelism?
It's so important for us to rediscover the priority and place of prayer in our evangelism, witness and mission. Prayer for evangelism is about praying for ourselves as Christians. Praying that we are full of the love and compassion of our Heavenly Father – and for God to open doors for…