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Issue 202 •
NEW LIFE NEW LIFE
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Donors give Church leaders spreading HOPE in city £500k in just four months A NEW online giving facility has seen more than £500,000 donated by Christians in the first four months since its launch. The new facility, provided by Stewardship, a tax-efficient clearing-house for charitable donations, opened its doors to a small number of existing account members in a low-key launch in July. The average donation made so far is over £250, more than double the figure given on average by Stewardship’s account members. The early success has caused Stewardship to accelerate login invitations to the rest of its giving community and open the doors to new members.
TRUST Mike O’Neill, CEO of Stewardship said: “People clearly trust us with their giving. This is more than just an online donation facility though. This is the most significant giving development in the UK for the Christian community.” In order to make online donations, visitors to the Stewardship website will need to open a charitable giving account which works a bit like a bank account. They can then credit their accounts online by credit/debit card, and make donation requests to Stewardship, who subsequently make grants. Grants can be made to more than 17,000 registered recipients including secular charities as well as churches, ministries and Christian workers around the world. In the last 12 months Stewardship handled donations totalling more than £45million.
Teaching aid goes mobile
THE PAIS Project, a ministry that reaches hundreds of thousands of students in schools around the world, is to develop a solution for distributing teaching resources via mobile devices. The move will allow users to conveniently search through relevant, quality teaching outlines and training videos. Pais say their target is to resource 100,000 schools workers worldwide. A selection of content will be available free of charge, with users being able to purchase additional resource downloads. Users will also receive weekly inspirational tips from Pais on how to reach their school communities and create mission-minded students.
Funnyman to hit the road
COMEDY evangelist Mark Ritchie is having a busy autumn with his one man shows, and is expecting to have a fruitful time in December as he packs in seven nights of his tour, Are You Feeling Christmassy Yet? Mark (right) said: “I am excited about completely un-churched people coming to hear my show, and I believe God is going to really use these events for his glory.” For tour dates visit www.73rdtrust. com
MORE than 50 church leaders and hundreds of worshippers gathered at the HOPE Nottingham launch event to share their vision for united social action in the city. Roy Crowne, Director of HOPE Together, and Steve Clifford, Director General of the Evangelical Alliance, commissioned Nigel Adams as Director of HOPE Nottingham, and affirmed the whole team at the launch. Nigel said: “Celebrating the success of what we have already achieved together as HOPE
and looking forward to a new phase of working across denominations, was hugely encouraging. “The success we had in 2008 [Through the national Hope08 social action campaign] got us imagining how much more we could serve people in need and bring people to Christ if we truly worked together throughout the borough. “There is so much more to do, but we could see transformation in Nottingham.” “Small stalls offering prayer at summer festi-
vals have developed into Healing on the Streets. Through HOPE, the healing teams now minister every Saturday in the centre of Beeston, and there are plans to develop in other parts of the city.” Roy Crowne added: “Meeting with Nottingham leaders has been such a privilege. “This group of people are really getting to the essence of what God is asking them to do on their patch – to share his message through words and actions.”
EXTRA CELEBRATIONS FOR RESCUED MEN THIS CHRISTMAS
miners see the light stuck underground! TWENTY-two of the 33 miners who spent 69 days in a Chilean mine have a special reason to celebrate Christmas this year. That’s because it will be the first time they will be enjoying Christmas as Christians. Jose Henriquez – the 24th miner to be rescued – revealed that twothirds of the miners who went to work on August 5 this year weren’t followers of Jesus. But by the time their ordeal half-a-mile underground ended on October 11, the group of 22 had joined their workmates and committed their lives to Christ. Henriquez told the story when he joined international evangelist Luis Palau on stage at the Santiago Festival in October. Speaking to tens of thousands of people who had gone to the Plaza Italia to hear Palau, the story clearly made an impact on those in attendance, helping lead thousands in public commitments to Jesus Christ. Henriquez reported that during the nightmare, 22 of the 33 miners prayed to surrender to Jesus Christ. He commented in a private gathering with Palau: “I do hope they will follow through and walk with Christ for life.” In a previous interview Henriquez said: “We were singing to the Lord, we were doing what pleases the Lord. So everyone accepted him, many of them reconciled themselves with the Lord, some of them made promises to him.” During their time underground, Mr Henriquez asked for 33 Bibles to be sent down to the miners in a small capsule. And he told The
LIGHT FANTASTIC... Jose Henriquez, who became known as The Pastor, is taken from the mine Times that they took part in Bible studies twice a day. Speaking about the moment when the miners were discovered by a probe, Mr Henriquez said: “Any man is only a mere instrument in the hands of God. The resources of faith, this is what moves mountains. Only the Lord could guide that drill to us.” Alfredo Cooper, chaplain to Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, said: “They all say this, ‘We were not 33, we were 34 because Jesus Christ was with us down there.’” Henriquez’s story continued to go out on Saturday, October 30, when the evangelist Palau spoke to
the crowd while wearing the shirt that Henriquez was wearing when rescued which said: “Thank you Lord.” He used it as an illustration for his own evangelistic message, sharing the hope we all have in Jesus Christ.
speeches During his time in Chile, the evangelist, who was accompanied by his son Andrew, also spent 30 minutes with President Sebastian Piñera. They discussed several topics during their meeting, including the importance of public officials
recognising God in their statements and speeches. Palau pointed out the promise made by God in the Bible: “Those who honour me I will honour.” The preacher also shared the biblical story of the prodigal son with President Piñera – a picture similar to that of the president welcoming the miners one by one during their rescue operation. “I don’t believe it’s sacrilegious,” said Palau. “To say that during that operation you were a picture of God the Father welcoming those who repent and believe in Jesus Christ, whom he welcomes one by one.”
Preacher: addicts need Jesus Graham daughter speaking date A PREACHER has said that drug addicts and offenders can’t find a way out by trying harder. The Rev Dr John Scott said: “People can’t change by good intention. It takes a strength that they don’t have. We’ve had a number of uplifting cases of criminals whose lives have been totally changed because they found a source of strength greater than any other – belief in Jesus Christ. ” Dr Scott, who is the chief executive of the Daylight Christian Prison
Trust, will be giving two talks to drug addicts and ex-offenders in Brighton. “We talk tough when we speak to addicts,” he said. “We know that when you’re a habitual addict it takes courage to make the move. “But addicts know in their hearts the addiction doesn’t give them any real, lasting pleasure. Lasting cha nge comes th rough t u r n i ng to Jesus Christ, drawing upon his strength to change and living with hope for the future.”
ANNE Graham-Lotz, the daughter of famed evangelist Billy Graham is to speak at Premier Media Group’s Woman to Woman (W2W) conference next year. The announcement came as more than 1,300 women from all over the UK gathered in London for this year’s W2W conference. Anne is one of only two women to make a list of the top most influential preachers of the past 50 years, The popularity of the conferences has attracted worldwide attention,
resulting in the award-winning and best-selling author agreeing to address the gathering in October 29 2011. Maria Toth, W2W host, said: “Billy Graham’s visit to the UK marked a key moment in our country’s religious history, inspiring many people to find a place for God in their lives, but now the baton for sharing that message has been passed on to his daughter. “We look forward to her providing spiritual inspiration.”