If we really want to make an impact for Christ in the many housing schemes up and down our nation, then we must be prepared to move into the area. This is the golden rule. There are no exceptions for our leaders. Ministry will fail dismally, particularly if the leaders are not part of the […]

One of the questions I am routinely asked by (mainly) middle class, educated people who are interested in this type of work is: “Can I do it even though I don’t have the life experience or cultural background?” My answer is (almost always) a resounding, “Yes!” We don’t disqualify people from planting in a particular context […]

In a fallen world, everything is impacted by sin, including our bodies, our minds, and our sense of identity.

20schemes is five years old this month (although the idea was birthed over a decade ago while church-planting in Brazil). Personally, I am entering my nineteenth year of pastoral ministry. During that time, I have worked in council estates in the UK, the slums of Brazil, and now in Scotland with 20schemes. We currently have […]

Since the mid-1990s, the demographic of the UK has shifted from the 1950s/60s pyramid, with the bottom layer being the working poor, to a diamond. The thickest middle layer includes the aspirant middle-class that has grown from the manual labouring working class; there is a narrower layer of labouring working class; and then a growing […]

“Now the works of the flesh are evident: …enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy… and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Gal. 5:19–21) I was talking to one of our trainees about the […]

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27)

This is the fourth part of a longer conversation on the topic of race and class. Check out part 1, 2 and 3 here. In this video, Mez McConnell, John Onwuchekwa and Sung Kim talk about the gospel deficit in our country and how the evangelical church can even the playing field for those from […]

This is an extremely provocative book and I absolutely loved it. Although written for a North American cultural mindset, it is certainly applicable across much of Europe. The byline is, ‘How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself’. We live in a culture where the concept of a ‘missions trip’ […]

Yesterday we looked at a series of questions I would consider to be fundamental when seeking to work in partnership with voluntary groups, mission teams, and individual donors. Today, I would like to reverse the questions. So, if you are an individual seeking to support a work like ours (or any work for that matter), […]