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For several years I had the privilege of chairing a remarkable ministry, Beloved, in Bristol which seeks to bring women out of the massage parlours ie to exit indoor prostitution. For obvious reasons it was never possible for me to experience a visit to one of the parlours so I was greatly challenged when a few of the women shared their experience at an ‘away day’ with the trustees. These beautiful women told us what it was like to be lined up for a man to choose one, as in a cattle market. And of the competition they had among themselves to get ‘business’ since that represented their only income. There were many stories that brought us all, particularly the men in the room, to a stunned silence and tears.…

With increasing numbers of people who are Muslim living in our towns and cities, this course is very timely. It is designed to enable people to be equipped to build bridges, develop meaningful relationships and introduce faith-related dialogue with their Muslim neighbours. There will be a range of topics under discussion including: History of Islam Doctrine and Muslim beliefs Current trends in Muslim Society Shame and honour culture Outreach to the Muslim community – story telling, contextualising the message of the gospel, responding to common questions Welcoming believers from Muslim backgrounds into the church It is being run by the Unreached Network and is scheduled to start in January 2022. The details of the course can be found via this link: Understanding Islam Course '22 - Unreached Network Book now!

The Broadcast Network has just released the latest training module helping prepare those who feel called to mission. The module is entitled Working with those who are Poor and I had the privilege of recording one of the training sessions under the title Pursuing excellence - Principles of good practice when working with people experiencing poverty and marginalisation. Click on photo In this training session I have sought to show how local communities of believers (churches) can achieve this and have suggested ways in which such support and nurturing can be carried at a high standard.

The Stoneleigh Bible Week grew from 8,500 in 1991 to 28,000 in 2001. What was it that drew increasing numbers of people, families and churches to an agricultural showground in the heart of the UK? There were, I hope, many ‘takeaways’ from each Bible Week, but I am sure the primary reason people came was to hear from God and to encounter the Holy Spirit. There were many different facets to the Bible Weeks – camping (some loved it others hated it), the community life within each church camp site, recreation programmes each afternoon, activities for the children, and so on. But these were the sideshows. At the very heart of each Week was the platform ministry, the worship and the prayer times, each giving a context that was conducive…