Steve reports from Culloden

by Editor

One of the best aspects of the work I do with Solas is that I get to travel to different churches and venues all around the country– sometimes even further afield. Recently I had the opportunity to head up to head up from Perth to Culloden-Balloch Baptist Church, just outside Inverness.

This was the fist time Solas has worked with the church, and I was invited to preach in the morning service on one of my favourite texts, 1 Peter 3:15 – a clear call to the discipleship of the mind and being able to share our hope in Jesus with those around us. It was a great time of worshiping the Lord together and also really good to meet some new people. My wife, Robyn, was able to join me and we were warmly welcomed.

In the afternoon I was scheduled to do some evangelism equipping with the church – but first we headed off to explore Inverness for a few hours. What a beautiful city!

The afternoon session was on The Art of Conversation, an equipping session on how to better engage in conversations that can lead to spiritual things, and on to the Gospel. This was followed by a great time of Q&A with 40 or so attendees. I’m always encouraged to see how churches are intentionally trying to reach the community around them with the hope of the Gospel, and Culloden-Balloch Baptist is definitely committed to this.

This is the first time I’ve done this format – preaching in the morning service and then doing a training session in the afternoon. It seemed to work very well, and slotted in well with the regular rhythm of the church, where they try to do something different in the afternoon/evening on Sundays.

Why not consider getting a Solas speaker out to your church to do the same!? We love serving the local church in this way, and maybe this is the format that may work for you.

With Clare Williams

by Solas

This week we have the return of Clare Williams, who contributed three chapters to our book, Have You Ever Wondered? She explains how contemporary questions around race and social justice so quickly point to the gospel when you take the time to wonder about their importance.

With Clare Williams – PEP Talk

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Our Guest

Clare Williams is the founder of Real Questions, a platform which explores the intersection of race and faith within the Black British context.  She is also a speaker and tutor at The Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. Prior to her work in apologetics, she was an English teacher in London secondary schools for ten years. Clare has a degree in English Language and Literature from Oxford University, and Masters in Leadership (2012) and Culture, Diaspora and Ethnicity (2021) from the University of London. She is now a doctoral student conducting research in Sociology at The University of Westminster.

About PEP Talk

The Persuasive Evangelism Podcast aims to equip listeners to share their faith more effectively in a sceptical world. Each episode, our hosts chat to a guest who has a great story, a useful resource, or some other expertise that helps equip you to talk persuasively, winsomely, and engagingly with your friends, colleagues and neighbours about Jesus.

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Launch Pad 26: Harness Your Passions

by Editor

I will never forget the T-shirt evangelist! For years he wore T-shirts with Christian slogans on them, hoping that someone on the morning commute would ask him about the gospel. Sadly, no-one ever did, so rather despondently he gave up, grabbed an ordinary T-shirt and went to work. Slumped in the train carriage in a well-worn and much loved Harely-Davidson T-shirt, he was asked by a stranger, “So, do you ride a Harley?” After much motorbike chat, the conversation moved through from questions of the relative merits of various classic bikes to the year off from riding he had been forced to take from illness—into questions of life and faith. The T-shirt evangelist got further by harnessing his passions to connect with people.

Natural communities form around all kinds of interests, passions and hobbies, both in the real world and online, and often in both. Sometimes niche, unusual (or just plain weird) interests often have lively well-connected social scenes attached to them.

I am a fan of British 1970s rock and prog music, which probably qualifies under several of those aforementioned pejorative adjectives! Several years ago, I joined an online forum about one of these bands, which (although a secular band) have written some very thoughtful and indeed spiritual lyrics. Every Monday there is a “track of the week” to discuss, when everyone can chip in their thoughts and responses to the song. Sometimes it’s esoteric discussions about chord-progressions and time signatures; but I have also had the chance to post about love, faith, Jesus, hope and church. Reactions can be mixed to say the least. However, it has led to some really interesting private conversations on email with people who have wanted to know more. Meeting up at gigs has then deepened these relationships.

So what are your passions, interests or hobbies? How can you use these as a catalyst to build significant relationships with people who share your love of Shrewsbury Town FC, baking, reading, rock-climbing, stamp-collecting, the poetry of William McGonagall, ornithology, cinema, or whatever floats your unique boat? One friend of mine has found that the local cycle-touring community creates repeated opportunities for life-deep conversations as they pedal through the countryside together. It has become the frontline for his Christian witness.

Pray: Father, please enable me to use my interests to build meaningful relationships with others for you. Amen.

Previously: Launch Pad #25 Practice your testimony – and pray for an opportunity to share it

Next: Launch Pad #27 Gear life-events towards non-Christians too

Churches, schools and outreach too! Andy on the Isle of Jersey

by Editor

At the invitation of the churches, and a school in St Helier, I went back to the Isle of Jersey for my second visit, I did three days of work in the school there, covering seven or eight different lessons, examining things such as the arguments for the existence of God, the differences between Christianity and Islam, Christianity and human rights – a whole range of topics. These were really enjoyable, and not just because the topics are really lively, but because in the classroom context you teach a bit, them get them discussing, then teach a bit, then do more discussion. It was good to see how engaged the students were with the subject matter, especially those 17-18 year olds doing ‘A’ level who were quite sharp and articulate which made the classes quite fun. It was really good to engage with the Religious Studies (RS) teachers too. One of them was a Christian while the other didn’t state what they believed, so that led to some good conversations there too. The school also has a Christian Union group so it was great to support them a little too.

Schools work is something which we are doing more of at Solas. It usually comes about as the result of an invitation from a Christian teacher. In this case it was a maths teacher called Simon, who also helps the Christian Union in the school, who took the initiative. He’s well-known as a Christian in the school, because he had taken to ending his tutor-group sessions with a short prayer. Students responded really positively to this, and started to bring him prayer requests. The headteacher heard about this, and asked Simon to stand up in the staffroom and explain what he was doing. That led to some really good conversations with other staff members. So, schools work always comes along as the result of a personal contact with a teacher or youthworker or school chaplain. Some churches are being really proactive in reaching out to their local schools and offering to help them, and doors open. Prayer too is really important, in my first ministry job which was as a schools worker, all the opportunities came about because a group of Christian parents started a prayer meeting.

Simon Lewis, the maths teacher at Jersey Girls College commented: “Andy’s lessons were really appreciated by the teachers. Andy joined the school C. U. meeting for lunch and it was a really helpful forum for Year 8 students , in particular, to ask questions about lots of aspects of Christianity –  for example, “Who wrote the Bible?”. I think students really appreciated his answers, and enjoyed his company!

St Helier is Jersey’s capital city and the church organised an outreach event there, which I spoke at one evening. I used the “Why am never satisfied?” title to open up the question of the human quest for hapiness and why we want it, and why it can be elusive! There was a small crowd who came to that, but importantly some non-Christian people came along, which was encouraging.

On Sunday I preached at the Anglican church in St Helier and looked at the vital subject of ‘The Uniqueness of Jesus.’ That’s a sermon which seems to help and encourage Christians to think through what it means when we affirm that Jesus really is “the way, the truth and the life!” It’s also something that brings the claims of Jesus into sharp focus for those who are perhaps associated with the church, but who aren’t really sure what they believe beyond a vague spirituality, a sense of something bigger and beyond themselves and are looking at the options. It helps them to focus on the claims of Christ specifically and to respond to him.

Then we did a Confident Christianity event to help Christians to share their faith more wisely and confidently. It was a follow-up event to one we did a couple of years ago, and it was encouraging that more people came this time, from seven or eight different churches across several denominations. The partnership between them and Solas is developing and we are hoping to go back there again to take things even further. On this occasion I looked at ‘engaging the apathetic’ because lots of Christians in Jersey say that many of their friends are “more disinterested than hostile” to the gospel. The other topic we did was “5 steps to answering any tough question”, because there is a fear of push-back which is stifling Christian witness.

So it was a real joy to work with Simon, the schools, the churches and meet so many interesting people on Jersey. They are talking about another ‘Solas-week’ in two years – and we’ll make that happen if we possible can.

Isn’t The Bible Irrelevant?

by Solas

Isn’t the Bible irrelevant? Outdated? Many people think so, but when we consider some of the most pressing questions of our age, a different picture emerges. What does it mean to be human? How can I live a good life? Can I choose my own identity? On all these questions (and much more!) the ancient text of the Bible contains clear, compelling answers that are not only relevant, but even relatable.

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Please share this video widely with friends or family and for more Short Answers videos, visit solas-cpc.org/shortanswers/, subscribe to our YouTube channel or visit us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.

Support

Short Answers is a viewer-supported video series: if you enjoy them, please help us continue to make them by donating to Solas. Visit our Donate page and choose a free book as a thank-you gift!

Launch Pad 25: Practice your testimony and pray for an opportunity to share it

by Editor

I love engaging with the big questions about life:  where do we come from? why are we here? what is the good life? what happens when we die? – and showing how the Christian faith has good answers to these questions which are both existentially satisfying and intellectually robust. Along with that, the Bible also commends that we share our own story of how we came to put our faith in Christ, and how he has changed our lives. Evangelism can never be simply academic, it must also be personal, we should be willing to talk about God’s finding us and working in our lives to mould, comfort, challenge, and grow us.

Sometimes we hear the testimonies of those who are radically changed by Jesus breaking them out of the prison of drug addiction, gangsterism, or militant scientific atheism, and we can think that perhaps our story is less powerful. Let me encourage you that it is not. It’s in no way less significant when you remember that each and every person who is saved by Christ has the most significant story to tell – they were dead, and now they are alive. That is significant! And that is a story worth telling, and your unique story will appeal someone like you. A good testimony is not one which is dramatic, it just has to be true!

Your story of God’s saving you, and then His work of continual grace in your life is something that you can share with anyone – and it’s a story that cannot be taken from you. No argument can steal it, no objection topple it – it is the story of you meeting your saviour and being rescued from darkness. The fear of death evaporated by life eternal, the guilt of sin overwhelmed by radical grace, the loneliness of the world dimmed as we are bought and brought into a family and woven into Christ as the body, each one of us. You have a story to tell!

We can each tell the story of God’s grace in our life in so many ways. Spend some time thinking about the difference that your faith in Jesus makes in your life even today as you face the world, and then pray for opportunity to tell that story.

Prayer: ‘Lord, give me opportunity to tell my story’

Previously: Launch Pad #24 Join a Short Term Mission Trips

Next: Launch Pad #26 Harness Your Passions

The Free Church Youth Conference

by Editor

I was recently invited to speak at the Free Church Youth Conference at Lendrick Muir
outdoor activity centre. This was my first time at this event, and it was such a pleasure to be
there – what a buzz of excitement and activity with having so many younger people all
together. The topic I was asked to teach on was ‘What About the Bible: Fact of Fairy Tale?’.
This is one of my favourite topics to speak on for two reasons. The first is that it’s a question
that I asked when I was in my teens. I always wondered if the Bible was in fact reliable, or if
it was just some fiction conjured up by the church. I was attracted to Jesus and the Gospel,
but was it all actually true?

One Sunday when I was about 19 years old a pastor at the church at shared a message on
this topic, and shared some of the reasons why we can trust the Bible – it was a pivotal
moment in my faith journey. And so what a privilege it is to me that years later I have the
same opportunity to share about the trustworthiness of the Bible with large groups of
younger folk. I shared at two separate break out sessions, each attracting around 40 people,
and had a time of Q&A at each session. I came away encouraged by the turn out – showing
that this is still a question that concerns people – and by the engagement in the Q&A time,
which really pointed out that this is something important to people and that they want to dig
deeper for themselves and also learn how to share the truth of the Gospel with their friends
and family.

PEP Talk with Matt from Frontiers

by Solas

In many parts of the UK, we can expect to encounter people from Muslim backgrounds in our communities. Sharing the Gospel with them can be a great opportunity, but can be daunting. There are many assumptions we can make, but how can we approach them in a spirit of humility and friendliness? Today’s guest shares with Andy from his experience working with Muslims in the UK and in Pakistan.

For more information on the resources mentioned in this episode, email Matt<at>frontiers.org.uk

With Matt from Frontiers – PEP Talk

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Our Guest

For over 20 years, Matt has been with Frontiers, a mission agency dedicated to making disciples and planting churches amongst Muslims. He spent most of his 30s in northern Pakistan, where he had close calls with terrorism, sectarian fighting and a massive earthquake. Now based in the UK, Matt regularly speaks at CUs, churches and conferences on God’s heart for all peoples and how to communicate the gospel to Muslims. He hosts a podcast, called Raw Mission and has just begun volunteering as a prison chaplain.

About PEP Talk

The Persuasive Evangelism Podcast aims to equip listeners to share their faith more effectively in a sceptical world. Each episode, our hosts chat to a guest who has a great story, a useful resource, or some other expertise that helps equip you to talk persuasively, winsomely, and engagingly with your friends, colleagues and neighbours about Jesus.

SUPPORT THE PODCAST

Launch Pad 24 : Join A Short-Term Mission Team

by Editor

What could grow your spiritual life, reach the lost, encourage a struggling church, forge lifelong friendships, allow you to see new parts of the world, experience new cultures, encourage your church, equip you for ministry and be the adventure of a lifetime?

The answer is going on a short-term mission trip this summer with an organisation like GLO, who have run them successfully for years. This year they are sending mission teams to Albania, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, Romania, Tanzania, as well as teams within the UK too.

Obviously something that good comes at a cost and the price to pay here is a week of your holiday and around £100 towards costs. However, it is a week that could change lives forever—including your own!

Some folks have never considered investing a week in a mission-trip, others did them when they were young and then gave up, some think that short-term trips don’t do lasting good. Stephen from GLO Europe wants to challenge such thinking. He reports that:

  • Host churches all over the world say that visiting teams are a huge encouragement to them. One pastor wrote: “Thank you so much for your ministry and all the help you gave us. We saw the heavens open and the Lord’s hand working beyond natural expectations.”
  • Teams are multi-generational and not just made up of young people.
  • Groups from one church can serve together. One youth group from Glasgow went to the Czech Republic. “There is also no doubt that the experience of serving in a cross-cultural context had a profound effect on the young people” said their leader.
  • Thousands of gospels and tracts in tens of languages are given out all over the continent!

Student ministry, literature distribution, children’s clubs, street-work, church-based programmes, arts, parties, youth clubs, open-air work, drama, quizzes, church services, practical help are just some things that short-term mission teams get up to.

There is however one significant danger in short-term ministry trips. Some people find that the experience is so transformative that they sign up to become long-term missionaries! So don’t just think about what you might be able to get in your holidays, but what you might be able to give.

Pray: Lord, my time is yours. How do you want me to spend it?

Previously: Launch Pad #23 Start or Join a Christian Workplace Group

Next: Launch Pad #25 Practice Your Testimony and Pray for an Opportunity to Share It.

Evangelism in Pitlochry Festival Theatre!

by Editor

We often talk about doing evangelism by ‘taking the gospel outside the four walls of the church’ and into public spaces where people feel comfortable coming to listen, engage and ask questions about the Christian faith. Over the years these have taken us to cafe’s, pubs, restaurants, hotels, offices, MoD bases, schools, golf-clubs, and outdoor centres! Pitlochry Baptist Church hired the fantastic Festival Theatre in their town and invited Andy Bannister to come and speak. It really was quite the venue! Hear the full story in the video link above,

Will Animals Go To Heaven?

by Solas

“Do animals go to heaven?” That was a question Andy Bannister’s daughter asked after the death of a pet. And it’s a brilliant question: is Christianity only concerned with human beings? Or does it have something to say about the natural world and animals in particular?

Share

Please share this video widely with friends or family and for more Short Answers videos, visit solas-cpc.org/shortanswers/, subscribe to our YouTube channel or visit us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.

Support

Short Answers is a viewer-supported video series: if you enjoy them, please help us continue to make them by donating to Solas. Visit our Donate page and choose a free book as a thank-you gift!

Launch Pad 23: Start or Join a Christian Workplace Group

by Editor

The place where Christians interact most with people who do not share their faith is at work. It’s not just that most of us spend large proportion of our waking hours with colleagues, it’s also that as we work alongside people—sharing challenges, joys and frustrations—that we can forge deep connections with others. For most people, the office, school staff-room, or shop-floor is their ‘frontline’ where their faith intersects the world. And it is often challenging.

Thousands of Christians are finding renewed courage and opportunity to share their faith in their workplaces, by joining together with other Christians there. The growth of Christian Workplace Groups is an exciting international phenomenon and in the UK they are springing up in hospitals, water companies, aircraft manufacturers, government departments,  the Army, finance, logistics, publishing, brewing and insurance companies, and hundreds of other places. In London alone there are now 694 registered Christian Workplace Groups!

These groups vary enormously. Some meet just to pray and encourage each other in their individual faith, lives and witness. Other groups offer to pray for people in their firm. Some groups hold outreach events in the workplace, or an adjacent café. There is no formula for what has to be done, but there is the universal testimony that the Christian life and faith is lived more effectively together.

Virtually every group was started by someone who said, “That couldn’t happen here” and “I could never do that”, yet somehow by the grace of God it has, and they did.

The charity “Transform Work” was set up to assist Christian Workplace Groups and has loads of information about how to go about setting up and running one. They have experience in everything from how get a group running, how to work cooperatively with HR departments and navigate the world of Diversity and Inclusion bodies and policies. They also have inspiring stories of what is achieved when Christians are more visible for Jesus at work, in-person and online.

Their website is a wealth of helpful information. And you can access their free booklet “Starting a Christian Workplace Group” here. Christian mission is much easier if you do it alongside others. Consider how to grow your collective witness in your workplace.

Pray: Lord, please help me to wisely, truthfully and graciously be seen for you at work. Amen

Previously: Launch Pad #22 Get The Word Out!

Next: Launch Pad #24 Join A Short-Term Mission Team

Christians, Muslims and God!

by Editor

Andy Bannister from Solas was recently asked by the CS Lewis Institute in the USA to revisit the theme of his 2021 book, “Do Muslims and Christians Worship The Same God?” as part of their ‘Challenging Questions’ series.

The article, (following the book) do a detiailed textual comparison between the kind of deity described by the Qur’an and that found in the Bible. Andy finds some points of commonality as well as some significant and irreconcileable contradictions between the two portraits and this is useful as it facilitates a respectful dialogue between Christians and Muslims.

Click below to read the article

Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?

If you would like to find out how to get a copy of “Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?” click here. 

Launch Pad 22: Get the Word Out!

by Editor

One of the Solas team spoke at a “Meal-with-a-Message” event put on by a local church. After the meal and the talk there was a Q&A, during which a non-Christian guest asked a series of questions about faith that culminated in him signing up for the church’s Alpha course. At the end of the evening, we asked him whether he’d been brought along by a church member. “No,” he replied, “I saw an advert about tonight’s event in the local newspaper and it sounded really interesting.” He went on to say it was the first time he’d set foot in a church in decades.

It’s great to put on a Meal-with-a-Message, or some other kind of evangelistic event, or a carol service—anything where non-Christians might feel welcome—but we need to let people know it’s happening! As well as preach the Word, we also need to spread the word!

How can we do this? Here are some ideas:

  1. Pray! (For fruit from your event, for creative advertising ideas, for God to draw people in).
  2. If you can, find someone in your church with a flair for publicity and promotion. (When it comes to social media—see #4 below—young people are often especially gifted in this area, so why not get them involved?)
  3. Get the event into the local newspaper—many local newspapers have “What’s On” sections. (You could also offer to send a report and a photograph after the event, or ask if somebody from the newspaper would like to come to the event as a guest and report on it. Local newspapers are often eager for fresh story ideas beyond ‘Football Team Stuck up Tree’ or ‘Local Cat Loses to Neasden FC Again’).
  4. Publicise the event on any local social media groups. Just be sure to abide by any group rules and don’t spam people (If in doubt, ask first for advice about how to advertise your event).
  5. Put up posters in local shops, the community centre, the library etc.
  6. Hand out leaflets on the street.
  7. Distribute leaflets door-to-door.
  8. Encourage church members to invite friends. (A Solas Confident Christianity event might also help boost their confidence in asking people to events).

Pray: Father God, help us as a church not just to be creative with our outreach events, but to be creative in spreading the word about those events. Amen!

Previously: Launch Pad # 21Run a ‘Meal with a Message’ Event

Next: Launch Pad #23 Start or Join a Christian Workplace Group

HTTAJWLLAI in Sweden!

by Editor

It was a great privilege to lead a webinar for Apologia Sweden. That is an evangelism and apologetics group based (unsurprisingly!) in Sweden. They invited me to join them for an online interactive webinar about my book, “How to Talk About Jesus Without Looking Like An Idiot” (HTTAJWLAI), to which between 75-100 people showed up.

It was a particular privilege for me to serve an organisation in Sweden, because I have Swedish connections through my wife who is part Swedish. It was brilliant actually to see so many students and young people there on that Zoom event.

I shared for about 45 minutes some of the principles from the book about how we can share our faith in Jesus with our friends. We thought about how we can use questions to start significant spiritual conversations, looking first at the gospels and the ways that Jesus does that, and then at some practical tools we can use to start and then develop these conversations.

Then we had a great and very lively Q&A session, and it was great to get such a good range of questions showing that the folks there were really active and passionate about sharing their faith with others. Martin Helgesson from Apologia Sweden agreed, writing: “The event went very well! We had a good turnout and the questions that came up after Andy’s talk were thoughtful and moved the conversation further. It is always encouraging to interact with Christians who sincerely want to pass the gospel on to friends, family and coworkers.”

That’s encouraging because Sweden has the reputation as being a very secular country like the UK; but it’s important to recognise that there is also life in the churches there! It was especially encouraging to see young people and life there. Through my family connections and many visits to the country I am aware that some of the older denominations are contracting, but that is not the whole story by any means. I have seen evidence of real life there when I have been over speaking in universities and in student settings.

At Solas, our vision is for the UK but we do also like opportunities to bless, encourage and resource what others are doing. One of the joys of digital technology is that I can do that from my office, even though they were all on the other side of The North Sea.

The whole meeting was recorded and appears on the Apologia Sweden YouTube channel here. Martin Hegelsson wrote: “Several participants showed a clear interest in putting ideas into practice, and many more expressed their gratitude for Andy’s clear and concrete presentation. We are very grateful for Solas and for Andy’s help in pursuing a culture of persuasive evangelism in Sweden!” I was delighted to be invited, and really enjoyed meeting and working with them all.