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Broadcasting a warm Back to Church welcome to 1.3 million people – radio adverts on Classic FM and Heart FM to reach and invite back the ‘missing’

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 20:51:05 +0100

The Church of England is advertising Back to Church Sunday 2010 (September 26^th) on the radio stations Classic FM and Heart FM, to deliver a message of welcome over the airwaves straight into the homes of 1.3 million people.

The adverts will support 400,000 personal invitations that members of over 4,000 churches will send to their friends, when the friend-inviting-a-friend initiative enters its seventh successful year of giving people returning to, rediscovering and exploring churchgoing, a very warm welcome.

Back to Church Sunday began in Manchester in 2004, spread to Wakefield Diocese in 2005, nine dioceses in 2006, 20 in 2007, 38 in 2008, and all 44 in 2009, when an estimated 82,000 people came back to church across the UK.

The radio advert can be previewed at http://www.audiopot.org/track.php?do=detail&linkid=3121, and will be heard by 1.3 million people an average of three times. It will be broadcast in the week running up to Back to Church Sunday on Classic FM in the Midlands and Heart FM in Essex and Kent - covering the initiative’s friend-to-friend invitation hotspots: the Dioceses of Lichfield, Chester, Chelmsford, Worcester, Rochester and Canterbury.

The Bishop of Worcester, the Rt Revd Dr John Inge, whose diocese is one of those investing in the advertising, said: “We’ve chosen these two stations as they get to places we can’t and talk to some of those we’ve lost touch with via the unique relationship people have with radio. Some three million people* said they would go back to church if invited - and the adverts are helping us give the people we’re missing that warm invitation.”

Every year thousands of people are inspired to return to church by a simple invitation from a friend and the ‘VIP reception’ they receive when they give it a try – but now the power of radio is being used to make use of the close relationship listeners have with their favourite stations.

Produced by Bradford-based Whistling Frog Productions with support from the Jerusalem Trust, the advert comprises a montage of ‘vox pops’ from real churchgoers around the country: ”It’s like a big family… There’s always someone to talk to... It makes me feel good about myself... Quite often I go there and I just cry because I’m so overwhelmed with the whole love I feel... It’s a shared experience... It’s a place where if I’ve had a rough week, I can just leave it all behind… To me it’s the greatest thing on earth… Friends, family, fun, I just love it…”

Colin Lowther of Whistling Frog Productions said: "Radio advertising is a cost-effective medium for getting a message across to lots of people at once, whether it’s about washing powder or why people go to church. Radio is a one-to-one medium even though it's not face-to-face, so the idea of an on-air invitation can still work well. With a national event such as Back to Church Sunday, it makes perfect sense to use a 30-second commercial to raise awareness of a single day that could change listeners' lives forever.”

Sorted Magazine launches iPad app

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:18:56 +0100

Sorted this week become one of the world’s first Christian magazines to launch an iPad app.

“More apps have been downloaded than there are people on the planet and they're the biggest technological phenomenon since the smart phone,” said Steve Legg editor of Sorted the UK’s first Christian magazine for men.

He added: “For us as an evangelistic ministry with a heart to reach the world with the Gospel, it really is a no-brainer for us to have apps on the iPhone and iPad. To be honest, I'm staggered that we're one of the few Christian magazines in the world that are using this technology to get the Christian message out there.”

The Sorted app now available both on the iPad and IPhone contains Sorted in its entirety, including the latest edition that features Tom Jones talking about his new Gospel album.

“Viewers are getting the special features, regular columnists and even advertisers in glorious colour, making the Sorted app a very attractive resource.”

Legg says this is a great opportunity to reach to engage with the young apps generation: “Latest research shows that people aged 16 to 24 years old use 10 apps daily which is double the national average of just under 5. What a wonderful opportunity for the Church to engage with this age group. Literally millions of people download, buy, use and talk about them, so it's thrilling to be a part of this global phenomenon.”

Sorted magazine was launched in November 2007 as a wholesome alternative to many lads' mags. Issued every two months, it is available in major airports and hundreds of UK newsagents - sandwiched between Nuts and Loaded. Copies are given away to HM Armed Forces.

Sorted the UK's Number One Christian magazine for men

Lancashire Christian Business Leader offers transformation through City Gate conference

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 08:22:45 +0100

When businessman Ged Tyrrell first heard the Old Testament Template teaching it completely transformed his whole outlook on life, which has now led him to establish an annual conference called City Gate to equip other Christian leaders to reach their full potential.

Tyrrell, Managing Director of a building services controls and engineering company based in Lancashire, first heard this teaching at a YWAM conference in Switzerland.

“I went to this conference in Switzerland at a YWAM base in Burtigny, with keynote speaker Landa Cope, who’s been with YWAM for 40 years,” explains Tyrrell.

He added: “Landa shared her Old Testament Template teaching taken from the books of Moses, which shows that what you do everyday of the week in influencing society around you is significant in the Kingdom of God.

“When I first heard this it was a such a great relief as I’d just given up leading 12 years of youth ministry in my church to concentrate solely on my growing business. I knew inside I was doing the right thing, but I wasn’t getting the validation by anyone around me at church, because to most of them, business was about making money, when actually in the Old Testament, business and economics is about influencing the society around you. It’s about providing employment, it’s about giving someone a sense of contribution, it’s one of many vehicles of seeing how God’s laws and the way God sees things should be done, being done.”

Tyrell explains how Landa Cope received this revelation on the Old Testament Template: “As a missionary in Africa, Landa received this revelation in her desperation of introducing people to Christ yet still not seeing there lives getting any better because they didn’t understand how to live. They were ‘saved’ but just through the door of the Kingdom. She pleaded with God to do more and He revealed to her that the salvation was just one piece of the full message of the gospel and it’s that full message of discipleship that’s so important. How we should live is revealed very clearly in the Old Testament as well as the New. So it leads us to ask what it should look like then. The City Gate conference will help people to see what it should look like and what we should be doing to make things more like the way God intended them to be”.

Starting next week City Gate will be hosting two back to back events at the Park Inn hotel in Leigh, Lancashire with keynote speaker Landa Cope. The first event for business leaders takes place September 10-12 followed by their second event for church leaders September 14-16.

Tyrrell says: “In the current financial climate, now is the time more than ever how to do business God’s way. His intentions for business go far beyond that of making a profit but actually offers a wisdom in business that bring benefits to all areas of community life. Join us to re-discover God’s order for Church, Business and society and then imagine with us the transformation and redemption we can bring by being as God intended exactly where you are, doing what we are called to do.”

For details, costs and booking go to: www.ottcitygate.org.uk

Sorted the UK's Number One Christian Magazine for Men

UK Churches Unveil Big Society Benefits of Successful Square Mile Initiative to Cameron

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 17:22:50 +0100

Christians have been taking ‘Big Society’ stories of community transformation to Downing Street, with the message that Churches are already forming an integral part of Government plans to see lasting change in Britain, despite cut-backs.

A letter was delivered to the Prime Minister on Tuesday 24 August, unveiling the Evangelical Alliance’s Square Mile initiative, a resource which has been equipping churches to demonstrate care and support for those who are struggling in their square mile radius.

The letter was delivered by Director of the Evangelical Alliance, Steve Clifford , Mandy Ogunmokun from Transform Network of Churches, Tim Bissett, CEO of the Church Urban Fund and Sarah Richards, Director of The Gap Project at Cornerstone Church in Swansea, along with a copy of a Square Mile DVD.

Square Mile shows the work organisations such as The Gap in Swansea are doing by offering opportunities to young people by helping them find work. The Square Mile DVD features an interview with Craig, who shares his story of being involved in social disturbance, anti-social behaviour and truanting before achieving good qualifications and a new attitude to life during a 9-month course at The Gap. He attributes his new life to the intervention of the project, “they saved me basically” he says.

Sarah Richards, Director of The Gap Project at Swansea ’s Cornerstone Church said: "The Gap has won several awards including The Lord Mayors Community Regeneration Award for most outstanding contribution to community regeneration in the City & County of Swansea.”

Mandy Ogunmokun from Transform Network of Churches was a long-term heroin addict before a fellow drug addict became a Christian and took her to Church. After adopting a Christian faith Mandy gave up drug addiction. She now works with vulnerable women in prison and for a charity; ‘Treasures out of Darkness,’ finding half-way houses for vulnerable women. Mandy said:”There’s no high like the Most High. I got hooked to Jesus and my greatest desire now is to draw close to him.”

Steve Clifford, General Director of The Evangelical Alliance said: “The Square Mile initiative encourages Christians to let their faith impact all of their lives – including caring for those around them. It highlights the work the churches are already doing on the ground, serving their communities and making a positive impact, particularly for those who might fall through the cracks in society.

“We are thrilled that the Government has recognised the good work of local churches and organisations and would hope that the Square Mile resources would re-energise their work.”

Sorted the UK's Number One Christian magazine for men

Sorted magazine partners with Back to Church Sunday campaign

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:10:13 +0100

As one million Christians are being challenged to invite one million people to come back to church September 26 this year, Sorted magazine, the UK’s first Christian magazine for men, is offering a special deal on bulk orders of their September/October edition to run alongside this year’s Back to Church Sunday campaign.

“We’re thrilled to be working alongside Back to Church Sunday because more than anything Sorted exists for people who aren’t yet believers and I know the real heart and vision of BTCS is all about the people who are not yet in Church,” said Sorted editor Steve Legg.

He added: “As a men’s Magazine now available in 16 countries we aim to reach the people who are not yet Christians through people who are. Our ‘adopt a soldier’ scheme means men and women in the UK are able to sponsor copies of Sorted to go to the brave men serving in HM Armed Forces. This means we’re able to give away a staggering 10,000 copies of Sorted each year and it is incredibly humbling to hear of guys coming to faith through our publication.

“Each Father’s Day churches up and down the UK order copies of Sorted to give away and this always proves a great success. We know guys struggle with church so using tried and tested resources like Sorted aims to make the process just a little easier and point them in the direction of Jesus.”

The latest edition of Sorted has a special feature on the story of Back to Church Sunday as well as articles on Welsh wonder, Tom Jones, who talks about his new Gospel album and speaks openly about being a God-fearing man, MP Stephen Timms who talks about surviving a knife attack and how his faith underpins his work and Magnum star Tom Selleck talks about films, family and fatherhood.

A bumper pack (50-60 magazines) costs just £50 inclusive, saving over £100 and is available from http://www.sorted-magazine.com/product/?pid=10014

Sorted the UK's Number One Christian magazine for men

US Broadcaster Sees Hope in Russia and Ukraine’s Next Generation

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 09:06:46 +0100

A seasoned American radio host went on a ministry tour with a difference this summer, as he joined Russian Ministries’ Dnieper River Cruise in Ukraine. Despite the political and economic turmoil facing this region, he saw that hope lies there with the Next Generation of Christian leaders.

Earlier this month Greg Wheatley, who has been a host for Moody Radio during the past 20 years, joined a group cruising along the Dnieper River, visiting several locations throughout Ukraine including Odessa, Sevastopol, Yalta, Zaporozhye and Kiev.

“In each of those places we combined a bit of sight-seeing and tourism, which was educational in terms of learning about the rich culture and developmental trends in those post-Soviet societies that are still struggling for economic and spiritual restoration after 70 long years of destructive Communism. We saw the work that Russian Ministries is doing with churches, providing training and resources for the Next Generation of ministry leaders, who are taking the baton of faithfulness from the previous generation and are assuming responsibility for leading the church into new circumstances in the future. We saw very exciting things going on with relatively young churches in those areas—churches that Russian Ministries has been instrumental in helping to plant. We also visited some orphanages the ministry is helping to support there,” said Wheatley.

He added: “One of the exciting things we were able to witness is what Russian Ministries (known in Ukraine as the Association for Spiritual Renewal) calls School Without Walls. This is really a program that is designed for and geared towards the Next Generation of Christians.

“It’s really a creative way to train emerging, young Christian leaders, who are such a vital part of what is happening in Ukraine. Once we left Ukraine and came to Moscow we had a chance to meet with several people. Most of those leaders are quite young, so the leadership here is very young. That is why a program like School Without Walls is so important—because it’s training these young leaders theologically and also very practically.”

Former host of the Moody radio program Prime Time America, Wheatley first visited the region in the late 90s at a time when the church was still enjoying their newfound freedom. I asked him what his impressions were in coming back: “There was a real excitement among a lot of Western Christian organisations and ministries to seize the opportunity to do ministry back then. I think that’s continued. I get the feeling that it’s maturing and maybe the new freedoms from ten years ago have begun to be challenged here.

“But now I see new, young Christian leadership emerging that is really seizing the opportunity to strategise about how best to minister here. We saw it in the orphanages that are being run by Christians. We were told in one place in Ukraine that even though this orphanage is not officially run by believers, there was such a great Christian influence there. The freedom to go ahead and teach these children about God is really an amazing thing, especially if you relate it to the lack of freedom back in the United States.”

Following Russian Ministries’ Dnieper River Cruise, Wheatley then travelled from Ukraine to Moscow, just days after the city had encountered an intense heatwave: “When we arrived in Moscow, I expected to see temperatures of 100 degrees F and maybe smoke so thick you couldn’t see. Actually it has begun to get better. Today we walked around a lot and it was very pleasant. I did talk with one of the leaders we interviewed earlier, who said many people here in Moscow do not have air conditioning. They try to escape indoors from all of the smoke and heat, but because they don’t have air conditioning, they’re forced to close their doors. They just have the feeling of nowhere to escape. So I think that was the situation until just a day or two ago.”

Wheatley, who’s preparing to launch a new show on Moody Radio called Inside Look, said he’s been extremely impressed with the work that Russian Ministries is able to do, particularly in mobilising national believers to carry on the work there: “One of the things they’re stressing is how important it is for nationals to pick up the ball and run with it. I know they’re anxious to do that while, at the same time, welcoming and inviting Western involvement and help. But the nationals here are really picking up the ball and I think that’s a really important thing as we go forward. I’ve been so impressed at how well Russian Ministries is implementing that plan.”

A series of Greg Wheatley’s interviews from this trip will be featured on Moody Radio’s brand new show Inside Look from October. For more details go to: www.insidelook.org

For more information on the work of Russian Ministries go to: www.russian-ministries.org

Sorted the UK's Number One Christian Magazine for Men

Attracting Tourists to Christ

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:37:34 +0100

People from all over the world throng to London. That is why the annual Tell-A-Tourist outreach serves as an important means of bringing the Gospel to numerous people.

Each summer London City Mission (LCM) and OAC Ministries (Open Air Campaigners) pool resources for this week of mission.

Focussing on London tourist attractions in the last week of July, team members used outdoor evangelism to present the Good News of Jesus.

Professional evangelists provided training in basics such as effective communication of the Gospel, conversational skills and open air ministry. Creative means were also taught, including painting a sketchboard to illustrate a brief Gospel message. This often attracts a crowd but also serves a practical function as tourists from overseas, with limited English, benefit from a visual presentation.

Reaching out to people from diverse cultures and backgrounds is a strong point of Tell-A-Tourist.

"One young female team member, on a mission for the first time, had a conversation with a young woman from a country closed to the Gospel," explains OAC Director Peter Kennelly.

"In the goodness of God, this young woman was open to hear the Good News about Jesus. Team members are equipped with Christian literature in many different languages. Hundreds of tracts and scores of Gospels were given out."

After one sketchboard message, a young team member found himself surrounded by Italian tourists. He was able to engage in conversation with them, answering their questions about faith. Other conversations took place with many people coming from countries closed to the Gospel.

"Although we only had a core team of six, over the course of the week 20 other people joined us at different venues," sums up Peter. "Christians were encouraged to see a witness on the streets of London. With a daily average of 10 on the team each day, we spent about 194 man hours on the streets."

Skateboarding Priest Reaches out to Young People

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:33:26 +0100

A Hungarian Roman Catholic priest is reaching out to young people with his skateboarding tricks - and becoming a YouTube sensation in the process.

According to a story by Christian Today's Charlie Boyd, a video of Rev. Zoltan Lendvai skateboarding has been viewed by tens of thousands of people. The video, called Funny Priest Skateboarding, shows the priest performing on his skateboard as he talks to a group of teenagers.

Christian Today said Lendvai, who is based in Redics, near the border with Slovenia, learned to skateboard as a young teenager at school. He believes skateboarding is an effective way of reaching young people with the Christian faith, according to Reuters.

He told Reuters that he is inspired by the 19th century Italian priest and educator Saint John Bosco, who used games to teach poor children.

"Many times I have felt that this is the way I can bring many people a bit closer to Jesus," Christian Today said he told the news agency.

According to Christian Today, he talked about three teenage boys who started coming to church after he taught them some skateboarding tricks. He added that he has given away at least six skateboards bearing the papal coat of arms to young people in his parish.

Tom see the video, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo3IXJaeS4M

Christian Aid Leaders Urge Prayer and Fasting for Pakistan Crisis

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 17:27:48 +0100

Christian Aid Mission is urging Christians to join in prayer and fasting for the survivors of the growing crisis in Pakistan.

Some have already started to take up the challenge, sending the money saved from skipped meals to Christian relief workers in Pakistan through Christian Aid.

Christians, like over 20 million other Pakistanis, are in need of emergency help now as massive flooding rages down the Indus River. Christian Aid was already involved in a campaign to send emergency help before the flooding began.

The good news is that Christian Aid relief is getting through to many of the 200,000 Christian families who are in desperate need of more emergency help.

"The crisis aid we sent in July for survivors of the persecution in Faisalabad got through and is making a big difference," says the Christian Aid director for South Asia, "but now they need so much more since this is the worst flooding in 80 years."

So far more than 1,500 people have died and three million are homeless from the flooding which began in the frontier regions of Peshawar, northwest Pakistan.

Even before the flooding, Christians in many areas were under a virtual state of siege from extremists according to eye-witness reports.

"Native missionaries are grateful for the help we are sending but the needs are increasing every day - we must send more help," said the director.

"We will continue to send help to both the flood victims and persecuted believers in Pakistan," said the Field Director for South Asia, "just as we have for many years."

About Christian Aid Mission: Founded in 1953 by Bob Finley, Christian Aid assists over 740 indigenous mission agencies that deploy over 75,000 native missionaries working among 600 language groups. It is based in Charlottesville, Virginia and provides disaster relief as well as other financial assistance directly to local Christian leadership.

For more details go to: www.ChristianAid.org

Grey-Away Day for Prostate Cancer

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:31:27 +0100

The old adage 'you're only as old as you feel' might be a nice thought, but unfortunately our looks often let us down.

With life sometimes becoming grey, dull and mundane, an injection of colour is just what's needed to stop the tedium setting in. Well now there is a solution with Grey-Away Day. Created by Just For Men and due to take place on 24th September, the campaign will see men across the country seek sponsorship to banish their grey hair and lead a more colourful life all in the name of charity.

Fundraising from the campaign along with 20p from all boxes of Just For Men sold in September will go to The Prostate Cancer Charity.

Get involved by visiting www.greyawayday.co.uk or www.justgiving.com/prostatecancer and clicking on the Grey-Away Day event.

Churches Should Get Stuck into the Big Society

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:27:52 +0100

The Big Society is an immense opportunity for community service that Christians should not pass up, the Evangelical Alliance has said following David Cameron’s speech this week.

Mr Cameron called the plans "the biggest, most dramatic redistribution of power" from the state to individuals, saying they will enable people to feel both free and powerful enough to help themselves and their own communities.

He added that funds stuck in dormant bank accounts will be used to enable charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to take over the running of public services.

Steve Clifford, General Director of the Evangelical Alliance, said Christians are already at the heart of serving their communities, and should grasp this opportunity to get further involved.

He will be writing to Evangelical Alliance churches in the initial Big Society project areas – Liverpool; Eden Valley , Cumbria ; Windsor and Maidenhead and the London borough of Sutton – encouraging them to get involved wherever possible.

“Churches are already the life blood of communities and the lifeline for many on the edge of society,” he said.

“We are delighted that the Prime Minister has recognised the incredible work community groups are already doing, and want to enthusiastically encourage churches to accept his invitation to get stuck in.”

He added that churches outside these project areas still have many opportunities to serve, particularly at this time of economic austerity and loss of public service funding.

He expressed concern that the new Government’s cuts could hit the most vulnerable in society, and called on the Church to play its part in preventing this from happening.

“We must not pass by on the other side when our neighbours may suffer through funding cuts,” he said.

“Churches and Christian charities can step in by approaching their local council to ask how they can best respond to the needs of those around them.”

Mr Clifford also welcomed Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles’ comments last week. Mr Pickles said the new Government is committed to building on the huge amount of experience faith groups have in getting out into the community, and to valuing the role of religion and faith in public life.

The Government has set up a “Your Square Mile” website to link people to local community groups and social enterprises.

Mr Clifford said: “We hope the Government also looks at the Evangelical Alliance’s Square Mile initiative, which encourages Christians to let their faith impact all of their lives – including caring for those around them.”

Secret of Happiness? Have a Deep Conversation with your Dad

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:20:53 +0100

Children who want a happy and fulfilled life should have a regular chat with their father about the things that matter most, according to new research commissioned by The Children’s Society and undertaken with the University of York.

Almost half of the young people (46%) ‘’hardly ever’’ talked to their father about important things compared to 28% who hardly ever talked to their mother. It also reveals that young people are far more likely to confide regularly in their mother than their father.

The beneficial effect of a deep and meaningful conversation with your father is highlighted by a new analysis by The Children’s Society of data gathered from 1,200 young people aged between 11 to 15. (1)

The analysis is published to coincide with the launch of The Children’s Society Fatherhood Commission. Young people who talk seriously to their dads ‘’most days’’ score 87% on the happiness scale compared to 79% for those who speak ‘’hardly ever’’ to them.

The finding is highly significant because a great deal of academic research shows that a child’s well-being later in life depends on their teenage relationship with their father as well as with their mother. (2)

News of the gulf in communication between many young people and their fathers comes as The Children’s Society launches the Fatherhood Commission. Its aim is to identify, understand and work on the issues between young people’s relationship with their fathers.

As a first step, the Commission is today calling on children, experts and the general public to submit evidence about the barriers to father’s involvement. This evidence will be fed into a report to be published in the Autumn containing a set of recommendations about how the obstacles to better father-child relationships might be overcome.

The research also shows:

· We talk to our dads less: 31% of young people talk seriously to their mother ‘’most days’’ while only 13% confide in their father that often. Some 20% of young people talk to their mother about things that matter ‘’more than once a week’’ with 15% saying they talk seriously to their father that often.

· It hasn’t changed: There is no sign that young people are talking to their father more than in the recent past. The same proportion (30%) of young people talked to their father about something that mattered to them more than once a week in 2007/8 as in 2002/3.

· It doesn’t get better with age: Young people talk to their fathers about important things much less often as they get older. 42% of 11-year-olds did so more than once a week compared to only 16% of 15-year-olds

Bob Reitemeier, Chief Executive of The Children’s Society, said: ‘’This research shows that young people’s happiness is closely linked to how often they speak to their fathers about things that matter. Yet all too often these days, children are becoming alienated or live apart from their fathers.

‘’That is why The Children’s Society is today calling on children, experts, and the general public to submit evidence to our new Fatherhood Commission. It will be investigating the extent to which fathers are involved in the everyday aspects of their children’s lives and in the Autumn we will publish recommendations on how the obstacles to better father-child relationships might be overcome. ‘’

By contributing you will be helping us to identify, understand and raise awareness of the barriers to father-child relationships and to produce a set of recommendations about how they might be removed. Five minutes can make a massive difference, Find out how you can submit your evidence on line at website www.childrenssociety.org.uk ; or

http://www.thegoodchildhood.com/tcscontactforms/FatherhoodSurvey.asp

(1) Data gathered from 1,200 young people aged between 11 to 15 from the British Household Panel Survey 2007-8.

(2) ‘’ The closeness of fathers to their children influences the children’s later psychological well-being, even after allowing for the mother’s influence.’’ Burgess (2007); Lewis and Lamb (2006). A Good Childhood, Page 18, Amazon link: <http://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Childhood-Searching-Values-Competitive/dp/0141039434>

Christian TV on Mobile Phones Worldwide

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 11:33:02 +0100

United Christian Broadcasters (UCB) has launched the world's first live Christian Mobile TV Channel. The UCB TV channel is available to almost any mobile phone in the world using a 3G or Wi-Fi connection. Viewers will be able to tune in and watch popular shows such as Adventures in Odyssey, Living Truth, Hillsong, Abundant Life and enjoy some of the best international conferences, documentaries and movies.

UCB is one of the largest Christian media ministries in the UK and Ireland. Across the world viewers can enjoy the refreshing and easy to watch Christian programming on mobile phones for the very first time.

The exclusive launch by Yamgo, the global mobile TV network, will provide UCB with the potential to reach millions of mobile phone users with UCB TV.

Neil Elliott, Head of UCB TV, commented: “We’re really pleased to be partnering with Yamgo, it’s great to see our live TV on mobile phones. Great advances in mobile technology have meant that tens of millions of people around the world now own a mobile phone. We believe that utilising the excellent Yamgo mobile streaming solution to broadcast UCB TV on mobile is perfect timing, enabling thousands to have access to UCB TV at the touch of a mobile button, anywhere, anytime.”

Yamgo CEO and Founder, Ian Mullins added: “UCB TV covers a great selection of live music concerts, charitable events and entertaining programming. A wider audience will now be able to enjoy watching UCB TV and I hope it will inspire people worldwide and allow new audiences to check out what Christian TV is all about.”

Gary Hoogvliet, Director of Broadcasting for UCB in the UK enthused: “This is the coolest thing to be a part of this new platform knowing that millions around the world can ‘taste’ UCB TV from anywhere. We also have lots of other great media stuff … check us out at www.ucbmedia.co.uk. We are delighted to be part of this cutting edge technology and we are very happy that Yamgo TV has chosen to partner with UCB in this amazing new venture.”

Viewers around the world will be able to access the UCB TV channel on almost any mobile device. Yamgo provides optimised streaming of live TV to iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, HTC, Nokia, Blackberry, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and all Android devices.

The Yamgo free live TV and video on demand service provides mobile users with the highest possible picture quality using the existing video player in the user’s mobile phone and does not require any additional software or application download. Yamgo operates optimised streaming that adapts the picture quality to the available network connectivity, minimising any buffering and providing a viewing experience even while on the move.

Global Day of Prayer Banking on increased prayer following budget cutbacks

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:28:24 +0100

Following the toughest budget in a generation, Global Day of Prayer is calling for Christians to pray for those most affected by the latest government cutbacks.

In his first Budget, UK chancellor George Osborne called for a two-year pay freeze for public sector workers earning over £21,000 and substantial welfare savings including a three-year freeze in child benefit, a cap on housing benefit and a reduction in tax credits for families earning more than £40,000.

“With reduced funding for many local government and public sector services, people at the grassroots are going to feel the impact of these cutbacks. This is the time for the Churches to unite in prayer and act appropriately to help their local communities,” said GDOP London Convener Jonathan Oloyede.

He added: “The rate of depression, debts, bankruptcy, domestic violence and other social vices are set to increase. People need our prayers. Local councils and social services need more prayer, the whole nation needs much more prayer!

“In times of such uncertainty and change, we also need to pray for all Members of Parliament and local government leaders as they continue to make difficult decisions in tackling the most challenging economic issues.”

After 10,000 Christians gathered at West Ham stadium June 13 for a national day of prayer, Global Day of Prayer London is calling the church to a season of intercession for the capital and the nation, by launching 500 days of prayer from August 1.

Oloyede said: “Following on from the powerful day of prayer in London we want to keep the momentum of prayer going throughout the year. We want to build beacons of prayer in every UK County towards a national day of prayer at Wembley Stadium in September 2011.

“During these 500 days, GDOP London, in collaboration with other organisations and networks will be providing ongoing prayer resources whilst organising prayer events to help equip and mobilise an army of intercessors across the UK. As we take this Road to Wembley, this is a chairos moment for our nation that we may never see again in this generation. We just cannot afford to miss this opportunity.”

Sorted the UK's Number One Christian magazine for men

World Cup: Fears for increase in domestic violence as Wednesday's crunch games looms

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 18:31:08 +0100

JEANETTE MULCARE fears for unseen thousands who could be on the receiving end of domestic violence during and after Wednesday's crunch World Cup game between England and Slovenia.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) report that violence in UK homes increased by an average of 25 per cent on England's match days during the last World Cup in 2006. Annually, reported rates of domestic abuse in Birmingham are among the highest in the country.

‘These statistics are both sad and frightening - especially for women and children on the receiving end,’ said Jeanette, manager of Stepping Stones Spurgeons Family Support Project in Small Heath, Birmingham. ‘The World Cup should be a time for celebration and fun, not fear.’

Jeanette pioneered the FREEDOM Programme in Birmingham, a community-based training and education course for women delivered by Stepping Stones Spurgeons. Women wishing to learn more about domestic violence and abuse are invited on the programme.

‘They gain a better understanding of the myths and dynamics of abuse,’ explained Jeanette. ‘The programme provides access to other specialist support agencies and empowers women to make positive and informed choices. It is delivered at all times of the year, not just during the World Cup. It gives women the chance to see they are not the only ones it happens to, that it isn’t their fault.’

Stepping Stones Spurgeons launched the programme in Birmingham almost three years ago when Jeanette recognised abuse as a major factor for four out of five families referred to the project. According to the Birmingham Safety Partnership 2008, in one year alone more than 26,000 women will be affected by a significant incident and 33,000 children will have witnessed such violence.

The free, 12-week FREEDOM Programme is run across three venues in Birmingham. So far 80 women have accessed the programme.

All Spurgeons children's centres and family support projects work with families who have experienced domestic violence - from Bedfordshire to Salford, Sussex to Stoke.

London Mayor to attend West Ham Stadium Prayer Event

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:07:11 +0100

At West Ham's stadium Upton Park, which is normally used to the sound of football fans cheering on their team, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson will join thousands of Christians from across the capital and the country for a national day of prayer on June 13.

Boris Johnson is a strong supporter of the Global Day of Prayer initiative, having attended their previous stadium event at Millwall in 2008.

The Mayor said: “I'm delighted to be joining thousands of Christians of all denominations and backgrounds, united in common purpose in the most important act of Christian worship - the act of prayer.

“So much of the good that is done in London is done by people of faith. I salute these acts of service, and commend all those who put their faith in action to effect positive change in our city and beyond.”

Despite still recovering from surgery after a stabbing attack, Stephen Timms MP will host a leader’s reception at the stadium prior to the event, also attended by London’s Mayor.

The MP for East Ham, in the constituency where the event will take place, said: “Global Day of Prayer is a fantastic event. It attracts a very large number of people coming together with tremendous exuberance and a very strong sense of prayer and worship as well.

“For me it’s the basis for future service to the community. What I want to see is more people coming to serve their communities from the starting point of prayer and worship. That’s the kind of celebration we will be taking part in at the Global Day of Prayer.”

Being a former Muslim from Nigeria, Global Day of Prayer London Convener Jonathan Oloyede is an unlikely candidate to launch this initiative. He believes his organisation’s prayer movement has helped make a positive difference in communities across the capital particularly in tackling gun and knife crime: “We believe it’s a result of the church rising up in united prayer, praying for our young people. It’s not all eradicated but that has changed dramatically.”

The event, which is expected to attract 25,000 people, will include performances from a wide range of Gospel artists and worship leaders including X Factor finalist Beverley Trotman, Graham Kendrick, Noel Robinson and the All Souls Orchestra, followed by prayers for some of the most pressing social need in the capital and the nation.

Global Day of Prayer Pentecost Prayers to Heal Britain

Fri, 28 May 2010 09:54:55 +0100

As London Christians gathered in every borough of the capital on Pentecost Sunday to pray for God to heal Britain, Global Day of Prayer London convener Jonathan Oloyede called on Christians to prepare for a National Day of Prayer at West Ham Stadium June 13

“All over the globe it’s estimated that over 250 million have been gathering together celebrating Pentecost Sunday, which is the official birthday of the church,” explained Oloyede, while attending a prayer event at Peckham Arch in the London borough of Southwark.

He added: “As we have asked people to gather locally in our boroughs we’re also asking the whole nation to come down to West Ham stadium June 13 to prepare the nation for what is to come.

“We’re asking God to open up a New Britain, that it no longer is to be broken Britain, but for it to be healed. We’re inviting churches to come to West Ham and send a delegation to come down as a church as a family and come and join thousands of other people as we pray ‘Lord heal our land.’”

During this year’s Pentecost Sunday GDOP London facilitated prayer services and events in churches, parks and various venues in all 33 London boroughs. There were over 50 different programmes that took place in London to commemorate GDOP 2010.

Oloyede says when Christians come together in unity to pray for the nation it’s like a taste of heaven: “It’s a wonderful feeling because it’s just like Revelation 7:9 where people from every tribe, nation and tongue come to worship at the throne of the lamb. This is like a foretaste of heaven when we’re lifting up holy hands united at the throne room of God worshipping. It’s an indescribable feeling. You have to be there to appreciate it when you’re worshipping with Christians of different traditions but united by the blood of the Lord and by the Cross.”

GDOP London has invited a wide array of worship leaders for the National Day of Prayer event at West Ham stadium June 13 including Graham Kendrick, Noel Robinson, Godfrey Birtil, the All Souls Orchestra, X Factor finalist Beverley Trotman and many others.

Oloyede concluded by saying that his passion is for Christians to take up the challenge of ongoing prayer for the nation as preparations are already underway for a national day of prayer at Wembley stadium in 2011: “The Lord has given us a very clear instruction that we need to have ongoing prayer.

“The church needs to be on its knees permanently interceding not just for herself but for the whole nation. We’re calling on Christians everywhere to set their mobile phones to noon everyday and when their mobile phones go off they should pray the Lord’s prayer wherever they are. We’re also calling for every church in the nation to take one day in the month where they will pray and fast so we can build towards a much bigger national day of prayer at Wembley stadium in 2011.”

Sorted The UK's Number One Christian Magazine for Men

Hospital, Library, Ladies Underwear Shop – I’ll Go Anywhere But Church, Says the British Males

Mon, 10 May 2010 14:19:20 +0100

ESHER, ENGLAND - A ladies underwear shop, a library, a council office, even a hospital - it seems the average British male would prefer to be anywhere but in church.

A new survey conducted for Sorted magazine and Christian Vision for Men (CVM), released at this week's International Christian Resources Exhibition, discovered that, although most men have visited a church within the past couple of years, mainly for events like weddings and funerals, it’s not a place in which they feel comfortable. Indeed, more would rather be in a ladies underwear shop.

Two out of three confessed to feeling ill at ease in a pew, while only one in two said the same of a ladies underwear shop.

Most off-putting are the hymns. Sixty-seven per cent say they do not feel comfortable singing in church. Almost eight out of 10 are happy to croon in the shower while 53 per cent chant cheerily at football matches. But just one in three will willingly open a hymn book at a religious service.

The biggest challenge is making church accessible to young men. The survey reveals that nearly six in 10 do not consider themselves to be Christians - compared with just one in four of those aged 55-64, and one in six of those 65 or older.

'Jesus was a radical on a mission. Ordinary blokes - real men's men - flocked to follow him and even laid down their lives for him,' said Sorted magazine founder Steve Legg. 'Somewhere along the way Church has become all about wet handshakes and weak tea. Jesus has turned into a woman with a beard. It's absolute madness and you don't have to be Columbo to figure out why the average bloke doesn't buy into it.'

'The invitation to be transformed by the gospel of Jesus gets lost in the fabric of the UK church,' said Jonathan Sherwin of CVM. 'The medium obstructs the message and the most powerful story on earth is hidden behind flowery songs and awkward meetings.'

Men and the church will be an issue covered at this week's CRE. Under the title "Reading the Bible – the dangerous book for blokes", author Dave Hopwood will explain how much of the Bible is the account of flawed humans muddling along, doing their best to follow God.

'Sometimes they are doing their worst, too – as we all do,' says Hopwood.

All available floor space at CRE has been snapped up by more than 400 exhibitors. Some 13,000 visitors, representing all leading denominations, are expected over the event’s four days.

http://www.sorted-magazine.com

http://www.cvmen.org.uk/

http://www.creonline.co.uk

http://www.christian-research.org.uk/

* Issued for the Christian Resources Exhibition by Stephen Goddard Associates. Contact Stephen Goddard 01744 733898 or 07930198209.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

* Survey carried out by Christian Research

* 1000 online interviews were conducted by Research Now with a nationally representative sample of men between 9-14th Apr 2010

UK waits in political limbo

Sat, 08 May 2010 10:35:24 +0100

The Evangelical Alliance calls for a Government to be formed as soon as reasonably possible. Following the lack of any overall winner there is a need for the political parties to show a willingness to engage with each other to ensure that the UK is not left without clear political leadership.

Steve Clifford, General Director of the Evangelical Alliance, said: “This indecisive result could lead to political instability, but it could also be the beginning of a new political era.

“The last thing this country needs is weeks of internal partisan wrangling. Why don't the party leaders show that there is a better way, one that reflects the reason so many came into politics – to go beyond petty rivalries and work together to serve the people they have now been elected to represent.”

Mr Clifford recognised that the priority for the incoming government will be securing economic recovery. “Our economy is still fragile and our national debt is colossal, and I think that we realise difficult decisions will have to be made and the level of public services we are used to may not be sustainable. But in taking these difficult decisions I ask that whatever form the Government takes they remember what was asked of the apostle Paul, to remember the poor.”

During the election campaign churches held hustings in at least 250 constituencies across the country, and Mr Clifford encouraged Christians to build on this goodwill with politicians and develop good relationships with their MPs.

Political leaders stand by GDOP London’s call to National Day of Prayer

Tue, 04 May 2010 17:44:15 +0100

As election fever sweeps across the UK, Christian candidates from the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties have backed GDOP London’s call to a national day of prayer at West Ham stadium June 13.

“Global Day of Prayer is a fantastic event. It attracts a very large number of people coming together with tremendous exuberance and a very strong sense of prayer and worship as well,” says Labour secretary of the treasury Stephen Timms.

Speaking from West Ham stadium in his constituency of East Ham he added: “For me it’s the basis for future service to the community. What I want to see is more people coming to serve their communities from the starting point of prayer and worship. That’s the kind of celebration we will be taking part in at the Global Day of Prayer. So for me that’s one of the really exciting things about Global Day of Prayer what it means about future service to our city and people moving on from what happens at the day itself.”

David Burrowes Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Enfield, Southgate says Global Day of Prayer will be a significant day for Christians to pray following this week’s elections: “By the time Global Day of Prayer takes place there will be a new parliament full of many new members of parliament. So it will be a really important time for many people to fill out West Ham stadium and to pray to humble themselves and call upon the Lord’s strength for assistance. That’s something that we all need to do and it couldn’t be a better time in the first month of a government as it’s setting out it’s direction.”

Simon Hughes Liberal Democrat Federal Party President and Candidate for North Southwark and Bermondsey added: “In June the day when everyone will be celebrating in West Ham we will have a new government. The new ministers will need to be prayed for. Make that a special day for you, a special day for London and a special day for God in the UK.”

Speaking on a live TV broadcast to the nation, GDOP London convener Jonathan Oloyede called on Christians to fully engage in praying for God’s will for the elections: “We want Christians to cry out for the best person that God can give us as Councillors and MPs in our towns, villages, districts and boroughs. The church corporately and Christians individually must rise up at this chairos moment and become the kingmakers for the nation through prayer and appropriate action.

“We’re asking everyone to join us for a national day of prayer at West Ham stadium June 13. Only the church can intercede effectively for the nation. Only the church can actually influence this political season and lead the way into the future God’s way.

“We don’t want Christians to feel disempowered. They may be disillusioned with the political system right now. They may not trust any of the politicians however they can trust God because His Kingdom is steadfast and eternal. Let us all pray Thy will be done, Thy Kingdom come.”

In the Midst of Turmoil Russian Ministries Calls for a Time to Live and Serve

Mon, 03 May 2010 18:11:51 +0100

As countries across the former Soviet Union face continuing violence, economic turmoil and political upheaval, Russian Ministries is gathering their next generation leaders for a special congress called A Time to Live, A Time to Serve on June 17-20.

Kyrgyzstan is still reeling from a violent uprising, Ukraine faces continued uncertainty with their new pro-Russian president, and Christians face persecution in Uzbekistan.

“That’s why despite all of these challenges in the countries where we work in the former Soviet Union, we’d like to focus on the young potential leaders, who we’d like to bring together for four days for a special congress,” said Russian Ministries’ senior vice president Sergey Rakhuba.

He added: “This will be a special time where we’re expecting between 500 to 600 of our School Without Walls ministry leader graduates to come together to celebrate God’s faithfulness and analyse our work, where together we will plan for the future how to be more effective and strategic in these turbulent times.”

Rakhuba says in the midst of such social, political and economic challenges they’re equipping young Christian leaders to use every opportunity to reach out to their communities: “In Kyrgyzstan there is lots of unrest. It’s hard for the interim government to take everything under control. But our young Christian leaders are using this opportunity in turmoil, unrest and violence to risk their lives as they go and help these families whose homes have been damaged. Some of the youth got attacked so they provide counselling.

“Young Christians are so courageously equipped and encouraged with the power of God, which is part of our training so they grow into a deeper relationship with Christ and then with the power of the Holy Spirit they continue polishing their skills and use all this opportunity reaching out to their communities.”

“Another example is in Uzbekistan in Central Asia where persecution is on the rise against any Christian activity, which is where young people have to use all their resourcefulness to continue reaching out underground, starting these new home churches. As the persecution has arrived, the church is growing stronger and deeper and young School Without Walls leaders become the church planters and leaders of these home cell groups, which are growing tremendously.”

According to Rakhuba, under Ukraine’s new pro-Russian president, the country is facing considerable social and political upheaval: “In Ukraine we have this new political twist rolling backwards when this pro-Russian president recently signed an unprecedented contract reversing all the processes for independence of Ukraine by giving another 25 years of the Russian navy to stay in the Crimea in Sevastopol. Of course he got very favourable prices for natural gas—about 30% less than everyone else is paying in Europe. But people think this is the trap that Ukraine’s new president is pushing the country into the embrace of Russia.

“We are not about judging political situations. We are just to analyse and make sure the church is strong to use all these opportunities. The social situation is getting worse with increasing rates of HIV/AIDS and drug addiction. Despite this, young evangelicals are tackling these social problems, by using all these situations as opportunities for ministries for the church to still be relevant in a contemporary troubled society.

“So despite all of this Russian Ministries firmly believes working together with the evangelical church in all those countries is the most strategically important approach to reach out and equip and train the next generation of ministry leaders.”

Russian Ministries’ president Anita Deyneka says their upcoming congress for their School Without Walls graduates will also be an ideal opportunity to form partnerships with other ministries: “The Congress is an opportune time for mission agencies, Bible colleges and seminaries to interact and recruit these young leaders to become a part of even broader ministries for God's kingdom.

“If you are an educator, pastor, missions or ministry leader, this School Without Walls Congress is an unique opportunity for you to see first hand how God is using School Without Walls to raise up the Next Generation leaders, who are equipped to transform the nations of the former Soviet Union through their churches and communities.”

Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats working together

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 16:11:23 +0100

As the political discourse spirals down into claims, counter-claims, attacks and personality politics, there are at least some members of the three main parties who are still working together across party lines. Representing the Conservative Christian Fellowship (Elizabeth Berridge), the Christian Socialist Movement (Andy Flannagan) and the Liberal Democrat Christian Forum (Zoe Dixon), they are together calling for Christians to join the party they vote for on May 6^th.

Together they said, “It’s important in the midst of an election campaign to remind people that some things are more important than politics.”

Elizabeth Berridge said, “We are not blindly claiming that the parties we represent are perfect. However, we are calling Christians to join them to be a positive influence within our politics and to bring their unique experience from churches who serve communities for the long haul. The opportunities to be salt and light are enormous, both in influencing policy and building relationships. History shows that this Biblical approach of participation and service is so much more effective than endless petitions. Your vote will last the lifetime of the parliament so why not join the party for that period and the Christian group in that party as well”

Andy Flannagan said, “In the midst of the media chaos surrounding the election, it is easy for Christians to unintentionally take the role of passive commentators, believing our only duty is to decide which way to vote. Surely we believe as Christians we are called to lead in society and not just follow. Many of us struggle to decide which party we could join, but at the end of the day sometimes you just have to pick a horse and get on it. It’s time to get in the game, and not just commentate.”

Zoe Dixon said, “Now is as good a time as any to make a decision about which party to join, when their policies are being discussed in detail. The website www.christiansinpolitics.org.uk makes the process very easy. So don’t just vote for a party. Join one! No party is perfect, so let’s stop waiting for the perfect one to appear and be part of bringing kingdom values to those that are here already.”

www.christiansinpolitics.org.uk is also one of the only places (aside from the TV debates!) where all three party leaders have agreed to appear on the same platform. The Christians in politics video featuring the leaders has caught the attention of many users on video sharing site YouTube.

Steve Clifford General Director of the Evangelical Alliance says: ‘I cannot think of a moment in our history when it was more important for Christians to be asking themselves - and more critically God - whether they were called to play a part in politics.’

Rites of Passage

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 07:54:24 +0100

Richard Rohr and his teams have been giving these Men's Rites Of Passage for years in the States and elsewhere for years and years, but now the British/Irish teams are running our own. This year it's in Perth [the one in Scotland,not Australia] the last week in July.

So..... it's time to decide if you want to leap with both feet and attend the actual Men's Rite Of Passage.

You can only go through that once, so it's a bit of a challenge, taking a deep breath in terms of allocation of time and money to prioritise it!

Think Scotland, think July 26th - 30th.

The theory is that whereas each primitive culture initiates its young males into their place in society, their dignity as a man and the wisdom of what it is to grow up, our western cultures by and large deprive their young males of that, and leave them to muddle their way forward, with everything expected of them and zero support. We are often overgrown boys, still shaky around the foundations of what it really means to be any kind of man at all, let alone the warrior, the lover, the wise man. They say on the Rite that eventually life initiates you anyway, if you let it, but that's a long haul. For those who are older, or at least in the second half of our life, there are issues about focusing less on achieving and more on a wisdom journey.

When I went on this a little a year and a half ago there were 68 guys being 'initiated' from Britain and Ireland. We had an amazing time, in fact just being with 50 or so guys playing drums at once is memorable before you go any further! I think I live fairly comfortably in my skin already, but this was challenging stuff . We were told to have 'beginners' mind', to assume we knew nothing. I also found that for 4 or 5 days my brain didn't need to be engaged. I didn't need to try to solve things for other people either, just trust the process, listen with the heart, experience whatever was next. I went home feeling that from now I was responsible as a man for my life, my place in the world. I felt deeply affirmed - it's hard to put all this stuff into words. But it was one of the most important times in my whole life. If you ARE able to go, don't put it off, just go for it.

Please feel free also to forward this e-mail with its attachment to any guy you are fairly confident would be ready to engage seriously with what it means to be alive as a man at all

. [If you do go with a friend/friends as we did, they'll split you up for small sharing groups, but otherwise you can go together..]

. One of the guys presenting the Rites this time is Ad Scott from Sheffield who is my friend, and he does a brilliant job, so you'd be in safe hands.

It costs a good deal but is a huge investment for the future of each guy who participates.. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience and not to be missed.

Black Christian Party candidate on mission to bring Godly values back to Britain

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:06:19 +0100

As political campaigning hots up in the lead up to Britain’s May 6 general election, a black Pentecostal minister, is on a mission of Christian love to stamp out prejudice and bring back Godly values.

Reverend George Hargreaves leader of The Christian Party is standing for parliament against the controversial British National Party, known for their racist policies, in the London borough of Barking.

Last Saturday Rev Hargreaves hit the campaign trail on Dagenham high street wearing his dog collar and Christian Party baseball cap, just yards away from his rivals the British National Party.

“Well we have another party. This is a democracy so any party can come forward and ask the public for their support. We have the British National Party about 150 yards down the road giving out their leaflets,” explained the former songwriter and record producer.

He added: “Many people have been impressed by the fact that we actually engaged in Christian love and dialogue with their leader in a recent debate on Revelation TV, where we put forward very strongly the fact that the core of their policies are clearly racist. But even Jesus would speak to the sinners and seek to get a perspective from them that would allow them to turn from their ways and come into focus with what the Gospel says. Since that time the leader of the BNP sent out an Easter message saying he’s challenged and is seeking to re-focus away from ethnicity and back to Christianity. So that’s a wonderful testimony that we’ve had with engagement.

“The Bible says we wrestle not with flesh and blood, so we’re not going to contend with anybody at that level. What we will do however is we will take down arguments that exalt themselves above the word of God and that’s what the Bible says is spiritual warfare demolishing arguments that exalt themselves above the word of God and that’s what we do in our manifesto in our debates and on the streets. We say that racism is wrong. We say that irresponsibility in government is wrong. We say that making laws out of sin is wrong.”

I asked Rev Hargreaves what would be the significance if his party won in the election: “That would embody the message that Barking and Dagenham can show to the world that we are not racist. We are concerned with immigration. We are concerned with Islamisation, but it doesn’t make us hateful or racist. It just makes us concerned and we exercise and show our concern by putting the cross by the cross and voting for the Christian Party. I think to have a black Christian pastor elected in Barking would show the world that something special is happening among the people of Dagenham and Barking.”

Hargreaves says while he doesn’t agree with Barack Obama’s politics, the symbolism of him becoming America’s first black president is very strong: “A similar symbolism would be here in Barking and Dagenham in a place where the BNP have tried to make a racist stronghold. If a black man won it would be the community thumbing their nose to such policies and saying ‘no we will not go there. Furthermore we’ll go quite the opposite and we’ll elect a black man in the face of your challenge.’”

I asked the Christian Party leader why he wasn’t part of one of the three main political parties: “I’ve been in an established party and I found that when it comes to matters of Godliness and righteousness they all fall down. What they expect you to do is tow the party line and follow their lead and I find that totally unbiblical.

“The Bible says ‘touch not the unclean things. Be not unevenly yoked.’ The yoke is something that forces you in a direction that you shouldn’t go and that’s what happens with the major parties. With The Christian party we are proclaiming Christ’s lordship. We have a worldview that puts Christ at the head and His word as the ultimate authority as to how we run things upon the earth. So it’s a totally different situation. It’s new politics, it’s exciting politics. It says that God will honour those who honour him.

“The response from Labour has been sheer terror because they know they’re going to lose because we have split away the Christian vote and very importantly we’ve split away the black vote from Labour. Black majority churches have propped up labour for decades, but now they’re seeing a choice that they like and that has caused huge concern for Labour.

In the weeks leading up to the May 6 elections Hargreaves says they’ll be utilising the latest in online technology to engage prayer and support: “We’ve got a massive billboard and street poster campaign, we’ve got the Obama style twitter, bebo, social networking campaigns. We’ve even got from America online telephone canvassing where people all around the world can get involved in the campaign. We’ve got daily prayer going up in all our offices and throughout the world with our prayer partners. God is going to do something. Watch this space and talk to us on May 7 when you see the result come through.”

For more details go to: www.christianparty.org.uk

Sorted the UK's Number One Christian magazine for men

GDOP London Calls Every Christian in the UK to Prayer and Fasting

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:04:29 +0100

As a precursor to a National Day of Prayer at London’s West Ham Stadium on 13th June 2010, GDOP London is calling every church and Christian in the UK to a season of prayer and fasting for the nation.

As the country moves closer to a historic moment with the British general elections taking place May 6, GDOP London convener Jonathan Oloyede is urging the church to rise up prophetically and perform her duty as 'kingmaker.'

“Every church, ward, borough or district should take responsibility in prayerfully deciding who is elected locally into public office. Churches need to hold vigils, conduct special prayer services and urge their congregants to do a little bit more towards the election which is a divine selection. If we pray then as our Lord taught us, God's will shall be done in Brighton, Hereford, Luton, York and everywhere,” explains Dr Oloyede.

Andrea Minichiello Williams from Christian Concern for Our Nation is also encouraging Christians across the UK to fast and pray for the upcoming General Election.

“Given the state of our society, I feel burdened to call Christians across the nation to fast and pray. The Bible calls us to pray for our leaders for kings and all those in high positions. Pray that those who are elected will be MPs that would seek to espouse Godly principles at the heart of governance. Pray that we would have Christ-centred policies.”

GDOP London is also calling upon every church, village, town and city to send a delegation of hundreds to the National Prayer event at West Ham Stadium on Sunday 13th June. Organisers are also urging churches to unite locally in prayer on Pentecost Sunday 23rd May as ramp up events towards the mass gathering. We join with millions of Christians across the World on that day. Let us unite locally and globally.

“We need to consolidate the result of our prayers at the polls with united focus on what the Lord wants done in our nation over the next few years, The Lord wants us to move forward as His United Church in the nation” said Dr Oloyede.

Tickets are free for children under 10 to allow whole families to attend. GDOP London advises churches to book coaches for their congregations to support families, the elderly and vulnerable.

Artists lined up to lead the thousands in worship include Graham Kendrick, Noel Robinson, Godfrey Birtil, the All Souls Orchestra and X Factor finalist Beverly Trotman amongst others.

Tickets can be booked by logging on to: www.gdoplondon.com or people can call the booking line on: + 44 02088 539 529

Sorted the UK's Number Christian magazine for men

Christian band rocks UK pop charts over Easter

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 21:17:39 +0100

Using the magic of Facebook, fans of Christian band Delirious have managed to push their single History Maker into the top 10 in the pop charts. The aim is simply to raise the flag for faith in Jesus and to raise money for charity.

Delirious will donate their profits from the UK single downloads to Comapassionart projects, a poverty relief initiative.

It all started a couple of months ago after the success of an unrelated campaign on the internet, which helped an old rock band, Rage Against the Machine, gather 950,000 supporters online and top the charts at Christmas against all odds.

The highpoint of the campaign was Palm Sunday until April 3. The strategy was simple, it was all about spreading the word in the virtual community and there were several ways to engage this Easter. It ranged from simply inviting friends on this site and using the logo History Maker as profile picture to downloading the single from iTunes.

Churches were also invited to participate as the fans created a series of PowerPoint presentations designed in such a way that it is suitable for any church meeting.

This creative approach is revolutionising the way Christians fulfil the great commission ministry, with the velocity of the internet increasing interactivity and giving Christians another platform to be relevant to society.

Sorted the UK's Number One Christian Magazine for Men

Good Friday Passion play held in centre of London draws thousands of onlookers

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 10:19:28 +0100

Roman soldiers dressed in authentic-styled armour of the 12th Legion, tramped through Trafalgar Square in the centre of London on Good Friday afternoon, as the story of the Passion of Jesus was re-enacted by a cast of more than 100.

According to www.indcatholicnews.com, The Good Friday production by the Wintershall Estate theatre company, drew an estimated audience of up to 20,000 people, among them families, church groups and tourists, who, in spite of showery weather, crammed onto steps around the Square and the front of the National Gallery for both the dress rehearsal and main performance.

The Catholic website says some members of the audience were recruited in the crowd scenes.

The drama, accompanied by a beautiful musical score, depicted some of the key events in the life of Jesus (played by actor Simon Hemingway) -- scenes of miracles, his entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, driving the shopkeepers from the Temple, the Last Supper, his betrayal and trial, death and Resurrection.

As heavy London buses continued to rumble by, the Crucifixion was portrayed, under the shadow of Nelson's Column. British Sign Language interpreters were available for the deaf or hearing impaired among the crowd.

Sukele Harper, an Anglican from Stoke Newington, said: "Seeing the story close up like this really brings it home. Although we are all so engrossed in fact the world out there is carrying on as usual."

David Jones, also from east London, who watched the dress rehearsal, said: "I'm going to church later today, but having seen this play I feel as though I have already attended a service. It was very moving."

Japanese tourists Keiko and Yukiko said: "We're not Christian but this is an incredible drama to watch. We were just passing and it was so fortunate that this was taking place today."

Earlier, Archbishop Vincent Nichols said he was thrilled at the prospect of the play. "One of the great themes for debate is religion in the public square and there is no square more public than Trafalgar," he said.

"This story lies at the heart of the culture of this country. To be unaware of the Christian story is to be unable to make sense of so much which makes up the fabric of the society in which we live.

"The Passion explores the values of being human, the nature of pain and suffering, through the Cross, compassion, forgiveness, hope and a new vision of eternal life."

Sorted the UK's No 1 Christian magazine for men

Christians in the Dominican Republic Prepared for ‘My Hope’ Billy Graham TV Evangelism Project

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:50:19 +0000

Some 45,000 Christians across the Dominican Republic are trained and ready this week to share their faith as part of the largest evangelistic outreach in the Caribbean nation’s history. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, March 18-20, these Christians will implement the latest project of My Hope, carried out in partnership with the Charlotte, N.C.-based Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA).

“Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ is always important, but religious leaders in the Dominican Republic believe now is a particularly opportune time for churches there to reach out beyond their walls,” said Bill Conard, vice president of international ministries at BGEA. “These Christians are taking a bold stand for Jesus Christ, and we know God will honor their efforts.”

Those involved in the outreach will host neighbours, relatives and friends to watch three compelling nationwide TV programs, which feature testimonies from two of the most famous Dominicans: St. Louis Cardinals star first baseman Albert Pujols and musician Juan Luis Guerra. The programs also feature sermons from Billy and Franklin Graham, dubbed into Spanish.

After watching the program, the hosts will share their own story of coming to faith and invite those present to make a commitment to Jesus Christ. Follow-up efforts are made afterwards to help these new believers become involved in a local church body, in order to learn and grow in their faith.

“We have seen tremendous responses with this style of evangelism – we like to call the home meetings ‘mini Crusades’ – and we’re excited to see what God will do through these efforts in the months and years to come,” said Conard. “There is enormous prayer support all across the country.”

Though the main thrust of the project will happen this weekend, preparations began last spring as leaders raised funds, shared their vision, invited churches to participate and trained Christians on how to share their faith with others. Christian leaders in the Dominican Republic had seen other My Hope projects successfully implemented in South America, and desired the same for their country.

Since the ministry began in 2002, My Hope has been implemented in 48 countries and has witnessed astounding responses for the Gospel. Upcoming projects will take place in Puerto Rico (April), as well as Malawi and two sensitive countries in Asia later this year. Preparations are beginning for 2011, for potential My Hope outreaches in Portugal and other African countries.

Sorted the UK's No 1 Christian Magazine for Men

Palau recovers from Jamaica plane crash to bring Gospel message to England

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:20:05 +0000

Now recovered from a dramatic plane crash in Jamaica Andrew Palau, son of renowned international evangelist Luis Palau will start a 10 day mission to southern England on 16 April.

Palau, along with other evangelists, will speak at events in Tonbridge, Haywards Heath, Chesham, Brighton, Burgess Hill and Marlow, as well as at Gatwick’s Tinsley House immigration removal centre.

Palau and his wife Wendy hit the headlines a few months ago when they walked away from a plane crash in Kingston, Jamaica, with barely a scratch.

Ironically back in 1993 Andrew took vacation time to join his parents for Luis’ evangelistic outreach in Kingston. There he met Wendy Levy, whom he later married. During this time Andrew also embraced his first love - Jesus Christ.

As part of the mission, a skateboard and bicycle stunt team will travel to many schools, where they will give high-octane stunt displays and share their testimonies. Then Andrew will present a message about making positive lifestyle choices encompassing issues such as bullying, drug and alcohol abuse.

Noel Tredinnick and musicians from the All Souls Orchestra will perform, after which Andrew will share his story of coming to faith, aged 27, following a life of alcohol and drug abuse.

Nigel Gordon of the Luis Palau Association commented: ‘We are delighted Andrew is coming to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to people across southern England later this month. We are sure his talks, together with the action sports, music and other entertainment, will prove a big hit over the next few weeks.

Sorted the UK's Number One Christian Magazine For Men

A Faith That's Just the Business

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:33:38 +0000

Shifting your business into 5^th gear in the current economic climate is often worse than climbing out of quick sand. So if you had some top Christian Business entrepreneurs on hand to help you to maximise every corner of your business then I bet you’d be tempted.

The enVision10 conference is for Business owners and those with influence within their organisations to create massive vision and learn proven strategies which will catapult their income and their productivity even with a tough market on our hands.

Bishop Wayne Malcolm manages one of the largest churches in the UK and is the Founder and President of the International Coaching Achievers Network. He hosts his own radio and TV programmes and is an excellent promoter – something every business needs to do better. He has over 17 years of speaking experience on four continents promoting his 15 books. Hearing him is a must if you need the inspiration to keep your company riding the waves.

Another international speaker we have lined up for this event is Ian Green, the founder of Next Level International which has established offices in the UK, New Zealand, United States and Canada. The vision of his organisation is to see positive cultures created in cities and communities around the globe – do you have ideas as big as this, or would you be satisfied with just taking things to the Next Level?

Charles Robinson is from Austin, Texas. The founder of WISE International Ministires and owners of a real estate investment and property management company, they are specialists in developing spiritual leadership in marketplace ministries. Charles is also a board member of the International Christian Chamber of Commerce USA. Travelling to the UK specially for our conference, this is a not to be missed opportunity to work on the spiritual foundations of your organisation. He will also have sales opportunities for the right people to move his organisation forward in the UK.

Having broken just about every bone in her body Jean Lupton will be joining us to tell us how God put her back together and how she enjoys that fantastic position of having God as her CEO – you can do this too and it makes a drastic difference to the way you work and the results you achieve.

And as if that wasn’t enough then we also have Rick Brawn who is the MD of Aero Repair and Overhaul for Rolls-Royce – an organisation employing 720 people with an annual turnover of £370 million.

Whether your organisation is large or small you have your part to play in bringing it into it’s full potential. Through personal interaction with these knowledgeable and engaging business influencers and owners you will have the opportunity to take your own business to its next level.

“I went to the conference last year and within 4 weeks I had more than quadrupled the income coming into my business and it turned my prayer life around for ever. The opportunities opening up to me now having become a part of the Engage Conference team is phenomenal and I would recommend this to anyone with even the start of a vision for what your business might become and where you would like to take it.” (Yvonne Emery)

A whole day of working with the experts for just £30 has got to be the best value you’re going to get all year. Don’t miss out – book your place now by visiting www.engageconference.org.uk follow the link for next event and book in now.

Riverside Centre, Pride Park, Derby

Saturday 27^th March 2010

INFO
Contact is Yvonne Emery 01733 569007 for any press related issues

Website is www.engageconference.org.uk

British evangelist says there must be More To Life

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 03:22:04 +0000

Pioneering English evangelist Reverend Dennis Pethers, while short in stature and softly spoken, has a huge vision to mobilize Christians to share their faith across the globe, through the More To Life resources, a feature of which is a faith stories DVD that has already sold 100,000 copies in the UK alone.

As International Director of More to Life, Dennis speaks at Church Leaders Conferences, and a variety of other events all around the world. He works in close partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources in the US and with numerous networks of leaders in many parts of the world.

Pethers, grew up in the East End of London and for the early part of his life knew nothing of church, Jesus or the Christian faith. He discovered the amazing truth about Jesus whilst reading ‘Mere Christianity’, by C S Lewis, sitting on a train outside of Liverpool Street Station.

Speaking to me at the National Religious Broadcaster convention in Nashville, Tennessee he recalled the remarkable story of how the More To Life project came about: “We produced More To Life a number of years ago and it was incredibly successful. It's all based around people's stories. I've got a friend in Orlando who says when people stop reading the Bible all they have left to read is our lives.

“So what arouses their curiosity is when they see a believer and they see that belief in their life is something making a difference. That's when they become interested. More To Life is all built around the phrase ‘changed lives authenticate the message of Jesus’.

“A couple of years ago something amazing happened when I was preaching at different conferences around the world. A number of Americans approached me at different times in different ways and said ‘what you've experienced and are experiencing in the UK is such an important lesson for us to think about in the US’. So they asked if I would pilot More To Life in a number of states in America which we began to do.”

Pethers says following this he was approached by a very successful Southern Baptist publishing house called Lifeway, who are now publishing More To Life in the United State and for use around the world.

He says there are three different kinds of components to the More To Life resource pack: “One is a training kit called Engaging Through Story, which helps believers to get the confidence and passion to actually share their faith using their faith story. Then there's a dvd full of people's faith stories, which they can give away to start that first connection. Believers find it much easier to give away a dvd and say watch this then they do say to someone I want to talk to you about Jesus.

“The third part is called Discover More To Life. If a believer's been encouraged by the training to go and reach someone they can invite them to discover More To Life which again is a whole new resource that involves four different get togethers. During these sessions they look at the difference Jesus makes in the lives of some of the people He met in the gospel of John and then encourage them saying ‘well could he make that kind of difference in your life as well?’

Pethers, who also founded Viz-A-Viz Ministries, an organisation committed to ‘Relevant communication of the Gospel to people today’, says he spends around 20 weeks of the year travelling throughout America and around the world seeking to resource people through More To Life. I asked him what were the highlights and pitfalls of this challenging life on the road: “The highlights are that God just seems to be going before me and opening up so many doors of opportunity. It’s also seeing people begin to use it and see the lights come on. That's the encouraging thing.

“The challenge I guess because I'm a pioneer by nature is I'm still always looking at the not yet. There's the great encouragement of what God is doing but I could see God doing so much more. I suppose God makes some people like that. Pioneering people always looking for the next thing God will do. The other challenge is for my wife and I in terms of asking ourselves what does this mean. I'm out of the UK twenty plus weeks this year and probably more next year, so what does that means for us as a family with our kids now grown up.”

While Pethers has already achieved so much in his life, his long-term vision for his ministry continues: “I started Viz A Viz ministries seventeen years ago and it feels like now we're doing what I thought we were doing when I set it up. The big picture vision is that God will use me to play the part I believe He has for me to help the church to see that it needs to be doing new things in a new day.

“My dream as I look forward is that I could play whatever part God's got whether it's hugely significant or just a little bit significant to bring in a new generation of Christian thinking that says this is what we need to be doing now to reach these lost people.

“I guess I can go to bed and sleep well at night thinking God's used me as a normal fallen guy to help hopefully tens of thousands of lost people come to know Jesus and bring a smile to the face of God.”

I would like to thank Robin Frost for transcribing this interview.

For more information on More To Life and Viz A Viz ministries go to:

www.vizaviz.org

Sorted the UK's Number One Christian Magazine for Men

NEW REPORT REVEALS HUGE POTENTIAL SAVINGS FOR CHARITIES TRAVEL BUDGETS

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 11:39:20 +0000

New research released today reveals UK not-for-profit organisations are not capitalising on the best travel advice and deals and are losing hundreds of thousands of pounds every year as a consequence. The report, put together by leading Travel Management Company Key Travel, who have been exclusively serving the not for profit sector for 30 years, is the culmination of nine months analysis of 1500 client organisations. The research reveals that not-for-profit organisations are losing in excess of 15% of their annual budget simply by not being aware of the cost saving alternatives and therefore not making the best choices with regards their travel arrangements.

Since the implementation of their new reporting systems last year, Key Travel has been monitoring the effectiveness of buying behaviour in the not-for-profit sector. In a bid to help organisations manage their budgets more effectively, the research indicates the most common mistakes people make in their travel process and clearly highlights where savings could be achieved through improved buying practices.

The Key Travel ‘Missed Savings Report’ allows analysis of the fare taken at the time of booking alongside the cheapest available fare at the time (that would also have been offered at the point of sale) as well as the cheapest possible fare, if booked in advance.

The Missed Savings Report revealed that 1500 not-for-profit organisations spent approximately £31m on flights within the nine month research period, and in fact could save a staggering £2.3m by merely accepting the cheaper flight option offered to them at the time of booking – representing an 8% saving on a major cost item. The top reasons for lower air fares being declined is split as follows;

The results clearly show the most common reason for not taking a cheaper flight is preference of airline which is commonly driven by the traveller stipulating a specific airline in the pursuit of loyalty card points or due to personal preference. Secondly it is evident that class of travel is an issue as although economy is obviously a much cheaper option; travellers are not always taking it. Circumstances of course need to be taken into account, as 25.4% (just over £600k) of the identified £2.3m savings could instead be channelled directly into charity projects by downgrading some travel to the back of the plane. Close behind is the considerable cost incurred when exact travel times are required, as very often it is cheaper if you can be more flexible; sometimes even staying an extra night in a hotel and travelling the next day can be more cost effective.

Each of these identified behaviours, in this case equating to almost £2m of potential savings, could be effectively tackled by the deployment of a travel policy (the process by which an organisation describes the rules for travel procurement). But too often the management of the travel budget is a common oversight.

The estimated annual travel budget for a UK Charity is in excess of £250,000 and consequently a travel policy is a must-have budget management tool. As part of the research, Key Travel surveyed 1,200 travellers and travel bookers across a range of not-for-profit organisations and staggeringly 17.2% of people did not know their organisation’s travel policy. Of those who knew it, 60% said that they did not always follow it because they believed it to be inappropriate. A simple education programme here could improve policy compliance and decrease those buying behaviours leading to the leakage of valuable funds without compromising the level of travel undertaken.

Further potential savings were identified if only travellers would book earlier. An analysis of travel booking windows found that the average booking window for clients was 24 days, resulting in ticket prices being, on average, £100 more expensive than if booked say 35 days in advance. Due to the nature of the work of charity and missionary travellers, booking at short notice cannot always be helped; however awareness of the impact of the difference a few days can make, could amount to savings of up to 30% on a single ticket.

Says Steve Summers, COO at Key Travel: “Too many of our not-for-profit clients are missing out on considerable savings, some by simply not booking at an optimum time and others for more frivolous reasons. At a time when everyone is looking at means to save money, where better to focus than the travel budget. A change in consumer buying behaviour will not only ensure more money is available to be used on the charitable projects it was intended, but will also appease those who are actually donating.

For more information about Key Travel please visit www.keytravel.com

Hot off the press Scorchio! magazine kicks off World Cup outreach

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:15:02 +0000

As World Cup fever approaches this summer, Christians are being challenged to kick off their outreach plans by ordering copies of mini magazine Scorchio!

“I'm encouraging people to buy copies in bulk of this 36 page mini mag, which is jam packed with facts, figures, the lowdown on all 32 teams competing for the ultimate prize, but also amazing interviews with some of the world’s greatest footballers who know and love Jesus,” explains British evangelist Steve Legg, who produced this resource.

He added: “They can be given away as Father's Day gifts or be used at special World Cup outreach events throughout June. Others have said that they want quantities to take into work, or to leave at the pub whilst games are shown on big screen TVs. It's the easiest form of outreach in the world!”

Scorchio includes expert opinion from TV football pundits Dan Walker and John Motson and chats to footballers about their Christian faith, including Rory Fallon, Steven Pienaar and Tim Howard, plus Spain's Marcos Senna and an exclusive interview with Kaka.

“We know people will enjoy what they read, but more than that we want to challenge them to think a little more about faith and how relevant it can be to them,” explains Legg who is also editor of Christian men’s magazine Sorted.

“The great footballing guru, Bill Shankly, commented ‘Some people think football’s a matter of life and death. I can assure them it is much more serious than that.’ I have days when I’m inclined to agree with him. But I also hope that through the pages of Scorchio! people will realise that Christianity is like that, too.”

Legg concluded with an update on Sorted magazine, described as the lad’s mag with morals: “It continues to sell well. It is available in 1,500 high street newsagents across the UK and we are exploring having Sorted in larger branches of supermarket chain Tesco. Our March/April edition is available now and is another bumper read. It is jam packed with all the usual features plus Bill star, Andrew Lancel, Hollywood star Stephen Baldwin, Paul Azinger, The Soldiers, Rob Parsons and so much more.”

Scorchio! is available at the Sorted online shop - www.sorted-magazine.com - copies start at 99p each and go down dramatically the more you order. Ten Christian guys chipping in just £25 each would mean you'd get 500 copies.

Sorted the UK's Number One Christian magazine for men

Christian leaders unite for Global Day of Prayer at London’s West Ham Stadium

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 15:19:23 +0000

The Legends suite in London’s West Ham stadium was packed to capacity last Thursday February 12, for a special evening reception, to envision Christian leaders for this year’s Global Day of Prayer London event scheduled for May 30.

“This is a prophetic moment that we mustn’t miss. We have to work together across our class, colour and creed barriers,” said Jonathan Oloyede, convener of GDOP London, as he addressed more than 300 leaders from a wide range of denominational, cultural and political leadership roles.

Oloyede believes the coming together of churches from all denominations and cultural backgrounds could have a significant impact on the capital and the nation: “It’s amazing what happens when people come together in tens of thousands. A big event like the Global Day of Prayer helps people to realise that they’re not just a small church tucked away somewhere, but that they’re part the church of God which is very big and colourful”

“We want churches to unite at local level on Pentecost Sunday 23^rd May and then all roads lead to Upton Park the following Sunday on 30^th May, where the gates will open from around noon for a 2pm start. It is going to be a fantastic time not to be missed!

Member of Parliament for East Ham Stephen Timms gave his full endorsement to Global Day of Prayer London as he addressed leaders saying: “Faith is a great starting point to pointing to change in our communities.”

Reverend George Hargreaves leader of the Christian party said he believes GDOP London is so important he’s encouraging all their supporters to come to West Ham May 30: “I think it’s imperative for us to come together at West Ham for the GDOP to pray for this nation and for the globe.”

Apostle Paul Fadeyi from Grace Outreach Church in London was also keen to lend his support: “I’m so glad to be a part of the Global Day of Prayer and I believe it’s time for us to come together and pray as heaven is about to come down upon this nation in a way that we’ve never seen before.”

Evangelist Tony Anthony from Avanti Ministries and author of Taming The Tiger said: “I’m enormously excited at the possibility of the stadium being packed out with prayer warriors because when you look at the first church in Acts, it was born in a prayer meeting in the upper room. That’s where it begins with servants being on their knees before the Lord praying for the nation.”

There was a clear excitement and expectancy during the leaders’ reception for what could be achieved through this year’s Global Day of Prayer event at West Ham stadium. But Oloyede hopes that enthusiasm will be duplicated throughout churches across the city and the nation: “We want people to come in busloads and we want people to get involved locally by connecting with other churches and telling them at Pentecost we want to unite together and come together in one place.

“From West Ham we point to Wembley. The significance for us is that Upton Park is where we held our first stadium event. This is possibly going to be the last stadium event we hold before we head to Wembley stadium in 2011 after which is the Olympics. So it’s significant for us that we’re back where we started.

“The Bible says where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty and where the people come together in unity there the Lord commands a blessing. So we’re believing God for a blessing to be poured out over our capital and our nation as the church unites together.”

Jonathan concluded by calling for Christians to start setting their mobile phones to noon to pray the Lord’s prayer each day in the lead up to GDOP London: “We believe when churches and believers unite together by simultaneously praying the Lord’s prayer God is able to open the windows of heaven over our city and over our nation.”

For more details on how to sign up to partner with this year’s GDOP London go to: www.gdoplondon.com

Sorted the UK's Number One Christian magazine for men

Evangelical Alliance Says Young Christians Will Vote in British Elections

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 18:12:24 +0000

An overwhelming majority of young evangelical Christians are planning to vote in the upcoming General Election, the Evangelical Alliance has revealed as it launches its election website.

Eighty-one percent of 18 to 24-year-olds surveyed at Soul Survivor's 'Momentum' event last summer said they plan to vote – more than double the percentage of people in the same age bracket who voted at the last general election.

Evangelical Alliance Parliamentary Officer Daniel Webster said: “Young evangelicals are going to buck the trend and take part in the coming election. Rather than being turned off from politics, these findings show that young adults care about a wide range of issues and will take these views to the ballot box.

“Our website, with its summaries of the main parties’ policies, will help them and other voters as they decide how to place that all-important vote.”

The Evangelical Alliance’s new General Election 2010 website aims to give information to voters about how a general election works, a brief introduction to each of the major parties and an outline of what their policies are on a range of issues. It also gives local churches advice on how they can play their part by holding hustings events.

Steve Webb, MP for Northavon, said: "Some of the liveliest debates that I take part in at election time are organised by the local churches. It is important for Christians to get informed and get involved at election time, and this is an excellent way for churches to reach out to people in their local area at the same time.

"I would encourage local churches to get together and make sure that hustings are taking place across their constituency."

The Alliance ’s election website can be found at http://www.eauk.org/public-affairs/elections/index.cfm. The site promotes no particular party, but encourages Christians to engage in the political process.

Sorted the UK's No. 1 Christian Magazine for Men

Key Travel Sends Over 100 Aid Workers To Haiti Crisis

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:11:28 +0000

Reacting quickly to the Haitian crisis was essential for Key Travel. As the UK’s only travel management company to work exclusively with third sector organisations, Key Travel were on hand to help their clients do just this. Using their recently updated risk management system they were alerted immediately to the crisis and were able to conduct scans of all travellers booked to travel to, or who were in the affected areas as well as advise on airline policies for flights. Key Travel has worked successfully with organisations such as Oxfam to provide help to those affected by the crisis and has already sent over 100 aid workers to the region.

As third sector specialists Key Travel is used to working with clients needing to get to disaster areas in a hurry. In the event of a crisis they prioritise their workload to ensure that booking requests related to the emergency are processed as soon as possible (whilst also keeping on top of other requests). The expertise of the reservations teams, booking technology and internal structure makes it easy for the reservations consultants to quickly share information on route availability, giving clients the most up to date information when they call in a fast and efficient way. A witness to the speed of service was Oxfam’s Alexandra Walker, Business Support Coordinator, who says: “It was very useful to have a list of the tickets affected and the reference numbers in front of me so quickly.”

In the event of a crisis Key Travel’s relationships with the embassies, built over numerous years, and the nature of the clients they serve often provides leverage to negotiate quicker turnarounds and better deals on visa applications. This combined with the 24 hour emergency support which is manned by Key Travel staff, means that callers receive a consistent level of service and expertise whenever they call.

Since the Haiti Crisis Key Travel has managed the travel arrangements for over 100 aid workers to get to the effected area and has some simple tips for booking in a crisis:

1. Book as early in advance as possible to maximise your chances of securing a seat which are fast becoming limited

2. Be prepared to be flexible both in relation to your arrival and departure times and the destination airport. Over 70 of the recent bookings have been made to neighbouring ‘Dominican Republic’ (Santo Domingo) as there are very limited flights to Haiti as well as issues with capacity at Port-au-Prince airport.

3. Be equipped to inform the reservations agent of your passport details and nationality. This saves time during the booking process as it will quickly determine any route limitations posed by the potential need to obtain transit visas for indirect flights.

4. Be clear on any special requirements e.g. excess baggage to carry aid equipment, diet etc.

Says Steve Summers, COO at Key Travel: “In times of crisis it is vital that help is delivered as quickly as possible and through our risk management system, 24 hour emergency support and experienced teams we have been able to help many organisations come to the aid of the thousands of people affected by the earthquake when they have needed it most.”

Global Day of Prayer London calls for one million to saturate the capital in prayer

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:09:23 +0000

GDOP London is calling for 1 million Christians to pray the Lord’s Prayer at noon every day in the lead up to next year’s event at the famous Wembley Stadium.

Ahead of Wembley, as preparations are well underway for this year’s event at West Ham Stadium May 30, GDOP London Convener Jonathan Oloyede is asking people to start setting their alarm clocks and mobile phone at noon every day:

“As people simultaneously pray the Lord’s Prayer we believe that’s going to help us open the heavens and create something of God’s presence breaking out on our streets in the capital and across the whole nation.”

He added: “Set against massive social, financial and spiritual upheaval and the barrenness and fractured nature of much of our society, we are crying out to God; Our Father in Heaven, Heal our Land!! Extraordinary times demand extraordinary prayer.”

We are approaching one of the most pivotal elections in recent history. In light of this Oloyede is calling for churches to commit to pray 24/7 for London and their nation: “We’re also inviting churches wherever they are in the country or the capital, to choose a day to pray 24 hours, to pray for their communities, for their capital and for their country.

“Getting a church to pray one day for 24hours is not that difficult. All you need to do is find 24 people who can choose one hour to pray. Most churches have more than 24 adults!! Our website www.gdoplondon.com, has resources which provide help on how to do this.”

“Some churches do 24/7 prayers for a whole week. We’re just trying to galvanise people to pray more. Go that extra mile. We’re encouraging people to do just that bit extra in prayer for this nation.”

Jonathan believes there are several key issues believers should be praying for in London right now: “We want people to pray for young people. We want to keep praying down the crime rates. In the midst of the recession we want people to pray for families below the poverty line and for the security of this capital. The list is endless.

“But really the most important thing is to pray that people would know the love of God. There are many lonely people who don’t have family. We want to pray that the love of Jesus breaks into their lives and something of the warmth of his compassion touches them.”

To launch this year’s GDOP London vision, Christian leaders from across London and the nation are being invited to a special evening event at West Ham stadium on February 11 at 6:30pm.

Stephen Baldwin, LZ7 and Blush to join fundraising concert for Haiti

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:00:27 +0000

Christian youth ministry The Message Trust is putting together a fundraising concert to raise funds for Haiti.

Joining the Heart for Haiti fundraiser in Manchester next week are Celebrity Big Brother star Stephen Baldwin and Christian bands LZ7 and Blush.

Message Trust director Andy Hawthorne and local church leader Anthony Delaney will take to the stage to share about their humanitarian visit to Haiti to deliver medical supplies to hospitals struggling to cope with the high volume of injured.

They returned on Monday from their mercy mission, which saw them take 1,000kg of supplies to an emergency surgical unit set up in devastated capital Port-au-Prince and a ruined hospital on the island of La Gonave, filled to the brim with refugees from the mainland.

Said Hawthorne: "We had to transport two young people with broken backs in a flat back truck over roads ripped apart by the quake. One of them, paralysed when his house fell on him, was carried to us on a door by his friends."

The team, which included members of the Lemon Aid charity, evacuated a nine-year-old girl who had been buried for three days and had to have half her foot amputated.

Hawthorne recounted: "As we flew on a small missionary plane back to the mainland we were praying that amid the chaos we could find an orthopaedic surgeon. When we landed, the first people we saw was a group waiting to fly out. They were an orthopaedic team. We have to say that along with the misery, we saw miracles."

Concert details:
‘Heart for Haiti’ will feature Celebrity Big Brother star Stephen Baldwin, Manchester bands LZ7 and Blush, with eyewitness contributions from Andy Hawthorne and Anthony Delaney
Venue: Wythenshawe Forum (tbc)
Date and time: Thursday 4 February, 7.30pm

Sorted The UK's No 1 Christian magazine for men

Cook Up The Feel Good Factor This Valentine’s Day

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:23:49 +0000

Loaves, fishes and more can inspire the nation’s romantics

For couples planning a cosy night in this Valentine’s Day – Loaves, fishes and more – the charity cookbook devised by insurer Congregational & General, will feed their inspiration for romantic dishes with ‘feel good’ ingredients.

Including recipes from celebrity chef Kevin Woodford, the 128-page book will give sweethearts some bright ideas for recipes and treats - particularly in the ‘Divine Desserts’ section - and will make this Valentine’s one to remember.

Whether your food for true love is strawberries dipped in dark chocolate (Taste of Heaven), or you like the sound of sweet basil sprinkled on your favourite pasta (Ragu Cavaliere), then you can cook up a treat to impress the love of your life.

With a number of the recipes containing delicious ‘feel good’ ingredients such as; dark chocolate, chilli, pine nuts, sweet basil, strawberries and bananas, there is plenty to choose from for the perfect Valentine’s dish to make your partner feel great.

Consider following recipes that include ingredients like:

Dark chocolate – contains theobromine, which is a stimulant and helps the body produce serotonin to make you feel good.

Sweet Basil – has a fantastic aroma and contains oils with potent antioxidant, ant-cancer, anti-viral and anti-microbial properties

Chilli –contains capsaicin, a chemical that stimulates nerve endings and increases circulation and is thought to release endorphins, which can provide a natural sense of ‘feeling good’

Bananas – a good source of energy and another food that contains active ingredients to produce the hormone serotonin, which is known to improve your mood.

Pine nuts – contain a high level of oleic acid, which is a monounsaturated fat that helps protect the liver and the heart. They also contain zinc, which improves the functionality of the immune system, digestion and reduces stress levels.

Recommended recipes to try from Loaves, fishes and more:

Ragu Cavaliere – contains sweet basil
Pepper’s Pesto Pasta – includes pine nuts
Salmon fishcakes with chilli – contain chilli
Taste of Heaven - contains dark chocolate and strawberries
Ginger Biscuits – contain ginger
Banana and carrot muffins – contain bananas

Best of all, you can cook with a conscience as each book sold results in a donation to Christian Aid to fund their vital worldwide work for people in need. Retailing at £11.95 per copy, it is available now from high street bookshops including Waterstones, as well as eBay and Amazon.

For more information visit www.loavesfishesandmore.com

Churches launch guide to prepare for the 2010 General Election

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:49:55 +0000

Online resources designed to help Christians prepare for the General Election were launched today.

Eleven Churches and Church agencies have worked together to create an electronic booklet and website www.churcheselection.org.uk, which includes information on how to arrange a hustings meeting at local churches as well as a downloadable guide offering information on the important questions of this election campaign.

The election materials do not support a particular Church view or political party line, but aim to help people engage with a range of important issues facing the country, however they may decide to vote.

Rachel Lampard, Public Issues Policy Adviser for the Methodist Church who worked on the resources produced by Methodist Publishing and Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, said: “We hope that the website will really help Christians engage with the election. The Faith in Politics booklet covers a whole range of policy issues, written by leading Christian experts and campaigners. The website also carries new guidance for groups wishing to hold hustings events during the election campaign, enabling people to register their interest in organising a hustings event and be put in touch with others in their constituency. We hope churches up and down the country will take advantage of these ecumenical resources.”

Faith in Politics covers issues including the economy, environment, health, education, equality and diversity, Europe, migration and sanctuary, poverty and criminal justice. The resource also provides a series of questions to facilitate personal or group reflection on political issues, or which could be used to quiz election candidates.

The Revd Dr Malcolm Brown, Director of the Church of England's Mission and Public Affairs Division, said: “I really hope these resources will be used by churches across the country to help them get ready for the General Election. They provide a rich range of material from which Christians and others can explore policy areas and form questions for their parliamentary candidates. The material points to the breadth of the impact that Westminster politics can have on the life of the nation, and I hope it will stimulate searching questions that will in turn help people make an informed judgement about how they use their vote.”

The Revd Bob Fyffe, General Secretary of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, said “These resources will provide a rich source of information for churches and Churches Together groups across the four nations. The combination of these resources together with the online hustings information should ensure that Christians around the UK can fully engage in discussions with their prospective parliamentary candidates. The fact that the Churches have worked together to provide these resources is a strong statement in itself, and we hope that local churches and groups will fully engage in the democratic process.”

Sorted The UK's No 1 Christian Magazine for Men

Churches Across the United Kingdom to Tune in to 3-Minute Warning Video on YouTube this Sunday

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:37:54 +0000

Churches across the UK will interrupt their worship this Sunday to watch a three-minute warning video about the Equality Bill, which is due to be voted on in the British House of Commons the following day (January 25).

In a media release obtained by ANS, Christian Concern for our Nation (CCFON), an organization that exists to serve the Church by providing information to enable Christians to stand up publicly against a tide of unchristian legal and political changes in the United Kingdom, says it believes the Bill is "the biggest state intervention into people's private expression of their faith since the Reformation."

On the video, CCFON director Andrea Minichiello-Williams will tell Christians that if the Bill goes through, their church could not advertise for a "Christian youth worker", but just a "youth worker". She says the role of worship leader, often pivotal in any church, could no longer be restricted to Christians.

Andrea Minichiello Williams commented:"Christians and Churches across this nation need to be aware that this Bill has enormous implications for their day-to-day functioning.

"If it is passed in its present form, the Equality Bill will result in churches and Christian organizations having to recruit people to key positions who are unsympathetic to the need to reflect Christ and to worship Him through their work. That will in turn affect the way in which Jesus Christ is perceived by those served by the Church and its ministries."

The video can be watched on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrjEprFjp-4 and the Christian Concern for our Nation website at: http://www.ccfon.org/equalitybill1.php.

Christians across the UK will also be urged to sign David Skinner's anti-Equality Bill petition on the No 10 Downing St website http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/harryhammond , which again can be accessed via www.ccfon.org

Sorted the UK's No 1 Christian magazine for men

Churches pray and give to DEC Appeal for Haiti

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:53:25 +0000

Thousands of churches in the UK are set to spend this Sunday (17 January) praying and giving offerings for people affected by the huge earthquake that devastated Haiti this week.

Actor John Hurt and presenter Kirsty Young have fronted appeals asking for help for the impoverished nation struck by the quake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale on Tuesday. Christians are responding to the DEC appeal by taking time within their church services to pray and give money.

The president of Haiti says he fears that tens of thousands of people have died but the full extent of the suffering remains unclear.

Oenone Chadburn, Head of Tearfund’s Disaster Management Unit, said today: ‘My husband is half-Haitian, and we have spent the last few days praying and searching online for news of family and friends. We have lost one person, and we’re grieving that loss. We’re very encouraged that our fellow Christians will be praying and giving to the DEC Appeal this Sunday, as we stand with our brothers and sisters in Haiti at this time.’

Up to three million people live in the area worst hit by the quake centred 10 miles southwest of the capital Port-au-Prince . Many have lost homes and their livelihoods. Essential services have been badly hit.

Clare Dixon, CAFOD head of Latin America and Caribbean, says: " Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Its people are used to civil strife, hurricanes and floods, but earthquakes are not a normal occurrence. With the majority of the population living in abject poverty, this earthquake will greatly increase their suffering."

There are not enough body bags to collect the dead lying in the streets. There are concerns that supply of drinking water will last only several more days.

Nick Guttmann, head of Christian Aid’s humanitarian division, said today: ‘The practical needs in tackling this disaster are enormous. The question of access must be speedily addressed to get relief to the worst hit areas.

‘It is also crucial to ensure that there are secure areas where supplies can be distributed in a fair manner. The rapid provision of food, water, medical supplies and shelter and blankets is essential.’

Churches and Christian organisations are among those who have already been working in Haiti , which is one of the world’s poorest countries, to bring about sustainable development. Those same churches will be involved in the relief efforts and will be part of the long-term work to build back better.

DEC member agencies who work directly with churches, including Cafod, Christian Aid, Tearfund and World Vision, have made resources available to churches to help them to pray. Christian Aid have produced a prayer which can be downloaded from www.christianaid.org.uk and Tearfund are offering churches a Powerpoint of images to help them reflect on the scale of the crisis at www.tearfund.org/haitiprayer

To make a donation to the DEC Haiti appeal visit http://www.dec.org.uk or donate over the counter at any post office or high street bank, or send a cheque – see details below.

Anyone wanting to stay up to date with developments in Haiti, the emergency response and the fundraising efforts can follow the DEC on twitter at http://twitter.com/decappeal or become a fan of ‘Disasters-Emergency-Committee-DEC’ on Facebook.

Stephen Baldwin takes his faith to the Celebrity Big Brother House

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 07:37:50 +0000

If Big Brother chiefs were hoping for some eyebrow-raising controversy on the last ever Celebrity Big Brother, they must be pinning their hopes on contestants other than born-again Christian Stephen Baldwin.

The former hellraiser and now active evangelist is one of the contestants on the last ever series of Celebrity Big Brother, a TV show not generally associated with salubriousness.

Baldwin stayed up late talking with fellow contestant Vinnie Jones and explaining parts of the Bible to him, before kneeling at his bedside to say his prayers at the end of the night.

Later, Baldwin and the other housemates got talking about religion.

He told them: "I tell you right now, what the experience in Heaven is going to be is so far beyond this experience. I can't wait to get there."

Glamour model Nicola Tappenden responded by saying: “I do believe there’s a lovely Heaven but I don’t think I’d take the Bible’s law. I’ll take peace.”

Housemate and “Hollywood madam” Heidi Fleiss had a moan about him in the Diary Room, saying, “Right now I think Stephen’s a bit of an idiot, but I could be wrong. He could be a really nice guy.

“When I was sleeping I thought I heard him preaching a bit and he was telling Sov (fellow contestant Lady Sovereign) how to get paint out of her hair … just maybe being a little bit instructing everybody.”

Other contestants on Celebrity Big Brother are Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood’s ex Ekaterina Ivanov, DJ Basshunter and Katie Price’s cage-fighter boyfriend Alex Reid.

Sorted - the UK's number one magazine for Christian men.

On the High Street

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:52:36 +0000

What a thrill to pick up a copy of Sorted magazine in my local newsagents this morning. In actual fact, it wasn't my usual newsagents as they had sold out!

It was a dream come true to see Sorted racked between Nuts and Loaded, providing at long last a good, wholesome alternative to traditional lads mags.

There are 4,500 copies of Sorted in 1,500 Newsagents the length and breadth of the UK and it would be awesome to sell out. Just imagine what sort of message this would send to newsagents and magazine publishers.

Mercy Ships Concludes Benin Field Service with Record Results

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:32:47 +0000

The world’s largest non-governmental hospital ship the Africa Mercy just concluded a record amount of treatments during their ten month field service in Benin, West Africa.

Due to the combined efforts of 454 crew members from over 40 nations and the support of Mercy Ships state-of-the-art hospital ship, the Africa Mercy, 97,625 total procedures were performed and 67,219 lives were impacted.

As the Africa Mercy prepares for its 2010 Field Service in Togo, it leaves behind permanent footprints in Benin – footprints in the form of trained eye surgeons that are now fully trained in eye screening, cataract removal, and eye health.

According to a Mercy Ships press release not only can these physicians treat their communities but they are trained to teach other physicians long after the Africa Mercy is gone. The country of Benin will have healthier children, due to the Mercy Ships partnerships with IMCI (Integrated Management of Childhood Illness) program that educates families on wound tending and cleaning.

The Biomedical Training Program trained individuals to keep equipment fine-tuned and updated in each hospital so it runs as efficiently as it can. More access to health care was provided thanks to the opening of the OSAREH Orthopedic Clinic and thanks to the Food For Life Program, the community will be better prepared to grow crops and the dormitory constructed in the Hévié area outside of Cotonou that will now be the base for agricultural trainers trained by Mercy Ships that will continue training others well into the future.

“Although President YAYI Boni has brought great change to the West African nation of Benin, living in a nation where a worker earns less than 2 dollars a day, explains why life in Benin continues to be very difficult,” reflects Don Stephens, Founder and President of Mercy Ships.

He added: “When you have limited means, it is hard to feed, educate, and care for the health of your family. The 10 month Field Service conducted by our hospital ship, Africa Mercy, brought hope and healing to a nation where there is one hospital for every 1,000,000 people.

“I could not be more pleased with the service of our multinational crew as they followed the 2,000 year old model of Jesus on a daily basis. The ship has departed, but our hearts will always have room for the wonderful people of Benin and their President who extended Mercy Ships an invitation to come and help.”

Sorted hits newsagents across the UK

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:26:04 +0000

As the UK’s only Christian magazine for men hit the shelves of 1500 newsagents across the country this week, Sorted editor Steve Legg is urging Christians to go out and buy a copy.

“We’ve got 4,000 copies of Sorted being sold in these shops and we need to demonstrate the demand for more to be sold. So I’m urging Christians across the UK to go out and buy their copy,” said Steve.

He added: “This is a real answer to prayer. I was approached by a secular magazine distributor to place 4,000 copies of each edition of the magazine in the men’s lifestyle section of newsagents throughout the UK. For them to say they’re going to place it between Nuts and Loaded I almost fell off my seat.

“My heart has always been to reach men and for Sorted to be placed on the shop shelves in between Nuts and Loaded is a dream come true. So who knows who could pick it up, who might be looking for something a little bit different?”

Steve Legg, who’s been on the road for more than 21 years as a Gospel escape artist and illusionist, launched Sorted two years ago as a positive, wholesome alternative to men’s magazines like Nuts and Loaded. He says the immediate reaction was extremely positive even from one of the UK’s top national newspapers: “The Daily Telegraph loved it and called it ‘the lad’s mag with morals,’ and that’s stuck. It’s just been so exciting how that’s grown.”

Earlier this year overwhelming demand meant the magazine completely sold out, as 10,000 copies were ordered for Father’s day so an additional 3,000 were printed. Steve says as a result of this they’re also planning to sell copies for Father’s Day next year in one of Britain’s largest retailers WH Smith.”

To order your subscription of Sorted go to: www.sorted-magazine.com

Liverpool defender seeks divine intervention

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:25:22 +0000

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher admits he prays to God every night to help his team win the FA Cup or the Europa league.

According to Metro newspaper, following Sunday's 2-1 defeat at home to Arsenal, Carragher accepts it's a painful time for Liverpool.

"But we've got to stick together, get through it and, as I am doing every night, praying that at the end of the season there will be something worth what we have gone through, because it has been tough."

He added: "I pray to God we win the FA Cup or the Europa League and we get in the top four, dust ourselves down at the end of the season and say, 'It hasn't been so bad in the end.'"

Sorted - the UK's number one magazine for Christian men.

Mercy Project Ukraine Director helps launch UK sponsorship program

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:32:40 +0000

Irina Skrypnik, director of Mercy Project International in Ukraine, along with her husband Yuri, who runs the charity’s sponsorship projects, visited the UK on a speaking tour last month, to encourage churches to partner with them in helping at risk children and needy families in their country.

“We never expected that people would be so interested in what is happening in our country which is only three hours flight from the UK,” explained Irina after speaking in churches in the North West of England.

After giving an emotional message at Northgate Church in Chester, Irina and Yuri were clearly touched by the response of the congregation who lined up to sign up for Mercy Project’s sponsorship program: “They really wanted to help in all possible ways – help families, orphanages and foster families. It wasn’t just a one off response, but they were willing to establish long term relationships with the people they signed up to sponsor. We were so touched by their deep and warm response!”

One elderly lady who signed up to sponsor an orphanage excitedly took away the profile of all the children saying she would pray for each of them everyday.

Spreading the message on the airwaves

“It wasn’t easy for me but it helps to understand what’s needed while talking about your work,” explained Irina in response to doing a number of radio interviews during their UK visit, for United Christian Broadcasters and BBC Radio Merseyside.

“Normally I try to do my best while working with people and helping them. But it’s very important to be able to tell others what you do. I have to learn more how to do it.”

Mercy Project now has 20 sponsors signed up in the UK to provide long-term support to children, foster families and orphanages. Irina hopes the impact will be long-lasting and that many of these sponsors will come to Ukraine: “I hope that people who were interested in helping our needy families will become our sponsors for a long time. Those who want to come over to Ukraine will be able to see the results of their help while visiting the families. Those who can’t travel will get news and reports from us.

“I’m pretty sure that our program in the UK will grow and with the help of UK sponsors we will be able to help many Ukrainian families in many different ways – buying food, paying for medical care, helping with education and many-many other things. And I know that our people will be very thankful for this help!”

Irina says as Christmas approaches Mercy Project in Ukraine faces the challenges of helping many needy families: “I would say that the greatest need during this Christmas season is the same as always – people need hope for the future. In order to have this hope – they have to know the Lord and to have good real friends who can help them during hard times. Therefore we will be helping with some basic needs – warm blankets, winter clothing, food, medical care, which is very important for many Ukrainian families.”

For more details on Mercy Project International go to: www.mercyproject.org.uk

Sorted - the UK's number one magazine for Christian men.

Russian Ministries president’s urgent Christmas Gift of Hope appeal

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:22:00 +0000

All across Russia, as national evangelical churches and young Next Generation Christians aim to bring Christmas hope to 50,000 orphans and needy children through Project Hope: The Great Gift Exchange, the president of Russian Ministries Anita Deyneka is urgently appealing for help to make this ambitious goal become a reality.

“We hear in the news about the oil and natural gas and the rising superpower of Russia again flexing its muscles in the world. But what we don’t hear about is the 750,000 orphans and an estimated 2-4 million street children. This whole nation within a nation is full of hurting little people and they will be among the 50,000 we’re wanting to reach, which is just a small part of a great need,” explains Anita.

She added: “These Christmas gifts with Project Hope come with a box full of toys, food, candy, clothes and with a children’s Bible. So the great need is to get those gifts into the hands of the children because that’s how they’ll know about the love and hope of Jesus even in their hard circumstances, where their lives are so difficult and they know so little of love and hope.

“To do that it costs $25 to put one gift into the hands of one child. The Christians there are the co-workers and the young next generation Christians that they’re mobilising who will go out to the orphanages in the streets and hospitals.

“It’s not so possible now for these gifts to be imported from the West, but they’re packed there and distributed there. The Christians are giving what they can but they need help. So that’s our great need and we’re so thankful to Christians in the West, who are partnering with us and we pray that many more will as we’re coming close to Christmas.”

Bridge-building gifts of hope

Anita Deyneka, wife of the late Peter Deyneka, Jr., has served in missions for more than 40 years and she says through their Russian missionaries this Christmas project has brought about many opportunities for reconciliation between divided communities.

“We go to places like Beslan, where in 2004 the school was besieged by a terrorist attack and to go now to the school, which is still a monument, and visit the families there who are still suffering. Also our missionaries are going right into Chechnya to Grozny the capital, where the terrorists came from and see the suffering of the children and the devastation and the poverty and the violence and then were are able to show the hands and feet of Jesus by putting put into the hands of these children and their families these Christmas gifts.

“I remember the story that has always stayed in my heart of our Russian missionaries who brought help at the time when refugees were fleeing from Chechnya. Christmas gifts were being distributed by our Russian missionaries to these refugees and the Russian and Chechens have been enemies for years overall. Traditionally they hate each other.

“But here came the Russians with these gifts showing the love of Jesus. They came to a Muslim home and where was teenage boy, Rusalan who’d already been involved in killings and was trained as a terrorist from the time he was a child. He stood back watching with hatred towards these Russian missionaries giving gifts to his little brothers and sisters. But he saw the kindness of the Russian missionaries and on one of the boxes there was a message that included the word love and this so interested him somehow and touched something in his heart. So he kept coming back to the missionaries wanting to know more about Jesus and he did become a believer and had to go in hiding. But this is one of thousands of stories of what happens as a bridge of caring and love is built in which children are given some happiness and some hope in Jesus.”

Ripples of blessing

Anita says there are many blessings that come of this project that provide countless ministry opportunities for the evangelical churches through Russian, Ukraine and beyond: “Just ripples of blessing happen from this one gift of $25 or a $100 gift would provide four boxes for the children. The blessings that happen and keep happening are incalculable, most of all for the children who are receiving these gifts who are so forgotten often.

“But also the gifts are being given through Russian Christians spreading out across Russia spreading out from churches all over their communities and outlying areas. Bridges are built not just for this Christmas but throughout the year, that open doors to orphanages, schools and hospitals. The Russian Christians who are distributing the gifts always see in such amazing ways how God uses this outreach to grow their churches.

“When the people in the villages and communities see the churches sharing the Gospel message through helping needy children it opens their hearts in ways that are just amazing. The children will talk to their families about what’s happened and they see the love of Jesus in action and it draws people to the churches to the Gospel in ways that are just wonderful.”

Appealing to Western Christians

As Christmas draws increasingly closer Anita is urgently appealing for more help from Western Christians: “Russia is not so much on our radar as needing our help these days because we hear about all their oil and natural gas that there are a rising superpower. The stories that we often don’t hear are millions of hurting children in the country where the population is dropping at the rate of half a million to a million every year, where there are more orphans and street children that military.

“The message is these are God’s children who need to hear about the love of Jesus and we have an unparalleled opportunity and open door to do that as we are able to help the Christians in the former Soviet Union who are doing what they can in providing Christmas gifts. Our heartfelt request is to find partners in the West who would help us to help the Russian Christians put those Christmas gifts in the hands of these children so they can know about Jesus, the great gift of all. Russian Christmas is mostly celebrated on January 7^th so we still have some time even beyond December 25 but these next few weeks are critical to building bridges to at least 50,000 children.”

To find out more go to: www.russian-ministries.org where donations to Project Hope can be made online.

Sorted - the UK's number one magazine for Christian men.

Getting your Christmas present for men ‘Sorted’

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:57:14 +0000

UK national evangelist Steve Legg says the ideal Christmas present for the men in your life is a subscription to Christian men’s magazine Sorted.

“It’s a gift that lasts all year. Instead of a pair of socks or some cheap after shave for a dad, a brother or a son it is a gift that will really bless and encourage people for the whole year. Every two months this lovely glossy magazine, at least 80 pages, will be dropping through peoples’ letterboxes,” said Sorted editor Steve Legg.

Steve, who’s been on the road for more than 21 years as a Gospel escape artist and illusionist, launched Sorted two years ago as a positive, wholesome alternative to men’s magazines like Nuts and Loaded. He says the immediate reaction was extremely positive even from one of the UK’s top national newspapers: “The Daily Telegraph loved it and called it ‘the lad’s mag with morals,’ and that’s stuck. It’s just been so exciting how that’s grown.”

Steve says if you haven’t got a man in your life how adopting a subscription of the magazine for a soldier: “We still send about 1500 copies of Sorted every time literally to the ends of the earth. Every Royal Navy ship has got copies of it, every submarine, every marine base, all the RAF bases. So how about adopting a copy to go out there?

“We’re told that every magazine is read by about 50 men. That is phenomenal for £18 a year or £3 every two months or £1.50 a month you could be reaching 50 men. It works out at about 3p per person. What a great evangelistic opportunity.

“Many of us get terrified of knocking on peoples’ doors or stopping people in the street with a Christian tract, but this is really easy to do and it does make a difference. We get wonderful feedback from guys out there in Afghanistan and all over the place saying they picked up a copy of Sorted and they love it.”

Sorted - the UK's number one magazine for Christian men.