together SPRING 2018
Grow, Plant, Revitalise INSIDE National Director sets out 2018 plans A new role for Andy Paterson Churches working together
WELCOME... It’s always good to hear about how FIEC churches are reaching their communities with the good news of the Lord Jesus. I was in Rochester recently as members of Rochester Baptist Church performed an adaption of a Charles Dickens novel, to include a clear gospel message. It was part of a huge festival in the town that The front page image is National Director John Stevens speaking to the Leaders’ Conference in November. Together is published by FIEC, 39 The Point, Market Harborough, LE16 7QU. 01858 434540 fiec.org.uk admin@fiec.org.uk fb.com/theFIEC @theFIEC Editor: Phil Topham 01858 411553 phil.topham@fiec.org.uk Designed by: AH Graphic Design www.ahgraphicdesign.co.uk ah@ahgraphicdesign.co.uk 07500 465753 Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Got a story? We’d love to hear stories from your church – why not get in touch with us? The deadline for submissions for the Autumn 2018 edition is Friday 25 May 2018.
celebrates everything ‘Dickens’. It was such a clever thing to do: the church was involved in something the rest of the town was engaged in and they were able to put the gospel at the heart of it. Of course, not everyone could or should dramatically adapt a Dickens novel to reach their community, but what are people where you live passionate about? Perhaps that might unlock some great evangelistic opportunities for you during 2018. Our great passion at FIEC is to see Independent Churches working together to reach Britain for Christ. John Stevens outlines our plans for the coming months on pages 4–5, while there’s some great examples of how churches are working together in Nottingham on pages 8 and 9. And I hope you will find the statistics on FIEC church growth encouraging on pages 6 and 7. Please pray that 2018 might see even more people come to faith and that the gospel would bear fruit in our needy nation. Phil Topham, FIEC Head of Communication
CONTENTS Sign up to receive Together
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Encouragements and challenges 18 Dual role for Andy Paterson
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Independent church growth
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Working together in Nottingham
10 News in brief 13 An astonishing love for pastors 14 Leading a transforming church
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16 Strengthening our legal expertise
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21 Training Fund fuels gospel work 22 New church in Leicester 24 Bible by the Beach 26 Book reviews 28 New church affiliations and church plants
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ENCOURAGEMENTS AND CHALLENGES John Stevens reflects on the past year and looks ahead to the plans for FIEC through 2018. One of the things that thrills me as FIEC National Director is travelling around the country and hearing from pastors and church leaders about John Stevens how they’re reaching their communities for Christ. It’s great to hear about ways you are pouring your efforts and energies into reaching lost people. I’m tremendously encouraged by the amazing creativity I hear about and, of course, the great joy is hearing how people are coming to know Christ. Our latest data survey (you can read about it on pages 6–7) shows that in the last two years over 6,000 more people are coming to FIEC churches. 3,000 of that number are from new churches that have joined us but 3,900 are from genuine growth.
More people, less often We’ve discovered that what churches are seeing is more people coming less often. So actually the numbers there week by week may not seem to have grown by very much but the number of people your church is impacting is much higher.
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The 950 baptisms are a rough indication of the conversions we’re seeing across the Fellowship. We long for more but I think it’s vitally important that we have a realistic perspective of what the Lord is doing and how the Lord is working in our day, age and place. The goal of FIEC is to be: Independent churches working together to reach Britain for Christ. We want to see thriving gospelproclaiming churches in every community. And we’re beginning to work through that strategy and what we can do to enable that to happen.
THE GREAT JOY IS HEARING HOW PEOPLE ARE COMING TO KNOW CHRIST AND BEING CONVERTED. What we want to see over the coming years is church growth which leads to gospel growth. We want all of our churches to be growing and we must have ambition for growth. Why would you not want your church to grow? A growing church means more people saved and more people in the kingdom. How can you be satisfied the size you are when there’s so much gospel need?
New and revitalised churches But existing churches growing will not be enough to reach the nation. We need to see fiec.org.uk
new churches planted and existing churches revitalised in communities where at the moment there is little or no gospel witness.
a blessing to their cities and regions. But at the same time we want see churches planted into the unreached areas.
Different communities
WE WANT TO SEE CHURCHES PLANTED IN KEY REGIONAL CENTRES THAT WILL BE A BLESSING TO THEIR CITIES AND REGIONS. So in the coming year we want to develop a multistranded approach. We want to see churches planted in key regional centres that will be
We also recognise that there’s a variety of different kinds of communities that are in particular need in Great Britain at the moment. There are deprived urban areas which have little or no witness and there are the ethnic communities in which we’re hardly penetrating at all. There are other rural communities where a large section of our population lives but gospel ministry is difficult at the moment.
So we want to support and encourage effective church planting and church revitalisation in all of those different kinds of communities. It’s not a fully worked out plan but we think we know what we need to do next. Please pray for us as we try to think through the best possible way of achieving it. Thank you so much for all of your support and please be assured of our prayers for you. We want to be able to help you to serve our nation in the best possible way. John Stevens, FIEC National Director
FAMILY PRAYERS AT NEW CITY CHURCH MILTON KEYNES.
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INDEPENDENT CHURCH Three years ago we asked our family of churches to provide us with statistics about their congregations and ministry. As the first detailed survey for over a decade, it helped us refine our gospel priorities and decide where best to allocate resources. In 2016/17 we repeated the data survey. The vast majority of churches engaged with the process which gave us a high degree of confidence in the results. So what did we learn? Andrew Nicholson highlights three headlines from the figures.
FIEC churches are planting churches Over a period of three years an average of one church per month had been launched.
Based on what churches told us, we expect that trend to continue for the next five years – leading to around 100 churches over an eight year period. But, to reach Britain for Christ, the rate of planting needs to be ramped up. FIEC is therefore working on a holistic gospel strategy that will move us closer towards seeing a thriving gospel church in every community. That’s a
big goal. So we need to make sure we continue to develop good relationships with other gospel-centred church networks and mission agencies, as the task is too great for FIEC churches to achieve alone.
Conversion rate is steady Planting churches is a significant step towards reaching communities with the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. But communities
FIEC Growth
2014-15
Church Members
2016-17
Snapshot Sunday Service
2014-15 2016-17 2014-15
Regular Attenders*
2016-17 0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
*Those attending at least once a month
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GROWTH comprise many individuals who each need to hear the gospel and be given the opportunity to respond, with salvation being entirely a work of God’s grace. There were more than 900 conversions (and more than 950 baptisms) across the FIEC family of churches during a full year. No churches are reporting significant growth, but God is faithful as his church proclaims and shares the gospel and we are seeing significantly more churches growing than declining.
OVER A PERIOD OF THREE YEARS AN AVERAGE OF ONE CHURCH PER MONTH HAD BEEN LAUNCHED. However, this represents just a tiny fraction of people who are not yet believers and even when we take into account people becoming Christians in other church networks or denominations, the likelihood is that only about 3% of people in Great Britain are born-again believers. This is a cause for much prayer, so please pray for our needy nation in your personal prayers and your church prayer meetings.
Church attendance patterns continue to change Whilst we have seen another significant increase in people attending FIEC churches, patterns of attendance continue to change. Many people who consider themselves committed do not necessarily attend as frequently as they once did. The ‘gap’ between the number who are at the main worship service on any given Sunday and the total number who are counted as regular attenders, continues to fiec.org.uk
widen. Both sets of numbers are up – but the latter by far more than the former. These changing dynamics have resulted in the number of people in formal church membership in FIEC churches remaining stubbornly flat. We’re glad in the past year to have taken on Ray Evans as part of the FIEC team in the role of Church Leadership Consultant. He’s been busy helping church leaders with the challenges they face in leading a growing church. The changes in regular attendance resulting from churches joining or leaving and the growth of churches that have remained part of FIEC throughout the two years since the previous survey are as follows: Effect on regular attendance
Category
+ 3,800
New churches joining FIEC Churches leaving FIEC or closing
- 800
Existing churches growing
+3,900
Net effect
+6,900
More could be said about ethnic diversity, students attending FIEC churches, church revitalisation and children and youth. To read the results of the survey in more detail go to fiec.org. uk and search for ‘Data Survey 2017’ or contact the FIEC office for a hard copy. For more info For statistics on FIEC in relation to other churches in the UK, consult the justpublished UK Church Stats 2018 from Brierley Consultancy, The Old Post Office, 1, Thorpe Avenue, Tonbridge, Kent. TN10 4PW (cost £28 inc postage).
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WORKING TOGETHER IN NOTTINGHAM Dave Gilkerson introduces us to Transforming Lives for Good (TLG). TLG is a Christian charity which is partnering with two FIEC churches in Nottingham to bring support, care and education to children who are struggling in the school system. Across Britain, children are struggling in school for all kinds of reasons. The effects of bullying, bereavement, family breakdown, poverty or being in the care system can have a huge impact on a child. But there is hope, as God has provided the local church. Beeston Free and Arnold Road Evangelical – two FIEC churches in Nottingham – have partnered with the national
Christian charity TLG in different ways this last year.
FOR CHILDREN WHO DESPERATELY NEED TO KNOW THEY ARE LOVED AND VALUED. Beeston Free has become an Early Intervention partner which means a group of
A TLG CLASS IN NOTTINGHAM
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volunteers from the church have been trained by TLG as coaches to go into local primary schools to support children who’ve been identified as needing some extra support. The coaches spend an hour a week with the child for a whole year, offering a listening ear and helping them to overcome personal challenges. There are currently nine coaches from Beeston Free who are there for children who desperately need to know they are loved and valued. Beeston is one of more than 100 churches now running TLG Early Intervention in their communities and there are so many encouraging stories from across the country of how families have been transformed by the gospel because of a church volunteer who spent time coaching a child and getting to know a family. The church at Beeston see fiec.org.uk
this as an opportunity to get to know and befriend families who wouldn’t choose to walk into the church building. They’re praying that in the second year of this work, God would start to break through in the relationships they’ve formed. TLG also helps churches set up and run education centres for students who have reached a crisis point in their education and can’t access a mainstream school. These small schools take up to 12 students at a time and are staffed by Christian teachers. The aim is to help these young people return to mainstream school and offer them a safe space to grow and develop as young people. Arnold Road Evangelical Church (AREC) has generously allowed TLG Nottingham to move into the back hall of their church building. The school had previously been run elsewhere in Nottingham and when TLG were looking for a new church partner God provided AREC! The Pastor of AREC Nathan Pomeroy said: “We use the church hall nearly every evening, but it wasn’t being used during the day, so when TLG approached us about running the education centre in the hall, it seemed like a great way to honour God by increasing the usefulness of the building he has entrusted to us. All for the glory of God.”
IT HAS BEEN WONDERFUL TO SEE HOW GOD HAS USED THIS PARTNERSHIP TO BRING CHANGE AND RENEWAL. It has been wonderful to see how God has used this partnership to bring change and renewal. The old hall was jointly renovated by funds from the church and TLG as well as volunteers from AREC and Beeston Free Church. The impact is being felt across the community. The young people at TLG have cooked for the church coffee morning and the school has benefitted from various volunteers from the congregation. Since September the centre at AREC fiec.org.uk
TLG SUPPORTS CHILDREN IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM
has been led by Matt Priestland who is a member of Beeston Free Church so the links between the two churches continue to strengthen. Please pray for this work and all those involved both at Beeston and Arnold Road and in churches across the country that partner with TLG. Pray Paul’s prayer of Colossians 4:3–4 that a door will be opened for the message of the gospel and that those involved would proclaim it clearly as relationships develop with the children and their families. The number of churches partnering with TLG is growing rapidly and it would be great to see more FIEC churches involved. So, if you think TLG could help you reach out to your community through a range of programmes that they offer please do visit the website www.tlg.org.uk FIEC Together Spring 2018
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NEWS IN BRIEF PRIMER O5 FROM FIEC RESIDENTIAL HOME MINISTRY The 1920s is a fascinating decade, writes David Shaw, our Theological Adviser. Perhaps unlike any other decade, those years are defined by the cataclysmic events of the decades before and after: they are the ‘inter-war years.’ There is no making sense of them outside of the context. The same can be said of the present age for Christians. There is no making sense of our experience outside of the context of eschatology – the first and second comings of Jesus. And yet we very often pay little attention to eschatology. We fail to grasp that the future has already broken into the present, through the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus and the sending of the Spirit. The latest issue of Primer looks at the difference eschatology makes to the way we live and lead. There’s a guide to explain the different ways Christians think about the future. You’ll be helped to meditate on the New Creation with Augustine as your guide. We reflect on how much the New Creation will have in common with this world. There’s a careful review of recent works on Hell, and a preacher’s guide to Revelation. Primer issue 05 is available online from The Good Book Company. thegoodbook.co.uk/primer
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Pauline Barnett from South Gloucestershire explains that in the past three years God has been growing a gospel work started by local believers in a residential home near Bristol. A resident with Parkinson’s disease had prayed for a service like this to begin after she and two others became too frail to travel to church. So the fortnightly services we started three years ago were a real answer to prayer. God has used this outreach and numbers have grown rapidly. We now fill a very large room with more than 30 people – and there were 65 at the Christmas Carol Service. Our regular meeting started after I liaised with a man in our congregation with an excellent singing voice. We were joined by a gifted pianist and now a group of us enjoy the privilege of working together to do God’s will in the home. The service includes four hymns, a Bible reading, a short talk and prayers. The hymns are well-known favourites and everyone is able to join in. Hymn sheets are given out and collected up before the reading, talk and prayers which enables interaction to take place. Some residents cling to the hymn sheets and take them to their rooms – I know God will use the words wherever they end up! I was very excited by the enthusiasm shown by the staff at the home as they made plans for Remembrance Sunday and we agreed to an extra visit. At the service we remembered three groups of people – those who had lost their lives in the wars; those who had been martyred for their Christian faith; and those people known to us personally. It was a moving and thought-provoking time. I am sure many of you are already involved in outreach like this. However, wouldn’t it be great if every single residential home in the country could hold regular services? Let us think about and pray for these opportunities. fiec.org.uk
LEADERSHIP TRAINING IN WALES The goal of the first Wales Leadership Forum was to strengthen churches in Wales for the mission of taking the gospel afresh to our country, writes Michael Teutsch from Highfields Church, Cardiff. And the need here is vast. While recent years have been difficult for gospel progress across the UK, it has been particularly severe in Wales. There has been an estimated decline of 22% in church attendance, and the closure of 5% of churches here over the last decade. While there have been notable exceptions, the general situation has been decline. So it is into that context that the Forum sought to minister to Welsh churches. The speakers included Os Guinness, John Lennox and Lindsay Brown, as well as 17 others in various streams. Together they inspired a fresh confidence in the gospel to reach Wales. John Funnell shared his encouragement of working in a Valley church in Abersychan. John was saved in 2009 he went into ministry in 2014 in a small church with ten elderly people. Now
there are 50 adults and 20 children attending and they have had 13 baptisms in three years. His story reminded us of the effectiveness of the gospel in such situations. Andy Pitt shared a similar story from Merthyr. Joined with these were several Network Streams designed specifically to practically equip those attending for more effective ministry. I attended the stream The Leadership Challenge in Today’s Church run by FIEC’s Church Leadership Consultant Ray Evans. Overall the Forum drew Christians from most of the evangelical denominations across Wales. It was great to close by seeing £7,000 raised for supporting gospel projects here. Let us pray that God will prosper our desire to reach Wales and to equip a new generation for this task. For more info For information about 2018’s event please visit www.walesleadershipforum.org.uk
THE FIRST WALES LEADERSHIP FORUM
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NEWS IN BRIEF TRAINING FUND SUPPORTS ASSISTANT PASTOR Grange Baptist Church in Letchworth Garden City, Herts, welcomed Adam Robertson as their Assistant Pastor in November 2017, writes Ken Hawkins. The appointment is for three years, with some of the money for the role coming from the FIEC Training Fund. There have also been pledges from within the church, a generous legacy and a separate gift to the church. Both the legacy and the gift were aimed at extending the church’s ministry.
Adam has studied at Moorlands and previously worked at Hillview Church in Hucclecote, Gloucester. Simon Duan from Hillview spoke from Mark 9 at the induction service explaining that the church is to walk together. The disciples were called, Jesus led them and the church follow Him who is first in everything. Pastor Mark Sewall welcomed Adam and his wife Iuliana into membership of the church, which has already fallen in love with their young
A FITTING FAREWELL Bill James stepped down as Pastor of Emmanuel Church, Leamington Spa in November after 26 years of faithful ministry, writes James Midwinter. He and Sharon have moved to Finchley now that Bill has taken up his new role as Principal of London Seminary. The Emmanuel Church family were joined at the thanksgiving service by friends, former members, and past Pastors-in-Training who had much to thank God for as they reflected on the ministry and example of both Bill and Sharon. Bryan Jarvis plotted the church’s history, before Paul Gibson (now Pastor of Wheelock
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daughter. Adam is getting to know everyone and the Lord has also provided accommodation for the family within walking distance of the church.
THE ROBERTSON FAMILY
Heath Baptist Church) spoke of the blessings of training under Bill at Emmanuel. Leo Lucas (Emmanuel’s Women’s Worker) shared some of the ways God has used Sharon’s gifts and passion for Biblical women’s ministry – both at Emmanuel and more widely within the FIEC and beyond. Finally, Ray Trainer (now Pastor at Hoylake Evangelical Church) prayed for them both. Bill gave three exhortations to the church: to keep growing in love for one another; to keep growing in love for those who are not yet believers, both locally and internationally; and to keep growing in love for Christ. Sharon spoke of the need not to be anxious, but to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. Paul Watts – Pastor at Lower Ford Street Church – closed the formal service by preaching from Philippians on the supreme importance of loving Jesus Christ and proclaiming His supremacy in all things. fiec.org.uk
AN ASTONISHING LOVE FOR PASTORS We took time out of our Leaders’ Conference in November to thank Richard and Pippa Underwood for their 13 years of faithful service to the FIEC family. National Director John Stevens interviewed them on stage before they were presented with a gift from the Fellowship along with a book full of appreciations, photographs and memories from their time with FIEC. Initially, Richard served as our General Secretary before becoming Pastoral Ministries Director in 2011. In his most recent role he has overseen our Pastors’ Network – that’s FIEC’s accreditation body for ministers, which now has more than 550 members. John said: “FIEC would not be what it is today without Richard’s vision. He was God’s man for FIEC at just the right moment. “His love for pastors has been astonishing and it has been quite an achievement to grow the Pastors’ Network and turn it into a genuine band of brothers, men in ministry who love one another and support one another. I think his love for pastors has rescued many men’s ministries. “Richard’s love and care flows out of his deep love for the Lord Jesus and the desire to see him honoured and served. And we are so grateful to Pippa because we know that she has been unstintingly supporting Richard and has borne much of the hidden cost of his ministry.” At the Conference, Richard led the prayer and praise meetings, reminding delegates through fiec.org.uk
the Lord’s Prayer of the privilege of having God as our Father and the joy of being his children. Richard said: “It has been a privilege to serve this wonderful family of churches and I want to thank you for the way you have loved and supported us as we’ve sought to love and support you. FIEC has never just had my diary, it has always had my heart and it always will. As we look at the gospel need in our country we see a nation that needs the FIEC as much now as ever it did. “Matthew 9:37 and 38 says: ‘the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest therefore to send out workers into his harvest field.’ Those verses give us something to rejoice in, something to lament over and something to pray for. If you want to know something to do, read Matthew chapter 10. And then do it.” Johnny Prime – formerly pastor at Enfield Evangelical Free Church – succeeded Richard as Pastoral Ministries Director in January 2018. For more info To read more and to watch a short film of appreciations just head to fiec.org.uk and search for ‘Richard Retires’.
RICHARD AND PIPPA UNDERWOOD
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LEADING A TRANSFORMING CHURCH The FIEC Leaders’ Conference took place for the first time in Torquay back in November. It was our biggest yet with more than 800 people joining us. We were hosted by the Riviera International Conference Centre and the main teaching ministry came from Thabiti Anyabwile, pastor at Anacostia River Church in Washington DC. Our Training Director Adrian Reynolds and Pastor of Charlotte Chapel in Edinburgh Paul Rees preached in the evening meetings. An historical lecture from Michael Reeves – President at Union School of Theology – and a series of seminars for church leaders completed the programme. The main theme of the Conference was ‘Transforming Church’ and seminars included practical support on leading churches through change as well as a focus on the prayer and devotional life of the leader. Kristie Anyabwile – Thabiti’s wife – also led a ministry track for the women. Among the delegates in Torquay was Dan Steel, pastor of Magdalen Road Church in Oxford. He said: “Personally, I left the conference feeling fiec.org.uk
more refreshed, more grateful for the goodness and sufficiency of the gospel of Christ, thankful for God’s kindness to FIEC over the last 12 months and – having heard plans and ideas – hopeful about the future as the momentum continues to grow.”
I LEFT THE CONFERENCE FEELING MORE REFRESHED, MORE GRATEFUL FOR THE GOODNESS AND SUFFICIENCY OF THE GOSPEL You can read some of those plans and ideas in John Stevens’ article on pages 4 and 5. During our Annual General Meeting, Jonathan Bond, pastor of Jennyfield Evangelical Church in Harrogate and Ian Jones, pastor of Rotherham Evangelical Church were elected as new members of the FIEC Trust Board. Plans are already in place for this year’s Conference when the main speakers will be Don Carson and David Robertson. It will take place from Monday 12 – Wednesday 14 November in Torquay. Tickets cost £180 before 15 June and are available at fiec.org.uk/LC2018. FIEC Together Spring 2018
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STRENGTHENING OUR In 2018, FIEC is launching a brand new organisation to support even more churches and charities with legal expertise. Practical Services Director Gemma Adam introduces us to Edward Connor. Churches always have to battle with how to stay faithful to the Gemma Adam gospel but also be relevant to the society of which they are a part. Today, society is very different to New Testament times where the early church existed. Britain is a heavily regulated, complex society and churches need to operate carefully if they’re going to follow Scripture’s command to
obey the authorities. Increasingly, churches and Christian charities are needing to enlist the help of solicitors to navigate this complex legal picture. Everything from the new data protection legislation to the constantly evolving Charity Commission regulations can put an extra burden on churches. That’s why we think it’s so important to provide churches with legal help in a way that’s affordable, so that you can get on with the vital work of
gospel ministry. For a number of years, FIEC Practical Services – a team of Christian solicitors – have been providing churches with property and charity law and HR advice. We offer low-cost high-quality legal advice that is biblically shaped.
WE THINK IT’S SO IMPORTANT TO PROVIDE CHURCHES WITH LEGAL HELP IN A WAY THAT’S AFFORDABLE. However, the regulation that is imposed on FIEC is increasing. Unfortunately, regulatory and governance issues mean our current set-up isn’t sustainable in the long term. That’s why, God willing, in spring 2018, we’re setting up a brand new organisation called Edward Connor.
Why ‘Edward Connor’?
HR CONSULTANT NICK CONWAY
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We’ve called it Edward Connor because it’s implementing now, in the 21st Century, the vision of FIEC’s founder, Edward Joshua Poole-Connor. Back in 1941, EJ Poole-Connor said one of the goals of FIEC fiec.org.uk
LEGAL EXPERTISE
SOME MEMBERS OF THE EDWARD CONNOR TEAM
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charges. FIEC Limited will still hold Trust Deeds for churches. These changes mean we’re better placed to serve you as we have an expanding team of solicitors to help with your specific needs.
Please pray So please would you pray for us as we work through the practicalities of moving our work into this separate entity over the coming months? In particular, please will you pray about the complexities of the relationship with our regulator. We are really excited about the potential Edward Connor has to help independent churches in the 21st century to work together in that great gospel vision of reaching Britain for Christ. For more info Got a legal query? Every FIEC church gets 30 minutes of free legal advice on every new issue every year. Just call 01858 411569 or visit fiec.org.uk/practical
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Main photos © Nathan Walker Photography
was to “supply information on legal and other matters affecting Christian work and to save churches and missions trouble and expense by friendly advice”. This year, we hope to continue that vision by setting up Edward Connor. It will be a separate charity but will be linked to FIEC in its governance. We’re recruiting a team of qualified Christian solicitors who will be able to provide legal services, not only to the FIEC family of churches (although that will continue to be a key focus) but also to other Christian groups who share our gospel aims and ethos. So, what does this mean for FIEC churches? Don’t worry, FIEC Practical Services is still a vital part of what FIEC offers you. The only difference is that from spring 2018 the legal team will now operate from this new organisation: Edward Connor. FIEC churches can continue to use the same advice line number to speak to someone about a legal matter and will continue to get discounted
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DUAL ROLE FOR
ANDY PATERSON Our Mission Director Andy Paterson will take on a dual-role later in 2018 as he begins work as part-time associate pastor with responsibility for mission at Charlotte Chapel – an FIEC church in Edinburgh. It means Andy will continue to serve FIEC to advance mission and church planting whilst also serving in a church ministry team, splitting his time between the two roles. He and his wife Kath are now planning to move from their current home
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in Bristol to Edinburgh in summer 2018. Commenting on the changes, Andy said: “God has been immensely gracious to FIEC in the work of church planting over the past six years but I have been increasingly conscious that we are moving into the next
phase of our planting strategy. FIEC is actively exploring how we can develop and grow church planting through a new alignment of our resources, targeting unreached areas and investing in regional centres. “Twinned with that, I have also become more aware of how much I have missed involvement in church leadership and particularly being part of a regular expository preaching programme. Now, in the goodness of God, this door has been opened that allows fiec.org.uk
me to play a continued role within FIEC, but also to serve within a church team. I’m really excited about all the Lord has for Kath and me in this new season.”
Working together Our big vision and mission is to be “Independent Churches, working together to reach Britain for Christ”. That means we’re keen to embed mission in everything we do; to see churches started where there is little gospel witness and struggling churches revitalised back to spiritual health. So whether we’re helping with planting and revitalisation, supporting pastors, encouraging training, or guiding churches with legal support, all of it is with the same goal in mind: to reach Britain for Christ.
A culture of church planting Commenting on Andy’s change of role, National Director John Stevens said: “In the last six years Andy has fostered and embedded a culture of church planting within FIEC, and developed partnerships with other church planting movements across the UK. This has borne much fruit, with the FIEC constituency now planting roughly one new church a month. “I am delighted that the Lord has opened up this opportunity for Andy to return to local church ministry but also to continue to serve
FIEC half-time and to build on the tremendous progress we have made.
THIS DOOR HAS BEEN OPENED THAT ALLOWS ME TO PLAY A CONTINUED ROLE WITHIN FIEC, BUT ALSO TO SERVE WITHIN A CHURCH TEAM. “We have come to realise that mission cannot be the responsibility of any single FIEC Director, but that everything the FIEC ministry team does must serve the advance of the gospel in the nation to fulfil our vision.” Andy will begin his new role with Charlotte Chapel in September 2018 and Paul Rees, Senior Pastor at Charlotte added: “It is with excitement that we look forward to having Andy and Kath as part of our congregation here at Charlotte Chapel. Andy’s gifts and experience will be a great blessing to us as we seek to make and mature disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ to the glory of God. “This hybrid role where Andy both serves as a pastor practitioner in a local church as well as leading and consulting as a Director of the FIEC will, I believe, enrich both our congregation and the wider fellowship of churches within the FIEC.”
SUNG WORSHIP AT CHARLOTTE CHAPEL
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Called to a Holy Life
Holiness is not optional. It is integral to all that we are. Join us for one of our 2018 Pastors’ Network Day Conferences. They’re open to pastors & their wives, and free to attend. Find your nearest at fiec.org.uk/events
ministry wives retreat 16-18 May 2018
Holland House, WR10 3NB A retreat for the wives of men employed in gospel ministry in FIEC churches and wives of men in our Pastors’ Network. Find out more at fiec.org.uk/events
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TRAINING FUND FUELS GOSPEL WORK STEVE WALKER FROM CITY EVANGELICAL CHURCH, LEEDS
We’re convinced that one of the ways we can reach the nation for Christ is by making sure that gospel workers are trained for ministry in our churches. That’s why we offer grants via the FIEC Training Fund. We’ve given away more than £1million since 2012 and the money is enabling gospel work to take place that simply wouldn’t happen without it. Leeds is a good example. City Evangelical Church wanted to train a young man for ministry but couldn’t afford to fund his post as a Minister in Training. So they applied to the Training Fund and received money to support him, as well as raising funds to match this grant from the church family. The man in question – Steve Walker – is now completing his training and the hope is that he will lead a church plant to another part of Leeds in the years to come. His role simply wouldn’t have happened without the grant from FIEC. Steve said: “It’s fiec.org.uk
enabled me to pursue full-time ministry. Had we not received those funds and had people not given to the Training Fund it wouldn’t be possible for the church to support me. “If we want the gospel to go out across this nation we need leaders trained up robustly so that we can rebuke false teaching, stand for sound doctrine and guard the good deposit of the gospel.” But we’ve got a bit of a challenge ahead. The money in the Training Fund pot is running out. In December 2017 we allocated grants of more than £50,000 to men and women who are training for gospel ministry. However, had there been enough money, we could have given away £200,000: four times as much. To continue to sustain the Training Fund, we need to raise around £250,000 every year from our family of churches. So how can we do it? More than 50,000 people regularly attend FIEC churches, so it works out at just £5 per person per year. Would your church consider a giving day? Or perhaps you could add a donation to the FIEC Training Fund to your 2018/19 budget. For more info: If you want to find out more and talk about ways you can help us with this, please contact our Training Director Adrian Reynolds: adrian.reynolds@fiec.org.uk or 01858 434540. You can also use the back of the address form that came with Together magazine if you receive it by post. On our website you will find a film with Steve Walker from City Evangelical Church, Leeds. Just head to fiec.org.uk and search for ‘Our Training Fund Challenge’.
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NEW CHURCH IN LEICESTER Our article about Independent Church Growth on pages 6 and 7 explains that we’re seeing around one church planted a month within the FIEC family. The Crowded House Leicester is one of them – they are a recognised FIEC church plant and the pastor has been assessed by church-planting network Acts 29. Will you join us in praying for this new work? A Christian missionary who is called to serve abroad knows that they’ll have to move house. Often to a very different culture with a very different outlook. But increasingly, Christians in Britain are taking this same approach, moving house to reach diverse communities closer to home where there’s little or no gospel witness. Pete and Anna Petra along with Roddy and Laura Jonas are missionaries, but they’ve not gone abroad. They’re seeking to reach an area of Britain where there is very
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little gospel witness. Both families have sold their homes and moved into an area of north west Leicester to start a new church.
BOTH FAMILIES HAVE SOLD THEIR HOMES AND MOVED INTO AN AREA OF NORTH WEST LEICESTER TO START A NEW CHURCH. Home to 48,000 people, there are hardly any churches that preach the gospel in this suburb of the city. Pete is the pastor of this new work which is being planted by The Crowded House in Loughborough. He said: “We refer to ourselves as
missionaries because of our theological conviction that all Christians have been called and chosen by God to declare his excellencies to the world – to join him in the mission of making Christ known (1 Peter 2:9–12). In other words, to be a Christian is to be a missionary but that just looks different depending on the people you want to reach. “We want to reach the Mowmacre Hill area of Leicester – initially through gospel community groups meeting in homes. Our prayer is that unbelievers would be saved and that many would be added to our number so we can reach out with the gospel here.” The area of Leicester that the church is looking to reach is divided into a number of estates including Mowmacre Hill. Many of these estates are owned by the council and are home to young families and adults from working class backgrounds. Historically, the area fiec.org.uk
has had a strong Catholic influence which means for Pete, a lot of people are
THE JONAS AND PETRA FAMILIES
referring to him as a Priest or a Father. He said: “That’s been one of the things we’ve had to get used to about the local culture. We’ve now decided to call me a ‘minister’ because when we tried to explain what a ‘pastor’ is, people just misunderstood it. In fact, at one point someone thought I’d said I was a ‘plasterer’!” Both families are getting to know their neighbours and starting to see barriers break down, with friendships developing between them and others in their community. Pete and Roddy have joined the rugby club, getting alongside some of the men who play every week, as well as spending time getting to know people in the local pub. In February 2018 a regular weekly service will begin at a local community centre because those they have been engaging with have expressed an interest in coming to church. Roddy added: “We’ve been amazed by God’s grace in the way we’ve been able to get to know people so quickly and the opportunities for the gospel we’ve already had. Please pray for relationships to deepen and for the gospel to bear fruit here.” fiec.org.uk
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BIBLE BY THE BEACH
BIBLE BY THE BEACH
A number of FIEC churches are choosing to travel to Eastbourne every May for Bible by the Beach. Andy Sams from Grace Community Church in Bedford explains why they go along to this conference every year. The car is packed and the family are strapped in for our annual trip to Eastbourne. Bible by the Beach takes place over the first Bank Holiday weekend in May and has become an ‘inked-in’ feature of our family’s diary. It does exactly what it says on the tin. High quality
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and relevant Bible teaching to equip us to serve Jesus with the added extra that it’s by the beach – but not on the beach! As proud Bedfordians we’re generally content to be land-locked most of the year round. But the opportunity to get to the coast and enjoy picnics, ice creams and
generally mucking around on the beach makes it a special time for us and our kids. We also travel down with my mother-in-law, who struggles with her mobility and has to use a wheelchair. While that makes life a little bit more difficult, we’ve always found people at the fiec.org.uk
conference and around Eastbourne really helpful and accommodating. One of things I like about Bible by the Beach is the fact that it is over a Bank Holiday weekend. Because it runs from Friday night to Monday afternoon, you only need three nights worth of accommodation and, depending on your job, you don’t necessarily need to take additional time off work. The programme of teaching is really helpful too with the children’s work mirroring the adult teaching. The leaders are always extremely enthusiastic, teaching our children great truths and having a lot of fun. On our way home we always ask our kids if they want to go back and the answer has always been yes! There’s also a really fun Family Praise session on the Saturday, which we all take part in, and I often get just a touch emotional when I see the kids get up on the stage on the final Monday as they show everyone what they’ve been up to. As a family, we’re very fortunate to go to a strong Bible-teaching church, and to be wellfed from God’s word all year round. Yet it is still helpful to hear different speakers, from different church traditions, who all share a passion for bringing the Bible to us clearly. In 2017 Lee Gatiss spoke powerfully from Romans and the relevance of the Reformation and why its message is still relevant to us today. The seminar programme included Mark Greene talking about being a ‘full time Christian worker’ (that’s the majority of the time when you are not doing church-organised activity but are still serving Jesus). I went to hear Steve Midgley talk about how we apply the Bible in the small detail of our lives. This has helped me as a home group leader to remove some of the barriers between the times of our meetings when we are studying the Bible and the times we are drinking coffee and sharing our lives with one another. With the children in their programmes, my wife and I could also spend some time catching fiec.org.uk
up with one another and to discuss what we’ve been learning. You’re not compelled to go to every seminar, and recognising my own limitations I find it more helpful to focus on a few things well – rather than everything badly!
HIGH QUALITY AND RELEVANT BIBLE TEACHING TO EQUIP US TO SERVE JESUS WITH THE ADDED EXTRA THAT IT’S BY THE BEACH. We spend much of our Christian lives in the foothills, struggling with our own sin, and the inevitable ups and downs in family and church life. That’s why I love the times when we all meet together, led by talented musicians, to sing God’s praise. There is something very uplifting and good for the soul, when you join together with many hundreds if not thousands of Christians singing God’s praise. We’re heading back to Bible by the Beach this year – perhaps we’ll see you there? We’re the family dipping our feet into the English Channel after finishing off our ice creams on Bank Holiday Monday. For more info Bible by the Beach 2018 takes place 4–7 May. www.biblebythebeach.org
CHILDREN’S WORK AT BIBLE BY THE BEACH
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BOOK REVIEWS
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We would like to say a big thank you to Jonathan Carswell and 10ofThose for providing these book reviews.
Emotions: Mirrors of the Heart
Sing!
Catherine Haddow
Keith and Kristyn Getty
This is a much-needed, practical and insightful aid to pastoral care. With mental health struggles on the increase, many turn to counselling or talking therapy for help. Whilst this might temporarily change behaviour, secular counselling will never address the deeper spiritual need of the person. As ‘embodied souls’ our emotional responses serve to illustrate our functional beliefs at a deep heart level – where the gospel offers real and lasting hope. Much has been achieved by the Biblical counselling movement in recent years, and in this book Catherine Haddow takes us further in developing ‘tbH’ – a framework for pastoral conversations. Set firmly on the foundation of a Biblical worldview, Catherine has used the best bits of her experience in psychology to illustrate unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaviour, tracing them back, as Scripture does, to the root cause of broken and sinful hearts. Helpfully breaking down the range of emotions into three manageable chunks: sneers, fears and tears, the tbH model helps us ask the right questions, find the heart issue, and apply the gospel where it is needed most. The section on cognitive distortions is particularly helpful in understanding how broken thinking leads to false conclusions and a negative emotional response. When we make decisions based only on how we feel, we make poor decisions! Anyone involved in pastoral care would benefit from this helpful book.
Keith and Kristyn Getty are familiar names to many as their faithful and fruitful song writing has served and blessed churches for the last 15+ years. Behind their craft lies not only musical skill but also a biblical conviction about the place of singing in the life of God’s people. In this short, readable book, they share their vision for singing together as a church in a way that impacts all of life. Their passion for the voice of the congregation and their awareness of the importance of singing together as local churches are the big encouragements. What is implicit in their hymns is explicit in their philosophy of song writing (which this book contains) – a desire to promote deep lyrics rooted in rich truth from God’s word. Perhaps the unique contribution of ‘Sing!’ is a helpful pastoral prompt to connect congregational singing to individual, and family, singing. The authors aren’t shy in critiquing their own ‘industry’ of church music, and display good cultural insight and wisdom in discussing what kind of songs (and what kind of singing) will best teach the gospel as something that is ‘credible and powerful’ rather than ‘cultural and optional.’ Accessible to the whole church family, and with helpful appendices for pastors, church musicians, tech teams, and songwriters, ‘Sing!’ is worth buying in bulk to read as a team or as a congregation.
Leonie Lucas, Emmanuel Church Leamington Spa and a member of FIEC’s Women’s Ministry Group.
Andrew McKenna, Associate Minister, ChristChurch Banstead. Music Ministry UK National Team Member.
FIEC Together Spring 2018
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A Good Old Age Derek Prime Old age often gets bad press. It’s associated with grumpiness and an obsession with aches, pains and hospital visits. A decline into loneliness and isolation. I’ve known Christians who have exemplified two ways to go in older age. Some of them remain prayerful, thoughtful, encouraging and keen. Others give in to the temptation to grumble, complain, and become pillars of the church in a bad way – they hold things up and obstruct vision. As the years roll by, I want to be the former, not the latter. So I was delighted to read a new book by Derek Prime – a wonderful Christian man who served as a pastor for many years and who is in his 80s. It’s a simple A–Z book with 26 short chapters thinking about subjects like Joy, Hope, Zeal, Discipleship etc. This book urges us to not give up the race in what may prove to be the last lap. It warns us of the pitfalls of old age, and, importantly, it shows how we can still be a vibrant part of the purposes of God and the life of a church even in the ember days of our lives. I hope and pray I still have a few more years of productive work in me at The Good Book Company. But this book has been a tonic for me to see how I can be a productive worker for the Kingdom of God for many more years to come. It would make fabulous and nurturing gift for a parent, grandparent, or anyone you know who is retired, or in the grey zone. Tim Thornborough, Creative Director, The Good Book Company
Tumbling Sky: Psalm Devotions for Weary Souls Matt Searles Where in the Bible do you instinctively turn when life seems to be caving in on you? I guess many of us would say ‘the Psalms’. Certainly that has been the response of Matt Searles and has given rise to this new devotional book which complements a CD of the same title produced last year. I had the privilege of hearing Matt teach on the Psalms at the Ministry Training Course in Oxford. What struck me most at that time was the idea of being able to trace a progression through various Psalms which would lead from ‘lament’ to ‘praise’. It is exactly this order which Matt uses from chapter 1, ‘Weeping may remain’ (Psalm 30:5b) through to the final chapter, ‘Bright hope for tomorrow’ (Psalm 138:7–9). Each of the 34 chapters is short in length, but not in content. Halfway through the book, four chapters on Psalm 23 brought this familiar passage alive to me in a wonderfully fresh way. Anyone who is struggling to even open their Bible would find great reassurance here. There is a refreshing honesty about the way Matt writes. He doesn’t disguise the fact that God has led him through some very dark valleys. It is also obvious that this book has been written by a man with a pastoral heart that has been shaped, not just by ministry experience, but by personal time spent close to the cross. As Matt says in the introduction, “In the Psalms, God graciously gives us words to pray back to him when our words fail”. Elisabeth Smyth, FIEC’s Women’s Ministry Coordinator
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Since the last edition of Together:
NEW CHURCH AFFILIATIONS Calvary Baptist Church, Spalding Living Hope Christian Church, Hull The Gate Church, Birmingham (Formerly a recognised Church Plant) The Globe Church, London (Formerly a recognised Church Plant) Tyneside Church Central, Gateshead Bridlington Christian Fellowship Cardea Community Church (Formerly a recognised Church Plant) ChristChurch Tilehurst (Formerly a recognised Church Plant) Christ Church Trumpington (Formerly a recognised Church Plant) Cowley Church Community (Formerly a recognised Church Plant) Glenburn Baptist Church Grace Church Haywards Heath Greenview Church, Glasgow Lifespring Romanian Fellowship, Stanmore, London Stoke Gabriel Baptist Church, Devon
NEW CHURCH PLANT RECOGNITIONS Northstowe Church Plant (Supported by evangelical churches in Cambridge) Redeemer Church, Nottingham (Planted by Cornerstone Church Nottingham) Hope Community Church, Bingham, Edinburgh (Planted by 20 Schemes)
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