Contact For Christ

New Contacts Needed!

2010-03-31T10:19:00.000Z

During 2010 Contact for Christ is focusing on filling some of large gaps that have developed in its UK coverage. Please visit this page to see the list of locations where we need people who would be willing to follow-up local enquires about Jesus Christ and what it means to be a Christian. If you are able to help, please visit our website for an application form (pdf file).

Churches Will Explore Internet Opportunities on Sunday April 25

2010-03-12T14:07:00.001Z

Internet Evangelism Day is an annual digital outreach focus day for churches. This year, it is scheduled for Sunday April 25. It's an opportunity for any church to explore with its members the exciting opportunities for sharing the good news online. Ready-made free downloads – PowerPoint, video clips, handouts, drama scripts and music can be easily built into a presentation of five minutes or 50.

2010's focus day will be the sixth to be used by churches around the world since the initiative's launch in 2005. Over this period, digital media have developed dramatically, with the advent of YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and the growing use of mobile phones to access online services.

IE Day's website is also a one-stop resource covering many subjects including: how to build a church website that is 'outsider friendly', using Twitter in evangelism, and ideas for effective blogging.

Perhaps surprisingly, you do not need to be technical to share your faith online. And you can volunteer to be an email mentor to inquirers with several large online outreach ministries.

Internet Evangelism Day is an initiative of the Internet Evangelism Coalition, based at the Billy Graham Center, Wheaton. It is supported by a wide range of Christian leaders and groups. "I am glad to commend Internet Evangelism Day," says John Stott.

More information: http://www.InternetEvangelismDay.com

The Christ Files DVD - Evidence for the Accuracy of the New Testament

2010-03-01T00:01:00.000Z

I recently came across The Christ Files, a series of programmes produced in Australia and shown on a national TV channel. Here is the promotional video:

Key Points:

High production values
Presented by Australia's top Christian author, Dr John Dickson.
Supports the authenticity of the New Testament witness to Jesus Christ.
Features world-renowned scholars including Martin Hengel, Richard Bauckham, James Dunn and Geza Vermes.
Takes viewers around the globe to look at ancient texts relating to current debates over the accuracy of the Bible.
Examines the evidence for the so-called Gnostic Gospels.
Discusses the way in which the New Testament was transmitted and why Christians should regard it as reliable.
Suitable for showing to small groups
A book is also available that allows viewers to look at the evidence presented in more depth.
Second DVD contains extended interviews for those wishing to know more about the subjects beign discussed.

The DVD and book are both available in the UK via Christian bookshops and Amazon. Visit The Christ Files website for more information.

Bible and Church Conference 2010

2010-02-25T07:54:00.004Z

Following on from the first Bible and Church Conference in London in 2009, the same three scholars unite together again to seek to confront head on the big questions about the reliability of the records about Jesus. These day conferences are aimed at equipping ordinary Christians to understand the historical basis of the Christian faith and to share it with confidence.

In Bible and Church 2010 attendees will not only be presented with classic evidence for the faith, but also with previously unheard arguments for the reliability of the canonical gospels.

The speakers will be:

Dr Peter J. Williams

Dr Dirk Jongkind

Dr Simon J. Gathermole

Visit the Bible and Church website for more information.

Research on Nurture Courses

2009-01-12T14:31:00.007Z

David Keen comments on some interesting research on the Start-the-Week blog on Nurture Courses which is all worth reading. Also very helpful is the link to a document published by the Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham entitled On Course: Resources to Encourage Mission. This contains a summary the following nuture courses:

Living Faith - Tom Wright
START - Robin Gamble
The Beta Course
Essence - Rob Frost
Christianity Explored
The Alpha Course & Alpha Express
Emmaus - for adults
Youth Emmaus
The Y Course
Alf - About Life and Faith
A Passionate Life - Mike Breen & Walt Kallestad
Foundations21
Discipleship Explored
CHRISTIAN life and Resources for small groups
A Life Worth Living - Nicky Gumbel & Jo Glen
Lay Ministry Life
So Why God
Breaking News - J. John
Calling Out - J. John
Mind the Gap
Two Ways to Live
Lost for Words
Becoming a Contageous Christian
Pray and Say

Each entry has a brief description of the course and a helpful comment.

Videos for Evangelistic Websites

2008-09-29T08:20:00.008Z

The Gospel Coalition has produced a series of videos, many of which deal with questions often raised by those exploring Christianity. Although you might not agree with all the views expressed all the ones I have viewed have been clear, pithy and focused on what the Bible says about the issue in question. Here are some examples:

Can anyone come to a saving knowledge of God without hearing or believing in Jesus Christ?

Does the Bible Claim that Jesus is God? How so?

How are we to interpret natural disasters? Are they necessarily a sign of God's judgement?

How should Christians respond to environmental issues?

The complete collection of videos can be viewed here.

Evangelical Alliance Hosts Event for Christian Bloggers

2008-09-15T12:49:00.003Z

The Evangelical Alliance is hosting a gathering for Christian bloggers on 23 September 2008 at its Headquarters, Whitefield House, in London.

The event is designed to give Christian bloggers an opportunity to network face-to-face and to think through a godly approach to blogging.

Mark Meynell, Senior Associate Minister at All Souls Church, will kick off the event, by taking the bloggers through a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Christian Blogosphere.

Phil Whittall, who leads a newfrontiers church in Shrewsbury, will be speaking about relationships in invisible communities and after lunch, Peter Sanlon will address the topic of blogging and the Bible.

A code of conduct for godly blogging will be developed as a result of the event, to help Christians communicate in cyberspace in a Christ-like way.

The cost for the event is £5, which includes lunch. To book, email Alexandra Lilley at a.lilley@eauk.org before 16 September.

I hope to see you there.

Using Social Networking in Personal Evangelism

2008-09-15T12:33:00.004Z

The Web Evangelism Bulletin has a very helpful article on the use of Social Networking tools such as Facebook in personal evangelism. Though I disagree with the view presented that this is an alternative to overt evangelism, I do see the two methods a being complimentary. To read the article, click here.

Rejesus partners with Church Army to make Jesus famous

2008-06-26T09:55:00.003Z

Rejesus.co.uk, a leading home on the internet for all things about Jesus and related faith issues, announced on 24th June that Church Army is to become a major strategic and managerial partner in the future development of the site.

Rob Freeman, Archdeacon of Halifax and Chair of the rejesus board, said, "I am delighted with this news. Rejesus.co.uk was established to enable people who are not connected with church to be able to explore issues around who Jesus is and how he impacts on issues of life and spirituality. The partnership with Church Army will help bring fresh impetus and additional resources to the development of the site and help build on our success in establishing rejesus.co.uk as the number one place on the web to go to find out about Jesus."

Church Army's Chief Executive Mark Russell adds; "Rejesus is a fantastically creative and entertaining resource for those who want to discover more about Jesus and the Christian faith. Our passion at Church Army is to do all we can to make Jesus more well known and we are excited at the prospect of working with the creative team at rejesus to do just that and help make this great resource even better. We want everyone to be talking about it and all the churches to help support what we do and join us in helping to make Jesus famous" Rejesus.co.uk is probably one of the most successful current UK evangelism initiatives with hundreds of thousands of people using the site each year and many of these not in contact with church and exploring issues of faith and spirituality. Recent modules launched by rejesus include specially produced content for the BBC's The Passion series and for the movie Evan Almighty, a Jesus on-line pub quiz and guidance on prayer.

To discover what rejesus has to offer go to http://www.rejesus.co.uk/

Reaching Others for Christ at College and University

2008-05-16T10:51:00.016Z

University is a great place to find faith in Christ (I know, I found Christ at University, as did many of my friends), but it is easy to make mistakes whilst trying to reach out to your fellow students. For that reason I have been eagerly awaiting the publication of a new book that seeks to help "freshers" adjust successfully to university life and witness. Krish Kandiah, recently appointed Executive Director: Churches in Mission at the Evangelical Alliance, is the author of FRESH: Bite-sized Inspiration for New Students (ISBN 13: 978-1844742752). According to Amazon.co.uk:

FRESH provides daily inspirations for new students covering everything from writing essays to writing home, from making friends to making the grade, from debt to dating. FRESH offers a challenging introduction to maintaining a strong personal Christian faith but keeps its main emphasis on discovering how Christian students can make the most of their faith, relationships and studies.

Krish has also launched a website to complement the book called Freshspace, which provides further resources on issues including Faith, Relationships, Evangelism, Study and Holiness. If you, or someone you know, are planning to start College or University this year both the book and the website would prove of great help.

BBC Radio Programme Highlights Suffering of Converts From Islam

2008-04-22T07:41:00.005Z

Tonight (22nd April) at 8.00pm (repeated Sunday 27th April at 5.00pm) BBC Radio 4 will be broadcasting a programme entitled “Could I stop being a Muslim?” According to Patrick Sookhdeo of the Barnabas Fund it

highlights the stories of Muslims who have left their faith and suffered huge pressure and rejection from their families – all such a normal experience for those who convert from Islam. It also mentions converts who have been murdered or officially sentenced to death, and looks at the theological basis in Islam for the death penalty for apostasy.

This issue is one that is, thankfully, receiving increased attention in the secular press (see for example here) and one that we at Contact for Christ follow with interest and concern. A detailed paper on Apostasy from Islam can be read here.

For those who miss the broadcast it will be available on the BBC's "Listen again" service for around 7 days after the last broadcast.

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Church Has Left the Building!

2008-04-18T09:50:00.013Z

The Pentecost Festival is a celebration of the church's birth, an opportunity for Christians to learn more about their faith and share it with others. It is intended both as a challenge to the Church to engage with current issues and to those outside who think that the Church is dull, boring and irrelevant. A multitude of events will be taking place in London between Friday 9th and Sunday 11th May, ranging from rap music to prayer-walks and from graffiti to meditation workshops. There will be something in the programme of interest to just about everyone, for more information, click here.

Those taking part include:

3inOne International
Abundant Life Ministries International
Alison Whitlock Photography
Authentic Media
Barts Chamber Choir
Bible Society
Dave Bilborough
The Boaters Christian Fellowship
Bosh
The Burn Band
Tony Campolo
Care
Christian Aid
Christian Connection
Christians in Science
Compassion
Creative Rights
CWR
Bill Donoghue
Emerging Culture
The Faraday Project
Gospelmetro's UK Dance Company
Holy Fools
Hope for Kosovo
Hope UK
Housing Justice
Ichthus Christian Fellowship
Jericho Films
Graham Kendrick
Alistair McGrath
London City Mission
London Community Gospel Choir
London Institute for Contemporary Christianity
MC Tempo
New London Soloists Orchestra
Oddsock Productions
Open Doors
OTR
Parkour For Jesus
Pais Project
Adrain Plass
Psalm Drummers
Re:generation
Release International
Revelation Ministries Inc.
Saint Patrick's Gospel Choir
Saltmine
Salvation Army
Scripture Union
Share Jesus International
South Asian Concern
Spoken Groove
Survivor
Stepout Theatre
STOP
Street Symphony
John Thearne
West London Mission
and many others

Do You Know Your Onions?

2008-04-16T09:06:00.005Z

This year's Christian Resources Exhibition - entitled Know Your Onions - starts on Tuesday 13th May and runs until Friday 16th at Sandown Park in Esher. In a break with tradition Deo Gloria will not be exhibiting this year, but all members of staff will be visiting for a day. We hope to see you there.

Deo Gloria Resources at Sale Prices

2008-03-13T13:48:00.006Z

Many Deo Gloria Resources are on special offer so that churches can prepare for their Spring and Summer outreach programmes. There are substantial discounts on MTL magazine, No Ordinary Man, Life Issues cards and the Game of Life booklet and more.

Help for those Drowning in Debt

2008-02-13T10:06:00.011Z

Over the last few months I have noted an increase in the number of people asking for help with debt as part of their enquiries to Contact for Christ. I usually refer these people on to the charity Credit Action which provides a helpline and a range of helpful resources on its website.

Keith Tondeur, Credit Action's National Director, has written a number of books that would prove useful resources for churches wishing to assist those in debt as part of their outreach to their community.

Better Money Management for Young Singles. Authentic Lifestyle, 2002. ISBN-13: 978-1860242656. pp.36.

Better Money Management for Single Parents. Authentic Lifestyle, 2002. ISBN-13: 978-1860242663. pp.40.

Your Money and Your Life. Triangle, 1996. Pbk. ISBN-13: 978-0281049431. pp.176.

New Advance for Church Websites

2008-01-17T11:55:00.000Z

Free Church Site Evaluations Now Available Online

Churches can now receive a free customized 15-page report about their websites, enabling them to develop strategies to reach outsiders in their communities.

A new online tool has been released by Internet Evangelism Day, which provides churches with a free 15-page evaluation report. Users assess their own website by answering 55 simple questions in the tool questionnaire. Their customized report is immediately displayed online, ready to print or save. Its recommendations are tailored with specific practical suggestions, based on the questions that were ticked. View the design tool here:

www.InternetEvangelismDay.com/design

A church site which has been prioritized for non-Christian visitors can be remarkably effective in reaching the community. "Week in, week out, more visitors turn up at our church on a Sunday because of the website, than anything else," writes one growing church in London UK.

Church leaders have welcomed this new resource:

"This competent evaluation tool and rating service provides a valuable service to churches and Christian ministries that will help them strengthen their effectiveness in outreach through the Internet."

- Dr. Sterling Huston, Director, North American Ministries,

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

"Most church websites are not evangelistic. The new Church Website Evaluation Tool can help rectify this problem. This is a wonderful tool."

- Dr. Bill Gordon, Evangelism Response Center, NAMB.

"There is no silver bullet for a great ministry site. However, this checklist is an invaluable tool to identify critical areas for improvement. Every church should study this regularly and act on it!"

- Gary McClure, LifeWay Ministries.

This Evaluation Tool is just one of a range of pages at http://www.internetevangelismday.com/ that help Christians learn to use the Web to reach the world. Internet Evangelism Day also encourages churches to hold a web awareness focus day on or near 27 April 2008, to explore this huge potential. Their site offers free downloads (PowerPoint, video clips, drama scripts and handouts) so that churches can create a custom program of any length from two minutes to an hour.

"I am glad to commend Internet Evangelism Day," says Dr John Stott.

Damaris Trust's New Film Review Ministry Goes Live

2008-01-17T11:36:00.000Z

Following on from my entry on Damaris Trust's new initiative I was pleased to learn that the service "went live" this week with the release of the first "proper" Pollard on Film on Monday. Nick Pollard discusses the issues raised in the recently released "Charlie Wilson's War". New Pollard on Film programmes are planned every two weeks.

Finding a Gospel Message in Contemporary Cinema

2008-01-10T10:30:00.000Z

Always at the forefront of evangelistic projects aimed at engaging with contemporary culture, Damaris are planning to produce a series of 4-minute prgrammes which will be "a cross between 'Film 2007' and 'Thought for the Day'." Presented by Nick Pollard they are aimed for those who have no biblical knowledge but are willing to consider what the Bible has to say about important issues. The programmes are designed in such a way as to make them suitable for use in school assemblies, etc. and provide "natural breaks" to allow person showing the film to stop the video and allow discussion. For more technical details, click here (PDF).

A pilot film for the series is available which gives a good idea of how the concept will work in practice.

How to Turn your Sermon into a Podcast & More...

2008-01-04T08:48:00.000Z

Church Solutions are offering a free 25 page e-book explaining how your church can use new developments in Internet technology (known collectively as "WEB 2.0") to spread the Gospel more effectively. The book features a step-by-step guide to turning a sermon into a Podcast, how to write a good church blog, optimising your website to increase its search engines ranking and an innovative way to make your sermon interactive using mobile phones. There are also useful introductions to Twitter, Video logs (Vlogging) and viral marketing. For those unfamiliar with the terminology a glossary is provided as well as a host of links to relevant websites. To download a free copy click here, complete the form and following instructions in the e-mail you will receive.

Thanks to Tony Whittaker of the Web Evangelism Bulletin for the link.

Iranians Open to the Gospel as Never Before

2007-12-19T09:47:00.000Z

In a new book Mark Bradley explains why Iranian's are increasingly turning to Christ.

Iran: Open Hearts in a Closed Land (Authentic, 2006. Pbk. ISBN: 978-1-85078-770-9) offers a fascinating insight into the reasons behind the rapid growth of the Persion church in recent years. Divided into two main sections, Closed Land explains why the current regime is so hostile to Christianity in its attempts to maintain the world's only Shia state. Open Hearts documents the population's increasing disillusionment with the islamic government's policies and with Islam itself. Despite intense persecution underground churches continue to grow.

There are a number of ways to respond to this book's message, including supporting ministries such as the Barnabas Fund, Elam and Radio Voice of Christ which work in that country directly. What is less well known is that there are currently thousands of Iranians in this country, who having fled Iran, cannot be sent back because they are likely to suffer further persecution. A large number of churches send teams into the Immigration Detention Centres where many Iranians are being held and are finding them very open to the Gospel. This book would prove extremely helpful to churches involved in this work already - and to those who are considering it. In a very real sense this mission field has come to us. Having had the opportunity to read a pre-publication copy I heartily commend it.

We dare not neglect Iran as we look at the global scene... A relevant cutting-edge book about an amazing nation.

George Verwer

Gives a clear and useful account of both the recent history of Iran and the current complex and challenging issues facing the people... who live in this troubled land.

Baroness Cox

If you are wondering what is really going on inside Iran, Mark provides the answer... an important book.

Robert Weston, editor, The Still Small Voice

A very accurate and up-to-date picture of the present-day situation. I will make it obliged reading for all Open Doors staff.

Wybo Nicolai, Regional Director, Middle East, Open Doors

Gospel of Luke Dramatised for Radio 4

2007-12-05T12:43:00.000Z

The BBC will be airing five plays based on a dramatisation of the Gospel of Luke during the week running up to Christmas. The plays which feature the voices of Peter Firth, Paul Hilton, Lorraine Ashbourne and Penelope Wilton will each be accompanied by a short documentary "Behind Luke's Story" presented by Ernie Rea. There is a potential opportunity here for discussion with friends and neighbours about the real meaning of Christmas.

Angels seen in Rochester!

2007-11-29T14:17:00.000Z

Deo Gloria's Cathedral exhibit on the theme of Angels has now moved to Rochester Cathedral in Kent. A new page on the website presents a slideshow of images that give some idea of what the exhibit looked like when it was shown at Coventry Cathedral last Christmas.

Exeter: the New Home of the Creation

2007-11-20T11:44:00.000Z

Deo Gloria Trust's Creation Exhibition has now opened in the Lady Chapel of Exeter Cathedral where it will remain until 6th January 2008.

Rob Frost Promoted to Glory

2007-11-15T15:10:00.000Z

We were all sorry to hear of the death of thr Reverend Rob Frost last Sunday. Rob served for many years on the advisory panel of Deo Gloria Trust and will be sorely missed. I do not think I can add anything to the many tributes that have been made on various websites and blogs, but it might be helpful to bring some of them together so that readers can appreciate what high regard Rob was held.

Revd. Martyn Atkins, President of the Methodist Conference writes:

...He was an exceptional man. I happen to think that the public face of Christian witness and broadcasting has suffered a severe blow with his death. I consider that his initiatives have contributed to the enlivening of Methodism more than any other single factor in recent years. My own ministry - like many others - has been hugely enriched by his events like Easter People over the years.
But I will miss his encouraging friendship the most. He was utterly supportive of me and my ministry, completely loyal and profoundly pastoral. In his frenetic life he sustained true care with so many - including me. I thank God for Rob, and for being able to 'visit' on Sunday night, one last time - this side of heaven at least!

Mark Russell, Chief Executive of the Church Army writes:

I was devastated to learn of Rob Frost's passing last night. Rob was quite simply an amazing and remarkable man. A gifted preacher, a passionate evangelist, and an inspirational mentor. Rob made a collossal contribution to challenging the Church to become more radical and bold...

Tony Miles writes:

Thousands, possibly millions, of people have been influenced spiritually by this faithful methodist, whose ministry went beyond our denomination. He stood up for what he believed with all his heart to be true – constantly challenging comfortable Christianity.Despite his notoriety, Rob was a humble man, and a good friend to so many. Many will have sat under his leadership or ministry, and later shared a bag of chips with him or a breakfast after his radio show, or a coffee in between meetings or events.

Jonathan Green writes:

Rob was a giant in the UK church, an innovator, pioneer, evangelist, dreamer, teacher, radio broadcaster, author, encourager of so many.

Mike Rutter writes:

Rob set up an organisation called Share Jesus International and it was with this organisation that I went on a mission in 1987 to the North East of England. His heart was to enable others to hear about the message of Jesus and he did this by encouraging the church to step out beyond the 4 walls and engage with people in their communities. It was on this mission in 1987 that I found myself sitting around a kitchen table drinking coffee and listening to the rest of the team I was with, talking about their faith and about a God who was involved and present in their lives. Hearing them talk naturally about God in this way really affected me and helped me on my journey of faith. Ever since then my desire has been to ’do’ church in this way - in a natural environment - ‘around the kitchen table’ where people have the opportunity to hear about God in the same way that they would hear anything else. To hear about God as they were sitting around chatting and having a drink with friends. That’s why I am currently training to be a vicar in the Anglican Church as a Pioneer leader - as someone who is being given the opportunity to set up churches that have these values. So Rob Frost was a key person in my Christian life and someone that I think will be missed by many.

Most moving of all are the tributes by Rob's family.

The story is covered in Christianity Today, Inspire Magazine, and Christian Broadcasting News.

GodTube: Taking Christian Video Content to the Masses

2007-11-08T09:14:00.000Z

Yesterday's Daily Telegraph highlighted the success of a Christian version of YouTube. Officially launched in August, GodTube is well on its way to becoming one of the most popular sites in the US, already hosting 25,000 video clips with 200-300 new ones being added each day. In addition to its distinctly Christian content GodTube has several advantages over its secular predecessor, not least of which is the fact that its content is carefully monitored. GodTube offers a platform for theological debate and on-line evangelism and will shortly be adding a feature that will allow churches to stream their services for free. The "Channels" tab helpful groups the content into sections that include Christian music, prayer, preaching, various denominations, missions, parenting and Bible teaching, plus material in several other languages.

In the following video clip, GodTube's founder Chris Wyatt explains the thinking behind the site on Fox News:

Some of its content may seem somewhat odd to British audience, nevertheless I think it offers a great opportunity to churches adnd other ministries to make good-quality teaching, apologetic and evangelistic material available to a large and rapidly expanding audience. As with YouTube there is scope for webmasters and bloggers to select and link suitable material into their own sites.

Reaching Your Muslim Friends For Christ

2007-11-06T08:26:00.001Z

I recently came across a very useful little book that would be suitable for giving to a Muslim friend who has questions about Christianity. A Muslim's Pocket Guide to Christianity is written by Malcolm Steer. In 63 brief pages the author manages to pack in a great deal of information including chapters on the nature of God, the beliefs and practices of Christians, misunderstandings about Christianity, potential stumbling blocks and some frequently asked questions. The final chapter explains why Jesus Christ's claims are unique.

Malcolm Steer, A Muslim's Pocket Guide to Christianity. Fearn: Christian Focus, 2005. Pbk. ISBN: 1845501071. pp.63.

How One Man's Witness Can Make a Difference

2007-10-16T07:23:00.000Z

This is the story how one man's 40-year of witnessing to passers-by in George Street, Sydney, Australia led to people from all over the world coming to Christ. This is the story of Frank Jennor - further information is available here. Does anyone have any further information to share about this story?

Hope '08 Information Site Launched

2007-10-08T08:02:00.000Z

Hopeinfo.co.uk, which will serve as the public face of the Hope'08 campaign, went live this morning. Run jointly by the Christian Enquiry Agency and the Church Army the site features video clips, news and comments. It is intended to help spread the word about the Hope iniative among churches and invite them to respond. The site is launched officially on the 1st December by which time the Hope module on the rejesus website will be completed.

HT: Developing Vision

Video Introduction to Hope08 Now On-line

2007-09-28T09:34:00.000Z

A new video explaining the thinking behind the Hope'08 campaign is now available. Gareth Squire (Director of the Christian Enquiry Agency) and Mark Russell (Church Army) explain how your church can be a part of this significant evangelistic campaign.

How to respond to 10 Common Objections to Christianity

2007-09-19T08:51:00.000Z

Christianity Today has reprinted a helpful article written by Frank Harber dealing with how to respond to ten common objections to the Christian faith. These are:

1) Christians are hypocrites.
2) What about the atrocities Christians have committed?
3) Christianity is a crutch.
4) It's narrow-minded to think Jesus is the only way to God.
5) Being a good person is all that really matters.
6) What about those who've never heard about Jesus?
7) The Bible is filled with errors.
8) If God is so good, why is there evil?
9) Why is there suffering?
10) If there's a hell, why would a loving God send people there?

The answers provided are very brief, but there is a list of resources at the end - both in-print and on-line - for those wanting more detailed responses.

Carl Halling shares his faith story

2007-09-05T14:31:00.000Z

One of the useful services that the search engine Google offers is to e-mail you when it adds a particular word or phrase to its vast database. Without it I would have missed Carl Halling's Blog entry in which he tells of how he came to faith and the part played in that story by Contact for Christ:

As well as Elaine I owe a great debt to the friends I briefly made through Alcoholics Anonymous, and particularly my genial sponsor Don. During my worst days, he'd regularly phoned me to monitor my progress, and yet I chose to attend only a handful of meetings before ceasing to do so altogether. The reason for this was that only days after coming to faith, and immediately following an AA meeting unless I'm mistaken, I received a phone call from a man called Spencer N. working for an organisation based in south London known as Contact for Christ. Spencer had got in touch in consequence of my having cursorily filled in a form that had come into my possession while I was still drinking. I may have done so on a British Rail train, perhaps the previous summer, while travelling one evening to Waterloo with the sun setting over south London, and ecstatic with alcoholic anticipation. As I recall, he phoned back within a few days, keen to arrange a meeting with me. I might even have tried to put him off, but eventually he turned up at my parents' house where I was staying at the time, a small, slim, dark, handsome man in late middle age with gently penetrating coffee coloured eyes and a magnificent salt and pepper moustache. We prayed together, and he effectively became my spiritual mentor, remaining so for almost two years... [read more]

It's nice to get encouragements like this.

Job Vacancy for a Person with a Passion for Evangelism

2007-08-31T09:38:00.000Z

Personal Assistant with a Passion for Evangelism

ARE YOU enthusiastic and proactive? Excellent organisational skills? Could you respond sensitively yet efficiently to people exploring Christian faith?

An exciting opportunity has arisen to work for the Deo Gloria Trust in its work providing services to the Christian Enquiry Agency, and to act as PA to the directors of both organisations.

The role is varied and will stretch you, as you seek to play an active role in the continual improvement of the service we offer to the public on behalf of the churches of Britain and Ireland, and to serve the Deo Gloria Trust in other key areas of its work.

Working alongside the two Directors and responding with care and creativity to postal, email and some telephone enquiries will be both challenging and rewarding, as will dealing confidentially and proactively with the wider work of Deo Gloria.

Based in Selsdon, but occasional travel to take minutes at London locations required.

Interviews to be held 10th-12th October.

Click here for more details.

Using Mobile Phones in Evangelism

2007-08-23T09:19:00.000Z

The lastest Web Evangelism Bulletin has a very helpful article on the use of Mobile Phones in evangelism. There are currently 2 billion people with mobile phones and 80% of the world's population lives in a mobile phone reception area. The Christian Enquiry Agency has used text-messaging in the past so that people could respond to radio ads with great success (see image right), but is just the tip of the iceberg as far as their potential usefulness is concerned.

The article points out that mobiles can be used to download Bibles and scripture verses; video-clips; wallpaper (background screens for your 'phone - as a conversation starters), and to direct users to websites - which can be accessed by an increasing number of mobiles.

Internet Evangelism in the 21st Century: A Reader

2007-08-16T11:33:00.001Z

Tony Whitaker, who produces the ever-helpful Web Evangelism Bulletin, has posted about a new e-book entitled Internet Evangelism in the 21st Century. The book is available for free download (click here for details). The book contains the transcripts of 21 workshops given in 2005 at Liberty University in the US. I have listed the wokshops below and hope to add a brief summary of each as I work my way throught the 250+ pages of the transcript.

Internet Evangelism Devotional by Sterling Huston

The Digital Divide by David Bruce

How is Evangelism Changing in the 21st Century? by Allan Beeber

Communicating Christ Effectively to Secular Audiences by Rusty Wright

Making Real Connections in a Virtual World by Karen Schenk

Getting Inside the Seeker's Head by Greg Outlaw

How to Successfully Minister to Your Target Audience by Karen Schenk

A Complete Internet Evangelism Strategy by Chris Forbes

Evangelistic Sites and Follow-up Systems by Allan Beeber & Siam Rogers

Using Guerrilla Marketing in Internet Marketing by Chris Forbes

Making the Cultural Connection by David Bruce

Technology and Evangelism in Urban Mission Field by Andrew Sears

Internet Evangelism and the Third World by John Edmiston & Don M.

This workshop describes the work of a ministry that sets up Internet Cafes using donated computers in the Third World. The Cafes are staffed by local missionaries and they become the focus of a friendship-evangelism program: "...the content you get online, and the relationship is built offline." It seems to be a missions strategy that is being fruit.

Cybermissions: Use of the Internet in Missions by John Edmiston

Evangelism on Usenet Newsgroups by Rowland Croucher

New Media Technology and Trends for the Future by Harry Sova

The Church, Evangelism, and Interactive Virtual Reality Worlds by Todd Smith

Podcasting and Internet Evangelism by Nick Ciske

Reaching the Connected Generation with Blogging: Steve Knight, DJ Chuang, Stephen Shields, Will Sampson & Nick Ciske

Videoblog Killed the TV Star: The Emergence of the Vlog and What It Might Mean for You and Me by Aaron Flores

Help! I'm Not a Techie! by Rusty Wright

APPENDIX

If you are involved in, or are planning to build, an evangelistic website this material will prove helpful to you.

Finding good resources to help those involved in the cults and religious sects

2007-08-07T09:12:00.000Z

There are a number of UK-based websites that provide useful material on the various cults and sects. Some like, Triumphing Over London Cults, specialise on one particular group, but in (in my opinion) the best general resource is that provided by The Reachout Trust. The site provides detailed material on the Jehovah's Witnesses, the occult, the Latter-Day Saints (Mormons), general apologetics, etc., helpfully listed in alphabetical order by subject. Many of the articles are available for free download, while others can be downloaded for a small fee. The Trust also makes available a large amount of printed, audio and video material that can be purchased on-line. An important part of the Trust's work is equipping Christians in how to reach those involved in the cults and in general apologetics and it holds training days each year throughout the UK.

I asked Reachout's founder Doug Harris to tell me more about the Trust's work:

1) When was Reachout founded?

The roots of the work go back to August 1981 when we started to reachout to JWs. We became a charity in 1985.

2) Why did you found the Reachout Trust? (Were you involved in a cult?)

I was never involved with a cult. It was watching 35,000 JWs going into Twickenham in 1981 that the Lord challeneged me to reach out to them. I therefore did not directly set out to start Reachout Trust but share the gospel with JWs - the work developed from that.

3) Do you think the number of people involved in the cults is growing?

Amongst the traditional cults the number is fairly steady or dropping slightly but when you look at the newere occult and new age cults there is a definite rise.

4) How many enquiries do you receive each year?

Between 12-15,000 people contact us each year but some just want a piece of literature whereas others need more in-depth help.

5) What groups do you get the largest number of enquiries about?

JWs are still the highest single group but if you put all the occult groups and practices together they easily are the largest group.

6) What does it mean to "Register your church" with Reachout?

Record that someone is willing to represent reachout in the church and pass on relevant information and at the same time indicate that the church is willing to help with advice and needs in the area.

Rugby World Cup Pocket Guide available to order

2007-08-02T12:30:00.000Z

The Rugby (Union) World Cup begins on the 7th September 2007 and is taking place in France, with some games being played in Wales and Scotland. The entire tournament will be screened on prime-time TV in the UK. Whether you are a rugby fan or not this is an ideal opportunity for outreach to rugby and sports fans in general. With this in mind Deo Gloria and Verite have produced a 24-page souvenir guide for the tournament which includes a freepost response form that can be returned to the Christian Enquiry Agency.

For more information visit the Deo Gloria website.

Contact for Christ recruitment drive off to good start

2007-07-19T12:54:00.001Z

Since May this year around 2,000 letters have been sent out inviting ministers to join the Contact for Christ service or to nominate a church member who is willing to do so. Since then 59 people have been added to the Register and a further 52 are in the process of applying. With new applications arriving every day there is a sense that the mass mailout - mainly to Baptists - has significantly raised the profile of the follow-up service. Only yesterday I received a call from a minister in Southampton who wanted another six application forms for other ministers in the area.

This is not the time for complacency, however, as we still need new contacts in central Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, East London and Great Yarmouth (and other areas). If you would like to apply an application form can be downloaded from the Deo Gloria website.

Christian Enquiry Agency News - Read all about it!

2007-07-11T13:51:00.000Z

The latest edition of the Christian Enquiry Agency News has been published and is in the process of being mailed out to supporters. It features articles on the Spirit and Life Fair at Coventry Cathedral, CEA's new blog, the latest news about the Hope '08 campaign, as well as new evangelistic initiatives and materials. You can download a copy of the newsletter here and the supporters form here. If you would like to be added to the mailing list, please complete this form on the Christian Enquiry Agency website.

Is Your Church Website Visitor Friendly?

2007-07-02T07:36:00.000Z

As part of Contact for Christ's ongoing recruitment process I have been using an on-line list of churches find the names of potential contacts. As this particular list provides only the barest contact details I have been visiting the church websites in order to get a better idea of what kind of welcome a new Christian is likely to receive. In doing this I have been trying to put myself in the shoes of someone wanting to know more about Christianity and asking myself what would attract or repel enquirers as I looked at each site.

There are hundreds of church websites across the UK, all of widely differing size and quality. Unlike businesses most churches have to depend on the web-skills of their minister of a member of their congregation to keep their sites updated - they may not be able to employ outside expertise. This goes a long way to explain the variation in quality.

The sites I found most helpful were those that were more than just a notice-sheet for church members. They told me something about the people who made up the church and what they were like. Pictures of the church during worship were helpful and they often gave me an idea of the size of the congregation and its age range.

It is always helpful to give a postal address for your church or church office. Many churches seemed to think that a map was sufficient. Surprisingly many even failed to give the name of their elder / leader / minister (if they had one) while the better ones provided a short biography of the leader(s). I found that the links page was often revealing as it showed what organisations the church supported and so indicated the church's priorities. A "statement of belief" might be helpful to some, but a link entitled "Church Rules" might not be. Broken page and image links give a very bad impression as do "last updated" entries that read sometime in 2003 - I wondered whether that particular church was still there.

One encouraging development is the increasing number of churches placing their sermons on-line. This gives potential visitors a valuable insight into the church, as well as allowing the Holy Spirit a chance to speak to them through the messages. Finally, I thought that the introductory video produced by Holy Trinity Church in Lyonsdown, Barnet was a great idea. They had obviously put a great deal of work into it and think it would be of great help to those thinking is visiting. Perhaps this is an idea that others could emulate.

For more tips of developing good church websites, visit the Gospelcom.net website.

The Story of George Muller - A Resource for Evangelism?

2007-06-28T09:01:00.000Z

The story of George Muller is truly inspiring. Muller was born in Prussia in 1805, the son of tax-collector. In his early years he had a lavish lifestyle of gambling that he funded by lying, stealing and cheating until he was dramatically converted when he was twenty. By the time he died at 93 he had become one of the best-known Christians of the Victorian era, having raised £1,500,000 in answer to prayer alone (the equivilent today of £75 million) and saved thousands of orphans from lives of appalling destitution. Having established five orphanages in Bristol he "retired" at age 70 and spent the next 17 years on a preaching tour that took him to 42 countries. On his death the Bristol Times wrote: "He was raised up for the purpose of showing that the age of miracles is not past, and rebuking the sceptical tendencies of the time."

Presented by Russell Boulter in his usual clear, down-to-earth manner, this 60-minute drama-documentary tells some of the story of Muller's remarkable life of faith.

Whilst at the Christian Resources Exhibition I asked Malcolm Turner, Executive Director of the Christian Television Association to tell me more about how the film came to be made.

The title came from his obituary in the The Daily Telegraph: "...had robbed the cruel streets of thousands of victims, the gaols of thousands of felons, the workhouses of thousands of helpless waifs." It was filmed in Germany and then in and around the West Country, mainly in Bristol. Adam Stone and Andy Harrison who played George Muller were both experienced actors and were supported by other professionals and around 60-70 extras. We also used professional make-up artists. We sensed that God had his hand on the whole production. We had only a short time in which to film and we were dependent on having good weather for the outside filming. When we needed sunshine, we got it, and did not lose a single day's filming. We are currently halfway to reaching our target to get the film into at least 40 different countries.

The Robber of the Cruel Streets as an Evangelistic Resource

The film was primarily intended to encourage believers and to demonstrate that God is faithful and that He answers prayer. After watching the film one viewer was challenged to set up an orphanage in Uganda. because of its professional and down-to-earth style I think that it could be used evangelistically in a low-key way with friends with whom you are already sharing the Gospel.

More information on George Muller and the on-going work of the ministries he initiated can be found on the George Muller Foundation website.

The Jesus Video Project and the So, Who is This Jesus DVD

2007-06-21T09:31:00.000Z

In an earlier post I mentioned that the So, Who is This Jesus film was being used as part of the Jesus Video Project. This week I spoke with the team at Agapé to find out more.

The Jesus Video Project allows churches to buy copies of the Jesus Film or So, Who is This Jesus at a subsidised price which are then offered as a free gift to households in the local area. Nowadays DVDs are available in addition to videos if they are requested.

I asked Tony Brown of Agapé to explain how the Project works:

In the USA and in Canada (and, I believe, in several other Western countries) the tendency has been for churches to push leaflets through doors in a neighbourhood inviting people to return a coupon requesting a video. The only personal contact that happens is when the video is delivered. In contrast with this, in the UK we see the initial offer of the video as being a great opportunity to establish face-to-face contact between church members and the people in their community, even if it is only for the person at their front door to refuse the video. The fact that someone has made that initial contact is very important, both for the person opening their door and for the visiting Christian. Likewise, the offer to come back when people have had a chance to watch the video is a relatively rare strategy even within Agapé ministries worldwide.

The process is described in more detail here.

Here are some of positive comments that Agapé have received from those who have run Jesus Video Projects in the past:

"The Jesus Video Project sowed seeds 18 months ago and it's still bearing fruit."

Revd Mark Landreth-Smith, Camberley

"God surprised us, encouraged us, increased our faith, made us excited about sharing our faith."

Pauline Wright, Cullercoats

"My aim was to get the truth out into the homes in Higham. The Project definitely did that."

Celya Harris, Higham on the Hill

"Because of this initiative the Christian community have come together and focussed on sharing our faith with those around us."

Revd Reg Coles, Sawley

If your church has not yet run a Jesus Video Project as part of its evangelism programme it might be worth considering. Contact Agapé for further information.

Web-based Prayers of Commitment - do they work?

2007-06-21T08:42:00.001Z

In an earlier post I presented the results of a survey of websites that gave a presentation of the Gospel and then offered visitors the opportunity to pray a prayer of commitment to Christ. New Life Christian Ministries responded with the following question:

I would be interested in a follow-up study that asked whether any of those who offered follow-up for new believers had received any contacts. Our church has had an evangelistic site for over a year, and we have not had any new believer contact from it. I'm hoping others are having more success.

As Contact for Christ does the follow-up for the United Christian Broadcaster's Looking for God website I am in a good position to offer some thoughts on this.

Since the site was launched in June 2006 I have received over 500 requests from the UK and Ireland for literature from people visiting the site. Of these 500 around one third said that they were praying the prayer for the first time, the rest making recommitments. All were sent a booklet with a response form so that they could request further help and 84 people returned the form.

I think I am right in saying that UCB's site gets the largest response to requests for Prayers of Commitment of any UK-based website and so these figures are significant. Looking at the content of the site and the way that it is promoted leads me to think that it would appeal more to people with some knowledge of Christianity and this is supported by the figures above. Of those making recommitments a large proportion later said that they were already regular churchgoers and so were not offered a local contact.

What can we conclude from this? It is an accepted fact that most people progress through several stages in their journey from agnostic (for example) to becoming a Christian. Sites offering a prayer of commitment are often "churchy" and so off-putting to those who are just starting on this journey. They are attractive to those on the Christian fringe and those seriously considering the claims of Jesus and do fulfil a valuable role. Given the number of visitors that UCB's site receives smaller sites would receive proportionally less. Most would also no have the profile that UCB has - people might feel more comfortable contacting them after reading the Word for Today magazine for several months were they would not necessarily know enough about another ministry to feel they could trust it with their personal information.

Visitors to a church website might not be from the local area and so might not wish to make contact because of distance. This is were Contact for Christ may be able to help. If churches and other ministries linked to our on-line response form located here, enquirers would be sent a booklet and those who requested it referred to a member of the Contact for Christ Register. This service is already used by the New Christian Website. An application form for Contact for Christ is available for download here.

I would welcome feedback and dicussion on this important subject.

Hope '08 Initiative Gathers Momentum

2007-06-08T07:12:00.000Z

On Wednesday 6th June the coordinating team for Hope held a meeting in London at which they provided an update on how the preparations for the campaign are progressing. Based on what information has been passed back to them from local groups it appears that there is already a good level of involvement in large parts of England and Wales. In the North of England, Scotland and Ireland there has been less interest so far, though there are exceptions to this, such as Bradford, where the response has been particularly enthusiastic. Over 2,000 individuals from over 400 locations have expressed some interest in the initiative and 150 churches have registered. Over 100 organisations have formally expressed their support.

Forthcoming events:

On 30th September 2007 Songs of Praise will feature Hope and the team are confident that the BBC will promote Hope during 2008.

Christian Enquiry Agency seeks Mission and Communications Intern

2007-05-31T09:33:00.000Z

If you know someone who is perhaps just finishing theological college or university studies, this is a unique opportunity at the Christian Enquiry Agency that I am sure would interest them. Details can be found on the website or the updated CEA blog:

Mission and Communications Intern

(One-year fixed term contract)

This is a unique opportunity for the right individual to work at the heart of UK mission and evangelism networks, on the cutting edge of communication in Christian mission.

Supporting the Director and managing complex projects, you will need to have initiative and drive. In return, you will have the chance to gain invaluable experience and to undertake a research project into a key area of the Agency's work.

With a good understanding of, and sympathy for, the breadth of theological insights and perspectives on mission and evangelism across the churches, you will:

* be educated at least to 'A' level or equivalent, with a theological qualification;

* have excellent communication, interpersonal and organisational skills;

* be competent in the use of office software and be numerate and articulate;

* have an enthusiasm for creative evangelism, and be of good standing within a church that is part of Churches Together in England (or other nation).

Salary from £13,000 to £15,000 p.a. depending on experience.
Closing date for applications: 6th July 2007. Interviews to be held two weeks later.

For a job description visit www.christianity.org.uk/jobs

Call for further details or submit your CV to:

Gareth Squire, Director
email: cea@christianity.org.uk

phone: 020 8144 7177

Or write to:

Christian Enquiry Agency, 27 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9HH.
http://developingvision.blogspot.com

Do pass this onto anyone else you think may be interested. Thank you.
Gareth Squire, DirectorChristian Enquiry Agency

E: cea@christianity.org.uk
T: 020 8144 7177

So, Who is This Jesus - the inside story

2007-05-25T08:27:00.000Z

The So, Who is This Jesus Video/DVD has been one of the most successful projects that Deo Gloria has ever been involved in. I took a few moments to ask Malcolm Turner, the Executive Director of the Christian Television Association a few questions about how the film came to be made.

1) Why was a film like this needed?

We were aware that there is a generation of people living today who have no idea of who Jesus is. When we went out on the streets to interview people we found that only 1 in 10 knew who He is.

2) Why did you choose Russell Boulter to present the documentary?

We wanted to use an actor so it would come across in a very natural way. We had worked with Russell before and knew he was a committed Christian, but because of the characters he portrayed in “The Bill” and “Casualty” he was not known to the general public as a Christian.

3) Tell me a little about the production process.

The film took two years to produce from conception to finished programme. It was written, directed and produced by one person, which is very unusual nowadays. We formed partnerships with various organisations raise finance, including Deo Gloria Trust and Gateway Films. The rest of the money was provided by individuals.

The majority of the programme was filmed on location in Israel. The Director – Crawford Telfer – and myself flew out a month ahead of filming to make preparations. It was remarkable how the Lord helped with the arrangements. For example, we needed to hire a donkey for a scene at Bethlehem. We arrived at the town, surveyed the countryside around it and drove off down a narrow dirt track to a likely-looking location. We told our interpreter that we needed a donkey and he flagged down a passing truck, spoke to the driver and we followed the driver down the track to a field. In the field was an Arab boy with a donkey. The interpreter asked him to bring the donkey back to the field at 10 o’clock in the morning in one month’s time. We had great doubts whether we would ever see him again, but when we arrived to shoot the scene, there was the boy and the donkey!

Who were the other actors featured in the film?

The fishermen were all actual fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. They agreed to dress-up, fish and took part with great enthusiasm. The interpreter had difficulty understanding the Scottish Director, so when the fishermen were asked to cast their nets over the side – one shouted back “No!” The carpenter was a real Nazarene carpenter and not an actor. We explained that we were making a film about Jesus – who was a carpenter just like him!

How many copies of the film have been sold?

Around 100,000 in the UK.

How is the film being used?

The film is offered by Agape in the UK as an alternative to the Jesus Video as part of the Jesus Video Project. It has been dubbed into many languages, shown to television in China, Serbia, Romania, Finland, Germany, across the Middle East and in both North and South America and in many other countries.

Did the film win any awards?

Several: Best Documentary at the CEVMA (Christian European Visual Media Association) Film Festival, the Andrew Cross for the Best Documentary and an award at the International Christian Media Film Festival.

Can you tell us about some of the positive fedback you have received about the film?

We had a telephone call from a non-Christian schoolteacher in Birmingham who wanted to order more copies. She said that one of her Muslim students had stood up after seeing the film and said: “Now I know who I want to have a ‘one-to-one’ with!”

The Video and DVD are available from Deo Gloria resources. If you would like to use it as part of the Jesus Video Project in the UK, please contact Agape.

Creation Exhibition now available for hire to Historic Churches

2007-05-25T07:32:00.000Z

Deo Gloria Trust's Cathedral Exhibition on the theme of creation is now available for use in banner form in the Historic Churches in England and Wales. The hand-stitched exhibit has been carefully scanned and printed to make 10 hanging banners that can be hired at the cost of £100. They are currently being used in Wimborne Minster and by churches in Arnold. For more information please contact Deo Gloria.

Following-up Enquiries from Children

2007-05-24T09:39:00.000Z

For many years Contact for Christ referred enquiries from people under 16 to local contacts who had experience of working with children. However, because of the increasing level of concern in the country about the risk of child abuse, we made the decision to no longer do this. After considering various options it was decided that they should be referred on to Crusaders (now Urban Saints) or Youth for Christ, two organisations who specialise in ministry to young people. In the case of Urban Saints, a local leader is asked to write to the enquirer, but were there is no local group someone from the headquarters will write instead. Everyone in these organisations has had the necessary training and Police checks and so we can be assured that enquiries will be always handled appropriately. We greatly appreciate the help given by Urban Saints and Youth for Christ in this vital part of our ministry.

Finding a Local Church Using findachurch.co.uk

2007-05-18T13:18:00.000Z

From 2002 to 2006 Deo Gloria Trust managed Fellowship Finders, a long-established service that helped "Christians on the move" find a local church in their new area. By 2006 it had become obvious that most people were finding the information they needed about local churches on the Web for themselves, so Deo Gloria took the decision to close down Fellowship Finders. We now direct enquiries of this sort to www.findachurch.co.uk, run by UK Church Directory, with whom Fellowship Finders had a long-standing partnership. I took a few moments at the Christian Resources Exhibition to ask Lester Peters a few questions about the service they provide.

How many churches are listed in the Directory?

There are contact details of around 40,000 churches, of these 2,000 have provided additional information about themselves.

How many people use the site?

Around 1,200 each day.

What makes findachurch.co.uk different from other on-line church directories?

When the site went live for the first time in September 1998 it was the first of its kind. It was my vision to provide all UK churches with an on-line presence regardless of whether they had a website of their own - or not. Today the service findachurch.co.uk provides is still unique, because others have copied the mechanics of the site, but not its vision; it is the only site whose sole ministry is to help find people a local church.

Have you heard of anyone coming to faith in Christ through the website?

Not directly, but one couple from Leeds were so intrigued by the the page of one of the churches listed that they went along to see what it was like - and both became Christians as a result!

Local Churches Work Together to Solve Pastoral Issue

2007-05-18T13:13:00.000Z

One of the great advantages of the way that Contact for Christ works, is that it enables local churches to follow up enquiries in the most efficient and effective way. We sometimes get multiple enquiries from a single person, but, because we handle responses from such a range of sources we are able to recognise repeated enquiries and assign a single Contact to assist. This proves particularly important when dealing with this small number of multiple enquiries received.

I recently heard from one of our Contacts who had established an extremely good way of dealing with such situations. A local person was known to all the churches in his area and all had tried to assist him over a period of many years. The ministers - who often met together - decided to assign one individual who was able and willing to respond to this person’s requests and needs. In future all enquiries made by this enquirer were to be directed to the designated person. The enquirer was happy because he knew that his needs were not being ignored and the local ministers were satisfied that he was being helped in the most effective way possible.

New Christian Enquiry Agency Contact cards available

2007-05-09T11:08:00.000Z

The Christian Enquiry Agency have just published two new reply-paid "contact cards" for use in evangelism. Hope is intended for use in conjunction with the Hope08 initiative in churches, during community action projects, or simply posted through the doors of the local community.

Full of Life has as its theme "life in all its fullness" and is intended for use in a wider range of situations than the other cards CEA has previously produced, such as Life Issues and Angels and Nature.

Both are now available to order from Deo Gloria resources. Interested readers should also take a look at this entry in Gareth Squire's Developing Vision blog.

"The Journey" Exhibition Opens at Coventry Cathedral

2007-05-08T12:48:00.000Z

The third of Deo Gloria Trust's series of Cathedral Exhibitions was launched yesterday at Coventry Cathedral. The exhibits are intended to provide a focus for visitors to Cathedrals to consider various aspects of the Christian Message. The Journey takes ten scenes from the end of Jesus' life on earth from the cry of "crucify him!" to the ascension. The final scene includes an invitation to begin a personal relationship with Him. Christian Enquiry Agency response cards are provided so that visitors can request further information.

For more details and pictures of the exhibit click here. If you have visited this or any of the other Cathedral Exhibitions please leave a comment and let us know what you thought of them.

National Christian Resources Exhibition 15-18 May 2007

2007-05-04T07:07:00.000Z

Deo Gloria Trust will be attending the Christian Resources Exhibition in Esher, located at stand G44 in the Surrey Halls. We will be sharing a stand with three other organisations with whom we work closely: Christian Enquiry Agency, VeriteCM and the Christian Television Association. If you are planning to be there please stop by the stand and introduce yourself.

Why Do We Need a Christian Enquiry Agency?

2007-04-30T07:46:00.000Z

The new Director of the Christian Enquiry Agency, Gareth Squire, is now based here in Selsdon for much of the week. I took the opportunity to ask him why he thinks the CEA is needed.

Can't people just go to church to find out about Christianity?

Of course they can. But they don’t. More than half the population call themselves Christian if asked, and three quarters of the population report having spiritual experiences, yet only one in seven currently attends church once a month [Tearfund church going report, 2007]. Whatever the reasons, it is very clear that churches are not connecting with large sections of society.

We can respond to this in a number of ways. Indeed our response must be multi-faceted. We cannot allow ourselves to think that there is a silver bullet solution. A number of exciting things are already happening which are challening our conception of what it means to be servants of Christ and heralds of the coming kingdom.

Last Christmas, one church in Leicestershire decided to hold its carol service in the local pub rather than in the church building and invited the local radio station to broadcast it. They accepted! The pub was full of people singing praise to God – people who had previously been invited to church but had declined – and right across the county thousands of others were joining in via the airwaves.

Fresh expressions of church are springing up that are bringing an authentic, orthodox Christian message of hope to many thousands of people who would not consider going to an established church. See www.freshexpressions.org.uk for more details. These churches are working alongside the established churches under the auspices of their respective denominations to take the Gospel to people rather than expect people to come to church to hear it.

Outside the existing denominational structures, new churches are being planted by Christians across the country and are reaching people in their communities. There are hundreds of churches that meet in schools and community halls on Sundays, house churches where the main ‘meeting’ happens mid-week in people’s homes, even churches that meet in pubs. The list of ways in which Christians are reaching out is very long indeed.

On the internet, fresh expressions of faith are communicating hope in contemporary, relevant ways to millions. rejesus.co.uk for example reaches more than 2,000 people a day! So do pray for this and other such ventures.

The Christian Enquiry Agency works alongside rejesus.co.uk and others to initiate contact with, and provide follow up to, the millions of people across the UK who the churches do not seem to be reaching. Working alongside local churches’ efforts, it provides a central, confidential point of information on the Christian faith, and supplies resources, free of charge, to enquirers who want to explore the Christian faith. Through campaigns in cinemas, postcard initiatives and partnerships with other mission agencies, the Christian Enquiry Agency serves thousands of people each year who are initially beyond the reach of the churches, and helps them to take some initial steps of faith, introducing them to a local Christian or church community when ready.

What role does Deo Gloria play within the CEA?

The support of Deo Gloria is fundamental to the work of the Agency. All enquiries are dealt with in the Enquiry Office, which is currently fully resourced by Deo Gloria. Contact for Christ provides an essential link with local Christians for enquirers. And the trustees of Deo Gloria will also be supporting vital new Christian Enquiry Agency outreach initiatives for 2008 in support of Hope08 and Pentecost Festival – events which between them could see the number of enquiries double next year.

Internet Evangelism Day - Sunday 29th April

2007-04-27T09:38:00.000Z

Did you know that over 1 billion people now use the Internet? Internet Evangelism Day provides a focus to allow Churches and individuals to learn about what others are doing to reach others for Christ through the Internet and give them new ideas for their own outreach.

Deo Gloria's Spring Newsletter - Hot off the Press!

2007-04-26T12:38:00.000Z

The Trust's Spring Newsletter is being printed as I write and should start to reach those on our mailing list next week. This issue includes a special offer on No Ordinary Man, an article by CEA Director Gareth Squire on Why we need a Christian Enquiry Agency and an update on the Cathedral Project. It is also available for download in PDF format here.

The Deo Gloria Trust currently has a job vacancy for a P.A. to the Director(s)/Receptionist, click here for more information.

South London Church Distributes 20,000 contact cards

2007-04-25T07:49:00.000Z

Stockwell Baptist Church in South London have produced a contact card for use in door-to-door evangelism called "First Contact". The cards are used by teams who go out every Sunday both in Stockwell and at a daughter-church in Bristol. Since 2005 a total of 20,000 have been distributed in these locations.

The cards have a simple presentation of the Gospel message on one side and an invitation to reader to complete the card and receive a free booklet on the other. The cards use the Contact for Christ Freepost address and enquirers are sent a copy of On Your Marks together with an offer of a local contact.

The campaign has been very successful with several being returned each week. The following reports all relate to enquirers who returned First Contact cards and then went on ask for a local Christian to get in touch:

Mr N. also filled in our "Church Blue Leaflet". I phoned and invited him to our services. He has now attended the services the last two Sundays and on Thursday evening and has indicated a desire for water baptism. We will be in constant touch with him. I have given him a copy of "John's Gospel". That is Good News! Praise God!

We have known C. for some years and Praise God! He has accepted Christ as his Saviour. We will be baptising him at our church on Easter Sunday. We will continue to support him in the Rehab in Salvation Army Mens Hostel.
K. replied to the letter. She asked for a visit. I went and talked, read the Word with her and prayed. Hopefully she will be coming to church.

If you would like to find out how you could use Contact for Christ to help with your church's literature distribution and follow-up in this way feel free to contact me.

Baptist Union General Secretary commends Contact for Christ to ministers

2007-04-19T14:14:00.000Z

"As we seek to make known the Good News of Jesus Christ we need all the friends we can get. Contact for Christ is one such friend and, having been a "Local Contact" for the past fifteen years I want to urge you to consider supporting the service."

So writes the Reverend Jonathan Edwards in a letter being sent by Contact for Christ to the majority of Baptist Union ministers in the United Kingdom this Summer. The letter invites them to consider joining the Contact for Christ register or to nominate a person within their church to do so.

For many years the number of people on the Contact for Christ Register has been falling. We are aiming to reverse this downward trend and add around 700 new contacts to the Register during this year, so filling gaps in the nationwide network of local Christians willing to do follow-up. Today the first batch of around 400 letters were posted to Baptist ministers and we look forward to a positive response from many of them.

Web-based Prayers of Commitment and their follow-up - a brief survey

2007-04-16T10:54:00.000Z

I make no claims that what follows is a rigorous survey, however, I think it is helpful in identifying some of the weaknesses involved in many Web-based Gospel presentations.

The Sites:
Using search terms such as "Prayer of commitment" and "commitment to Christ" , "finding Jesus", "How to Become a Christian," etc. in Google I compiled a list of sites that a "seeker" would be most likely to find. My searches produced 16 UK-based sites, made up as follows:

Church websites (3)
Christian Organisations (7)
Sites run by Christian individuals (1)
Denominational website (1)
Dedicated Evangelistic websites (4)

Results:

Of these all gave a presentation of the Gospel message and 14 suggested specific "prayers of commitment". Nine of the sites (56%) invited people to e-mail someone if they had made a commitment, one recommended that they find a church though www.findachurch.co.uk, one recommended Alpha and two referred peeople to the the US-based Campus Crusade for Christ website. Seven (43%) offered no personal follow-up at all and none offered to send any literature. Only one site specifically indicated that it recognised that its visitors might be international.

Evaluation:

The Internet has made it very easy to find out how to become a Christian. All of the sites presented the Gospel and invited visitors to make a response to it. When it came to the next step, they were far less helpful. Although all the sites were UK-based (as far as I could tell) two referred visitors to a US-based site for further information. While Campus Crusade are able to link American enquirers to local Christians they have more difficulty doing in so for those from the UK. 56% invited people to e-mail someone, but many did not name the person whom they would be e-mailing. One had not been updated site 2003 - was that person still there? It was disappointing that such a high proportion offered no means of personal follow-up at all.

Conclusion and recommendations:

It would seem that Web-based evangelism is missing an important element. While it is true that many people prefer to explore the Christian faith in private, a new Christian needs to make contact as soon as possible with a local church where he or she can be nurtured and taught. Those planning or currently running websites which have a Gospel presentation should therefore consider:

1) Providing an e-mail address of a named person for people to contact within their organisation / church.

2) Providing a link to www.newchristian.org.uk/ which provides material specifically aimed at New Believers from the UK and offers referral to Contact for Christ and www.findachurch.co.uk

3) Linking to the response form located at on the Contact for Christ website: http://www.deo-gloria.co.uk/cfc_request.php. Enquirers completing the form will then receive a free copy of the MTL magazine and the offer of a local Christian Contact.

Suggested Further Reading:

Church websites – a special opportunity

Following Up Enquirers in the Republic of Ireland

2007-04-16T08:48:00.000Z

As part of its follow-up service Contact for Christ offers enquirers from the Republic of Ireland contact with a local Christian. We currently have 15 contacts in Ireland, far too few to effectively cover the whole country, so we made the decision to handle enquiries from the Irish Republic in a different way to those from Northern Ireland and the UK mainland. Thanks to our partnership with the Association of Irish Evangelical Churches we are able to contact the Association's secretary who then responds with the details of a local Christian to whom we forward the enquirer's details. Although we don't receive a large number of enquiries from Ireland it is extremely helpful to be able to call upon the AIEC when we need to do so.

Looking for God on the Internet

2007-04-11T09:55:00.000Z

In June 2006 the United Christian Broadcasters launched a new evangelistic website called Looking for God. Contact for Christ was involved at an early stage in the planning and recieves responses forms from the site from those wanting a contact with a local Christian. All who enquire in this way receive a copy of the MTL magazine and an offer of a local Contact.

The site features "the Father's Love Letter" and video clips of various people telling how they found faith in Christ, including comedian Bobby Ball. The content appears to appeal most to those with some Christian background, but a number of people of other faiths have become Christians through it.

Here are a few of the positive stories we have received back from our Contacts about people who originally enquired through the Looking for God Website:

"I have emailed and telephoned B. I am pleased to say that as a result of our conversations he attended church this morning. We have linked him up with one of our Asian church members who will follow him up closely."

"Just to let you know that we have visited K. and her husband at home. They came to church on Sunday with their son and after a long time without Christian fellowship were delighted to be introduced and welcomed to a Christian church!!"

"I wrote to this lady to this lady because I was unable to contact her by 'phone. She has just rung and wants to go to church (her background is Baptist - our church is Baptist / URC). She said she used to teach Sunday School in Nigeria. Because I have just started 3 months sabbatical I have asked a Nigerian lady who belongs to our church and lives very close to Lynne, on the same estate, to contact her and take her to church. She said she would do so straight away and I am confident that she will be faithful in this. I hope to see her on return from my sabbatical."

"Initial contact was through email - but no response. I took the step of phoning, which was received well. Since then she and her daughter have come to church. Her daughter is now attending Sunday School. The Enquirer is experiencing personal problems and we have undertaken to pray and assist."

Twenty Years of Book Aid

2007-04-11T08:55:00.000Z

Book Aid celebrates its twentieth anniversary this year. The charity was founded by retired CLC missionaries Bob and Ada Hiley to supply Christian bookshops in Africa with affordable Christian books and Bibles. Since 1987 over 23 million hand-picked books and Bibles have been shipped in 230 containers to around 20 countries in Africa, Asia and South America.

Books are donated by Christians in the UK and Northern Ireland and are hand-sorted - mainly at the headquarters in London. Those that are not required overseas are sold in Book Aid's bookshops and on-line in order to fund the shipping of those that are.

Deo Gloria Trust supports the work of Book Aid by providing one of its staff to work at their headquarters one or two days each month, providing IT support and Internet expertise.

A Website just for New Christians

2007-04-11T08:23:00.000Z

Last year I was searching for a UK-based website which I could direct people to who had recently made a commitment to Christ which would help them with issues they might be facing. Given the number of websites now on-line I was surprised by how few there were that fulfilled this need, in fact, I could find only one: www.newchristian.org.uk/. I made contact with the webmaster Brian Johnson and Contact for Christ now provides an opportunity for visitors to the site to request a free booklet and the offer of a local contact.

I asked Brian to tell me more about the site:

Q. When and why did you start up the website?

A. I started it in November 2003. I had nurtured several Christians over the years and when asked to nurture a new Christian lady I tried writing my own material. It seemed to work OK, so I then thought about starting up a website for new Christians and using my own material on it.

I previously taught myself HTML and had created a website for my home church, so I had some experience. I also noticed that new Christians on the web seemed to be "an afterthought". By that I mean some Christian sites had a page or two for new Christian, but no-one had thought of catering specifically for the new Christian on a dedicated website.

The URL http://www.newchristian.org.uk was free so I bought it and started creating the site. I got the basic layout from http://www.freelayouts.com and customised the HTML for my own use.

Q. Tell me about your site content.

A. I now have 150 pages on the site, including a Podcast, RSS Feed, Teen Page, Flash movies and Cartoons. Pages include basic teaching on Prayer, The Bible, Discipleship, "Why did Jesus Come?" "Who is the Holy Spirit?", Background to The Bible, Living as a Christian, Help in writing your Testimony and Witnessing. Pages can be found by moving up the different Levels on the site i.e. begin at Level 1 and work up from there. I also have dozens of links to other good quality sites that offer help to new Christians.

I recently added a page of links to free multimedia resources for churches and this has proved very popular in the run-up to Easter. In addition to the Podcast I also have audio mp3 downloads featuring some basic teaching; plus a few songs by Christian artists I know and who have allowed me to put their songs on my site.

Q. What sort of numbers do you get visiting, say on a weekly basis?

A. Currently over 2,000 a week from around 45 different countries at the last count. Someone came upon my site recently and recommended it at http://www.stumbleupon.com and as a result I’ve had over 500 extra visitors in the first 10 days of April.

Q. What search terms do people use to find your site on search engines?

A. The main one of course is "new Christian". Others are "Teen Flash", "Flash Movies", "what is a Christian?" "Christian UK" and "free Christian multimedia". I also usually get a couple of dozen visitors each month who search on "am I a good person?"

Q. Do you have any plans for further development of the site?

A. I really need to consolidate all the extra pages I’ve added recently into the menu system. I initially advertise them at the "What’s New" page. Also, although I have a number of evangelistic elements on the site, I would like to expand this section and consolidate these into a discrete area of the site that can be accessed easily.

Q. Do you have any specific resources to offer churches?

A. I recently put together a CD of around 75 Flash movie clips, many of these evangelistic, which churches and Pastors and Youth Group leaders might find useful. These are all "legal" downloads from various websites that offer the source .swf files for non-profit use. If churches care to e-mail me via my website I can mail these out as a free resource.

Q. Do you run any other Christian websites?

A. I have also created and still run: http://www.christianaudio.org.uk/ plus http://www.holiness.org.uk/ and http://www.miracles.me.uk/ I am also currently working on a website for the City Mission in my home town.

The Changing Face of UK Evangelism

2007-04-11T08:18:00.000Z

During 2006 we have noted a decline in the number of enquiries coming to Contact for Christ from organisations such as the Christian Enquiry Agency. It appears that while people are still requesting literature, the number of people then asking for a local Christian contact has fallen. At the same time the United Christian Broadcasters have launched a new website called Looking For God which refers people who pray a prayer of commitment to Contact for Christ. Since its launch at the end of June we have received over 315 enquiries from the site – just under half of enquiries from all sources – and a number have resulted in people coming to Christ. The evidence would seem to indicate that while people are still searching for God they are doing so increasingly via the Web and not through traditional printed booklets and leaflets distributed by churches. There is every reason to think that this trend will continue and so Contact for Christ will continue to seek new opportunities to direct web enquiries to local Christian contacts.