Brian Fikkert, author of When Helping Hurts, Professor of Economics & Community Development at Covenant College, and Executive Director of The Chalmers Center, answers the question: “Is there a way for rich churches to partner better with churches and church plants in poor communities for the long haul?”

We put this question to Lewis Allen recently when he was with us for a church weekend away. This is one of the most popular questions we are asked when it comes to ministry in schemes and council estates. There are many who think we should dispense with the sermon full stop and just have […]

Brian Fikkert, author of When Helping Hurts, Professor of Economics & Community Development at Covenant College, and Executive Director of The Chalmers Center, answers the question: “What is the greatest challenge facing the church when it comes to evangelism and discipleship in deprived communities?”

I am being approached more and more by people (always middle class) who are not convinced by the issue of class within the UK. According to one recent conversation, 20schemes is“over egging the pudding” and, incredibly, “deliberately and provocatively stirring up dissension that doesn’t really exist”. Certainly, whenever I am invited to speak about the […]

Lewis Allen is the pastor of Hope Church, Huddersfield. He is also the director of Gospel Yorkshire, an organisation committed to the spread of gospel churches in the Yorkshire area. Lewis recently joined Niddrie Community Church on our annual weekend away, where he taught a series on the guarding the heart. We spent some time […]

This book fell into my hands through my friendship with 9Marks. They asked me to do a review for them, but it laid on my pile for months before I got round to it. It was one of those that I picked up but then got distracted by another one and so put it back […]

About a month ago, we had a pastor from America visit us for a few days. Anthony Mathenia is a pastor from Radford, Virginia (Christchurch, Radford) and is also on the board of Heartcry Missionary Society, a worldwide organisation. We found the big fella to be very quiet and very respectful of what we are […]

Last week I was watching a BBC documentary looking at an area in Wales where people spent the most money on beautifying themselves. The programme studied men and women spending all they had (and didn’t have) on looking good. They had personal trainers, hair extensions, fake tan, teeth whitening sessions, and one guy even spent […]

A couple of weeks ago I went to New Word Alive to deliver a couple of seminars on poverty in the UK and reaching the lost on council estates (and schemes). My only previous experience of NWA had been two years prior when a couple of us had gone with a stand to publicise the […]

The Bible is a big book. For a lot of our people within the schemes it is a VERY big book. Within its pages we find lots of different kinds of literature: poetry, prophecy, history, narrative, letters, and apocalyptic writings. It’s hardcore. Understanding it correctly is not easy, but it is certainly not impossible. We […]