New Voices for New Days Reflecting on the beatitudes Get Involved Lifewords and you
Issue 90 / 2–2025
Editorial team
Jess Bee
Kris Calver
Steve Bassett
Photographs
Lifewords unless otherwise stated
Cover photograph
Dan Hardie
Design
S2 design and advertising Ltd
Print
Yeomans Creative
Lifewords is the operating name of Scripture Gift Mission (Inc), registered charity in England and Wales, 219055
Registered office 1A The Chandlery, 50 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7QY
Interact is free, available three times a year from your nearest member of the Lifewords global family of organisations (see page 15).
Lifewords
... for the
Shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life.
Philippians 2:15-16 niv
“It is a privilege to give Lifewords resources to the women I give pastoral care to. I thank your supporters and want them to know how much they are a blessing to women in prison. I am very grateful for the booklets provided by Lifewords and for those who support the organisation.”
Gill Dickson, prison chaplain
Starting this spring, you will begin to encounter a different way of interacting with Lifewords. We’re launching Lifebringers – introducing Lifewords as a collaborative movement to equip and empower people like you who share Scripture’s living hope wherever you are – reaching
the world, holding out the Word of Life; sharing mutual experience and learning; supporting and encouraging in the good and bad and inbetween of this mission.
Giving. Living. Sowing. Growing.
Continued on page 4
Words Steve Bassett
SHARING THE JOY
We know that Lifewords supporters have a passion for the Bible. Like us, you know its value as part of your own faith story. You’ve experienced that living it out can be life-changing – and you long to share that joy with others. If this is what fuels your everyday life – then you are a Lifebringer! Lifebringers are everywhere: individuals, groups, and congregations. Every time you share the gospel, comfort, or encourage someone, you reflect the Bible’s life-giving message –in churches, in the workplace, in the community. You’re already making a difference right where you are! Together, we can do even more.
“Every time you share the gospel, comfort, or encourage someone, you reflect the Bible’s life-giving message” Connecting with UK churches, and serving young people (above); engaging with the beatitudes through NINE BEATS (below).
HELPING YOU REACH OTHERS
We want to celebrate, support, and resource in word and deed – living the Way of Jesus in neighbourhoods, churches, youth groups, food banks, hospitals, schools, sports clubs, studios, factories, offices –everywhere. We love seeing how our resources are used creatively and effectively in such a range of contexts. A particular group of Lifebringers we resource is chaplains. Chaplain Revd Matt Martinson from HM Prison Humber, says: “The transformation ... is phenomenal. These resources have literally saved lives.”
As we bring together the concept of Lifebringers, with your support we can enable many more prison chaplains with much-needed resources. Partnering with us can equip and encourage those already bringing life to their communities – igniting hope, inspiring change, and transforming lives.
SUPPORTING YOUR MISSION
“How can Lifebringers help me, my community, my church?” That’s a good question! We’re here to support your mission, and to equip as many church communities, and individual Christians with as many practical Lifewords tools and innovative ideas as possible. Whether you’re leading a small
group, running a community project, or sharing the Bible in a variety of creative ways, we want to walk alongside you. We’d love to see if we can match our heritage and flare in engaging Scripture in pastoral, outreach, seasonal, subjectspecific, people-group-specific, culture-facing, church-facing, and any number of contexts with your own – to share our joint passion to make a difference in the world.
A NEW FOCUS
Lifebringers is another way to tell our story. We’ve always been about sharing the Bible’s invitation to life. We do that through our celebrated Bible literature range, our online and digital resources, and our projects and programmes that engage, advocate, and inspire in the UK and around the world. Lifebringers is a new focus on this – inspiring and equipping, partnering and collaborating.
So, what’s next? At first, you’ll see Lifebringers emerge in our communications. We hope people will see it as a way of identifying with the Bible’s life words in action. We’re planning on showcasing Lifebringers through a series of church presentations and events, in exhibitions, and perhaps even specific Lifebringers resources. There will be ways for churches to collaborate with us in
producing resources that we don’t yet have, but that you need!
A NEW MOVEMENT
So, you’ll be joining a community committed to sharing Lifewords resources, engaging with our programmes and projects, and sharing stories of different ways of bringing life. And we’ll invite new friends to engage, pray, donate, and help us in this mission. Whether it’s covering the cost of the resources and/ or enabling us to supply those who otherwise couldn’t afford them, your generosity sparks transformation and hope –and brings life.
We’re excited about celebrating the difference we’re all already making, and partnering with others to expand this life-giving mission. Watch out for Lifebringers this year!
“Lifebringers is another way to tell our story”
Sharing the Bible through digital and print media (above and below).
Building Community
All over the world, churches provide a hub for friendship, connection, and meaning; spaces where people from all backgrounds can gather, not only to worship and find spiritual nourishment, but to receive practical help and to be welcomed as valued members of the community.
“Not seeking to judge, fix, or rescue, but to come alongside and love one another”
In Sutton, UK, C3 UnitedLife is a church that is connecting with its community, and using Lifewords resources to bring life. As well as Sunday services and midweek groups, it runs a high street café, provides debt support, and hosts Kintsugi Hope wellbeing sessions.
A SAFE SPACE
Kintsugi Hope – its name inspired by the Japanese technique for repairing pottery with seams of gold – is a charity with a vision to grow a movement of wellbeing groups, where people who struggle or who have felt overwhelmed can experience a safe and supportive space. Kintsugi Hope groups empower churches to serve their communities with an attitude of humility, not
seeking to judge, fix, or rescue, but to come alongside and love one another. Last year, UnitedLife was the recipient of a Little Brick of Little Books for Kintsugi Hope, and another for the café.
The Little Books are made available at each of UnitedLife’s Kintsugi Hope sessions, with time given at the beginning of each session for everyone to look through the various resources available. “The Little Books have been so popular that one of the Little Bricks was empty within a week,” says Katherine from the church.
“Kintsugi Hope explores depression, anxiety, forgiveness, and loss, along with other themes, so the Little Books of Joy, Chaos, and Help have been particularly popular in this context.”
Katherine (left); members of the café team (right)
Words Clare Doughty
NEW LIFE
The work that the church does through Kintsugi Hope often dovetails with that of their debt support service. “There is a diversity of people and experiences in Sutton, with pockets of people who are experiencing high levels of poverty,” says Katherine. “We find that a number of people attend both our Kintsugi sessions and our debt support (run in partnership with Christians Against Poverty) due to the overlap in their experience of debt and poor mental health.”
Through these spaces that offer both practical and wellbeing support, the church is seeing people find hope and new life. Lifewords resources play a part in helping people as they take the first steps on their faith journey. “One lady that we provided debt support to started coming along to a number of our church activities and began to show an interest in the Christian faith,” says Katherine. “The lady shared that she felt
the Holy Spirit working in her, but that she found the Bible overwhelming and difficult to read due to her struggle with lower literacy and dyslexia. We decided to give her Daily Strength, which provided her with a much more manageable way of engaging with and reading the Bible each day. She later put her faith in Christ and was recently baptised at church.”
SHARING GOOD NEWS
Alongside the more reflective offerings of Kintsugi Hope and debt support, the church’s café is a thriving hub of the community. Located on Sutton’s high street, good coffee, tasty food, and a warm welcome are underpinned by the team’s desire to reach people with good news, taking time to interact with each customer and show them that they are valued. “We love having the Little Brick available for people to look through in the café,” says Katherine. “Many choose to take with them a Little Book that resonates with their context.”
“Daily
Strength … provided her with a much more manageable way of engaging with and reading the Bible each day”
Give thanks for churches that are serving the needs of their community.
Praise God for how Lifewords resources are supporting the ministries of C3 UnitedLife.
Pray that more churches would use Lifewords resources to help people connect with God and find new life.
PRAY
world NEWS
Love in Many Languages
Every day, Christians around the world use Lifewords resources to share the message of God’s love in diverse, multicultural settings. Often this means carrying multiple booklets in a variety of languages. But now Lifewords have a new resource coming soon to the Global Bible Resources range, that encompasses good news in 50 different languages.
Love in Many Languages is a pocket-sized booklet, featuring a core gospel message in the 50 major world languages spoken by 5 billion people, ensuring that communication is no longer a barrier to sharing good news with those who speak a different language. More than just an outreach tool, Love in Many Languages is a snapshot of Lifewords mission – making Scripture accessible across cultures and languages. It’s a glimpse into a world where language is not a barrier but a bridge, connecting people through the timeless message of God’s love.
AI-generated images have been used to celebrate cultural diversity without depicting real individuals
Resourcing estate churches
In March, Lifewords partnered with The Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication (CCX) at their multiply estates mission conferences in London and Bristol. The conferences focused on the challenges and opportunities of ministry on estates, and were an encouraging example of Christians taking time to listen to, value, and deeply connect with communities.
CCX is a leading centre for church growth in the UK, equipping churches to reach new people, in new and renewed ways, with the good news of Jesus Christ. One of the priorities of CCX is estates and communities where there is no church, with the aim of planting and resourcing churches and “new worshipping communities”, and to resource and equip existing estate churches.
At the conferences, Lifewords met many estate-based churches and leaders who shared how much they value and appreciate the quality and relevance of Lifewords resources for their work and mission. “One church leader from an estate community in north London was full of praise for Lifewords resources and how they had really helped them in their work, and how well received and valued they were by people on their estate and community,” says Matt Currey from Lifewords. Barbara, from St Kat’s Church Westway in west London, also spoke about how important Lifewords resources are: “Thank you for giving us Little Book of Joy, we plan to give them to our ‘Families Church’ parents this afternoon. They are delightful little books of Bible verses.”
Matt Currey (above, right)
Life
Kids
For more than a decade, the Lifewords team in Indonesia has been supporting hundreds of ministries bringing life to vulnerable children living in both urban and rural areas. Lifewords helps these groups by providing Bible resources and ongoing training, and by facilitating a network of encouragement and support.
In 2020, when Covid-19 restrictions were put in place in Indonesia, many of these ministries lost connection with the people they were trying to support. One ministry in the area of Cileungsi saw many people suffering the effects of Covid-19 – sickness, death, unemployment, poverty, school closures. Parents were unwell and unable to look after their children.
MEETING A NEED
In the midst of the despair and uncertainty of the pandemic, Lifewords was able to help the Cileungsi ministry continue to support people, both practically and
spiritually. In line with local Covid-19 restrictions and guidelines, Lifewords ran a mid-week gathering with songs, games, teaching, and nutrition for the children. Each child was gifted food for their family, along with a Lifewords flipcard or booklet. With a clear structure in place, this format now had the potential to be implemented in many locations. As Lifewords connected with local churches and organisations, the children’s ministry grew, and others caught the wave and wanted to be part of bringing life too. A local businessman wanted to help: “I saw
Words Dan Hardie
Markus (below)
your ministry and knew that you were not in it for fame or fortune,” he said. “Ministry among the poor is something I want to support. If it’s rice or milk, Scripture printing or clean water, I’d like to contribute.”
Another offered to print t-shirts so the children could have a similar uniform and feel like they are part of something special.
A NETWORK OF LIFEBRINGERS
For Bible college alumni and rural pastors, the children’s ministry, now called Life Kids, helps them connect to a wider ministry. Markus from Medan, Sumatra, graduated from Bible college and began a role as Life Kids Ministry coordinator and teacher in Cileungsi. Every Wednesday, he would teach maths, English, literacy, and science to children between the ages of 9 and 12. He would then join the rest of the team in the bigger weekend outreach event, often with 200 children. Soon Markus was ready to start his own Life Kids Ministry.
“A lady in our church had an empty rental house and said we could use it,” says Markus. “It has a good veranda area under cover, and we can fit around 150 children out of the rain. I was surprised how quickly word spread. We do not even give food parcels, but still the children and parents want to come. When we give the yellow
t-shirts at Christmas, even the parents ask if they can have one! I think they want to be part of something special. And this is special.”
FUTURE LIFEBRINGERS
Currently, there are 68 branches of Life Kids Ministry in different parts of Indonesia. From Kalimantan to Manado, West Java to Timor, even Denpasar in Bali. Most ministries have over 150 children attending and they follow a simple two-hour format: structured games and fun, learning through song and group activities, Bible stories and group discussion, prayer and nutrition. Those running the ministries feel they are part of a network, which is so important as many are in rural places, or isolated from main centres. It’s a special way for young ministry leaders to stay connected, and for church leaders to be active in outreach.
Gunar Sahari, Lifewords Indonesia Director, believes they are building the next generation of faith leaders with a heart for the poor and a passion for the Word.
Give thanks for Life Kids and for the vision Gunar has to serve communities in Indonesia.
Praise God for the pastors and Bible college students who are reaching out to young people.
Pray that these outreaches would have a lasting impact in the communities and lives of the young people.
FRESH INSIGHT
Since 2017, Lifewords has been inviting people to explore the Way of Jesus – summed up by the beatitudes in Matthew, chapter 5 –through NINE BEATS and Ninefold Path. Now, Lifewords has released brand-new content to add to the Ninefold Path landscape. With the passing of time and the shifting of cultural, political, religious, and social landscapes, new pieces from new contemporary voices, written from the heart of today’s contexts, are reigniting the urgent relevance of the beatitudes as “a welcome not a weapon, tender not toxic, inclusive not divisive”.
These new reflections on the beatitudes bring new insight on Jesus’ words from a wide range of perspectives and cultural backgrounds, and are a timely reminder that the ancient wisdom of the beatitudes remains as pertinent and vital as ever. Continuing the expression of NINE BEATS, they offer a fresh and vital invitation to explore the beatitudes’ themes of meekness, peacemaking, and lament – themes that are not easy, but which stir us and call us to action; call us to live differently in the midst of the many challenges of today’s world.
“Meekness is as powerful as it is radical. That’s why Jesus used it and exampled it. It’s an astonishing value.”
Noel Moules, Shalom Quest
“Peacemakers are the thread on our finger to remind us that we belong to each other as next of kin.”
Revd Dr Starlette Thomas, The Raceless Gospel / Good Faith Media
“This fragile beautiful human is the suffering friend, the saviour in solidarity with all who mourn.”
“There is a focus in the east to focus on the beatitudes as a way of meditation rather than information.”
Pall Singh, Founder, Building Bridges, Edinburgh
Words Jess Bee
Photos Jason R. Hamilton-Chronis
PEACEMAKERS
In a world desperate for peace and harmony, could nine ancient sayings light the way ahead? This question was posed as an invitation to the NINE BEATS Candles in the Velvet Night mini-tour in San Diego in February. Steve Bassett joined NINE BEATS collaborator Heatherlyn to present soul-nourishing music, storytelling, and reflection around the beatitudes. The week of events included two hourlong live streams, two full concerts, a contribution and interview at Riverside Church, a feature at the Writers Round (a San Diego venue), and contributions and collaboration for the “meditation for peace” event, plus an inaugural podcast for the Kardia Community.
In such diverse contexts, across a range of faith and cultural perspectives, the connection and relevance of the words of Jesus was palpable – all delivered with the unique mix of Heatherlyn’s amazing vocals and playing, allied to Steve’s spoken word and complementary guitar. The pair delivered songs from the Nine Beats to the Bar album, plus a number of new songs they have written together.
San Diego-based Matt Nash –a long-time friend and collaborator of NINE BEATS and founder of the Kardia
Community – was instrumental in organising some events. He has now set up a ten-month online Ninefold Path learning lab. Everyone is welcome, no matter where you are based. There are ten 90-minute sessions, one per month on Zoom. You can join them by searching for the Kardia Community on Instagram.
THE NINEFOLD PATH
The Ninefold Path is an experiential journey through the ancient wisdom of the beatitudes (found in Matthew 5) and is designed for individual or group use. Each beatitude (or, “beat”) offers a short invitation to reflect on, with three practical “experiments” to put the words of Jesus into action in our daily lives.
Visit ninefoldpath.org to be challenged, moved, and inspired by the personal and passionate contributions of our new collaborators.
Heatherlyn (left) and Steve Bassett (right)
Promoting events on Instagram
GET INVOLVED
LIFEWORDS AND YOU
Lifewords pastoral range
Whether you’re supporting a friend on their faith journey, ministering to someone who is unwell, or standing alongside someone who is grieving the death of a loved one, our pastoral resources help us engage with words of hope and comfort found in the Bible.
Through verses for each day of the month that ask for God’s help, and tell God’s promises, Daily Strength offers hope for every day, and strength for every circumstance.
Why Me? asks hard and honest questions about serious illness and suffering. Written with experienced psychologists, this booklet is a tried and tested tool for sharing life words even in difficult times, and offers ways to pray and talk about the future.
When life is hard, where does hope come from? When we have no strength left, what help is God? Originally written for partners working with refugees and displaced people, Finding Hope is used all over the world with people in situations of crisis or personal trauma.
Living with Loss was developed with bereavement counsellors and deals honestly with heartache, anger, fear, and loss. Verses (many from the Psalms) are coupled with evocative photos.
Be part of the community
Lifebringers is about supporting and connecting with Lifebringers around the world. Guidance, prayer, practical assistance and more – we want to share the ups and downs, the triumphs and trials, as we walk the Way of Jesus together.
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
As Lifebringers, you’ll continue to access the world of Lifewords resources – printed, digital, and online tools that help us share the Bible’s message in ways that really resonate. But it’s not just about us – it’s what you bring too. We want to inspire and be inspired by you – we’ll be gathering and sharing stories of how others are bringing life, offering ideas and encouragement to power our mission. There’ll be partnership opportunities too – when we join together as Lifebringers we can amplify our impact – from collaborating on events, to equipping your church with bespoke resources.
Send us an email (uk@lifewords.global), or go to our website (www.lifewords.global), and start telling us about how you’re bringing life.
CONTACT US
Get in touch with the Lifewords global family. Find us online at www.lifewords.global, or contact your local office.
AUSTRALIA australia@lifewords.global
BRAZIL projectoc@lifewords.global
CANADA
+1 905 683 6482 info@sgmcanada.ca
KENYA
+254 20 2730100
kenya@lifewords.global
INDONESIA
+62 81294210986
indonesia@lifewords.global
INDIA
+91-9538811181
india@lifewords.global
POLAND europe@lifewords.global
UK & INTERNATIONAL OFFICE
+44 (0) 20 7730 2155 uk@lifewords.global
Lifebringers are everywhere - sharing the Bible in love and action. We’re here for you. Together, we can do even more.
“The booklets are so easy to read and beautifully designed.”
Rachel, Exeter, UK
“[Ninefold Path is] a phenomenal discipleship resource and transformational experience in the Way of Jesus.”
Erik, Guildford, UK
“I just want to truly say thank you for investing creativity to make scriptures from the Bible so impactful.”
