"Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers." - VoltairE

Showing Tag: "mission" (Show all posts)

What I learned about prayer from my friend and her lucky crystal

Posted by Anne Witton on Monday, April 20, 2020, In : Random stuff 


I’ve just read ‘Faitheism’ by Krish Kandiah and found it really helpful and thought-provoking. He seeks to diffuse the ‘us vs them’ polarisation that often characterises interactions between Atheists and Christians and explores ways that we can find common ground and forge more meaningful relationships.

In the chapter on suffering he highlights a couple of case studies where Christians have been disciplined or fired from their jobs because they’ve offered to pray with people at wor...

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Picture This Thought - Microphone [Spreading news - Easter special]

Posted by Anne Witton on Monday, April 20, 2020, In : Video 
A reflection on how the good news of Jesus’ ministry, death and resurrection spread in the early church and how we can take up the challenge of Jesus’ Great Commission to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.




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Coronavirus - opportunities for mission

Posted by Anne Witton on Wednesday, March 18, 2020, In : Random stuff 


In these uncertain times, many people are understandably feeling a mixture of emotions including fear and anger. For many, the things that they find security in like health, work, finances and comfortable living are being taken away. It's easy to panic. It's easy to react by hoarding tins of meatballs and packets of loo roll. But how do we as God's people respond? Here are 3 very simple things that I have found helpful:

  1. Remembering that God is still sovereign. This is not a surprise to God. Th...

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21 sites for shareable Christian videos

Posted by Anne Witton on Wednesday, November 6, 2019, In : Video 


One way to initiate conversations about faith is to share and discuss video content. There are some really innovative Christian ministries, filmmakers and musicians making thoughtful Christian media which you can share with your friends.

  1. Global Short Film Network - Films with discussion questions
  2. Yes He Is - Evangelistic videos on a mobile app
  3. Moving Works - Short, beautiful evangelistic films
  4. Fervr - Videos for Christian youth
  5. Go Chatter - Videos to get people talking about Jesus
  6. Share These - Ani...

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9 Christian women you should know

Posted by Anne Witton on Friday, May 17, 2019, In : Random stuff 
  1. Susan B. Anthony (1820 - 1906)
    Born into a Quaker family with a long history of anti-slave activism, Susan B. Anthony developed an early sense of fairness and justice. She dedicated her life to women’s suffrage after joining the women’s rights movements in 1852. She campaigned for the abolition of slavery, the right for women to own their own property, to keep their earnings, as well as their right to attend higher learning institutions.


  2. Sojourner Truth (Unknown - 1883)
    She was born a sla...

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5 ways the prophecy of Joel challenges today’s church

Posted by Anne Witton on Wednesday, April 3, 2019, In : Bible study 


Joel as a missional book

I recently wrote an assignment for my Master’s which involved a missional reading of the book of Joel. I could pick any passage of Scripture I liked and there were several times I regretted choosing Joel, but I’m glad I stuck with it as it’s an oft-neglected book of the Bible which has an important message for the church today. When I started, all I knew about it was that it involved a lot of locusts!

As it turns out, Joel’s prophecy demonstrates the whole redem...

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The strange little band of the gospel

Posted by Anne Witton on Monday, November 19, 2018, In : Move magazine 
'Mission in Community' is the theme of the latest edition of Agapé's MOVE magazine. In it, the principal of my college, Rosalee Velloso Ewell, has written a profoundly challenging piece about being on mission together:



"I would suggest that one of the greatest challenges to the gospel in Western culture is independence and the individualism that goes with it. There is nothing Christ-like about being independent.

In the Bible, when independence is prized, things go badly. Adam and Eve sin so th...

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Why I agree with the atheists: 9 reasons I’m pleased that Christendom is crumbling

Posted by Anne Witton on Thursday, March 22, 2018, In : Reflections 


You may have seen a recent Guardian article with the headline “'Christianity as default is gone': the rise of a non-Christian Europe.”

Lots of vocal atheists are hailing this as good news, and there are 9 reasons why I agree with them.

But first, a (very short) history of Christendom. Christendom can be defined as simply the global community of Christians, but that’s not how I’m using the term here. Bishop Curry in ‘Farewell to Christendom: The Future of Church and State in America’...

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10 Christian podcasts to grow your faith

Posted by Anne Witton on Wednesday, February 7, 2018, In : Random stuff 


This is the third post in my series on recommended podcasts and there are some absolute gems to discover.

(1) Nomad 
Topic: Interviews with Christian thinkers
Frequency: Fortnightly
Run time: Variable. Usually about 90 mins.
This is my current favourite and I listen to it while I’m swimming (on a waterproof MP3 player). Tim and David present a fascinating showcase of thoughtful viewpoints. Topics range from ecology, uncertainty and consumerism to LGBT identity, the arts, and mission-shap...


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Bountiful conference: Transforming others through our gifts

Posted by Anne Witton on Monday, February 5, 2018, In : Talks 
This weekend I had the privilege of speaking at the Bountiful Women's conference in Sevenoaks. My workshop was entitled 'Transforming others through our gifts' and we looked at some key biblical principles regarding gifts and well as women using their gifts in mission from the early church in the gospels and Acts, through church history to the present day. We also looked at practical and creative ideas to use our gifts in evangelism and social action.

Listen to the workshop here


Talk trans...

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Finding a future in the age of fear [MOVE magazine feature]

Posted by Anne Witton on Friday, May 5, 2017, In : Move magazine 


The latest edition of Agapé MOVE magazine is out and it's a great read. The theme is 'Finding a future in the age of fear' and it's packed with interesting articles and resources. As editor Danielle Wilson says:

"I don’t need to tell you that global events over the last year or so have left many of us feeling uncertain about the future, unsure if we really know our neighbours and perhaps paralysed in the face of unfathomable suffering.

We live in a world where talk is cheap, answers aren’t...

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Agapé MOVE weekend

Posted by Anne Witton on Thursday, December 8, 2016, In : Events 


Coming up in February is the Agapé MOVE Weekend - a celebration of 50 years of ministry in the UK and a chance to be envisioned and equipped for sharing the gospel. It will also incorporate the Fireseeds annual student gathering. I would like to invite you to come along and here are 5 reasons why I think you'd love it:

  • There will be a real atmosphere of celebration and some truly inspirational stories of God transforming lives.
  • There will be some great teaching and workshops on how to share ou...

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Snapshot

Posted by Anne Witton on Wednesday, October 5, 2016, In : Ministry 

Snapshot


Over the Freshers’ period, we have been running a photo project called Snapshot, inspired by the ‘Humans of New York’ blog. Snapshot is a fun and simple way to meet new students, capture a snapshot of who they are and give them an invitation to the Student Life society.

We took ordinary packs of playing cards and stuck a different question to each card. Students were invited to pick 3 cards at random and answer the question that most appealed to them to be featured on the Snaps...


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4 Thoughts on Evangelism

Posted by Anne Witton on Sunday, August 14, 2016, In : Reflections 


At church today we were reminded that as saved children of God we're all on mission. Our church banner says "Word, Community, Mission" to remind us that sharing our faith is an integral part of living as Christians in our world.

So here are 4 thoughts about the privilege and responsibility of sharing our faith:
  1. Evangelism stems from our own walk with God.
    Peter of Rheims, a French Dominican friar, said "Anyone who is not burning will not be able to set anyone else on fire."
  2. We're all qualified fo...

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Living Authentically [Move Magazine Feature]

Posted by Anne Witton on Saturday, May 7, 2016, In : Move magazine 


The latest edition of Move magazine is out and it's a cracker! It's all about how to live out and speak out our faith authentically in our communities, our families, universities and workplaces. There are loads of great ideas and conversation starters. Look out for the stories of two students from the North East, as well as the 'Word on the Street' feature where Emily and I had great fun talking about God to people on the streets of Newcastle!

Here's how Communications Director Danielle introd...
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We Are Women

Posted by Anne Witton on Tuesday, January 19, 2016, In : Ministry 
At Student Life in Newcastle, we're very excited to have just launched our We Are Women project. We Are Women aims to empower women on campus to creatively explore, express and celebrate who they are.

We're running a photo project in partnership with The Holy Biscuit, discussion groups and outreaches to engage, affirm and build friendships with women on campus on deepening levels.

We had our first photo shoot last week and it was great fun! The next photo shoots are 3 - 5 Feb and are open to al...

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Visualising the Great Commission

Posted by Anne Witton on Wednesday, December 2, 2015, In : Infographics 
I've been experimenting with a great free online tool for making word clouds called Tagul. I uploaded a world map and then put in Matthew 28: 16 - 20 and here was the result (click to enlarge):


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Sharing our faith together

Posted by Anne Witton on Monday, October 5, 2015, In : Ministry 


I recently did a seminar at the annual TfT conference on the topic of sharing our faith with our gay friends. One of the things that I'm particularly excited about is sharing my faith in community, so here are some thoughts on that.

Evangelism is a team sport. There are three key reasons why sharing our faith together is important:

  1. In the body of Christ, we all have different and complementary roles.
    “If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were a...

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God's Big Story in 10 videos

Posted by Anne Witton on Thursday, July 23, 2015, In : Resources 
My colleague Duncan has been working on an exciting project to help tell the gospel story through a series of 4min videos, all shot with the gorgeous backdrop of Newcastle and the surrounding area.

God's Big Story gives an overview of the story of the Bible in 10 parts and helps us to reflect on our own life in light of it. The videos take us through Creation, Fall, Patriarchs, Exodus, Kingdom, Exile, Messiah, Church, Judgement and New Creation.

There is an accompanying handout with the script,...
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Perspective - Free spiritual conversation app

Posted by Anne Witton on Monday, June 1, 2015, In : App review 


It can sometimes be difficult to know how to get a conversation about spiritual things started without it seeming weird, which is why I like using tools like Soularium which make spiritual discussions natural and fun.

Another tool that I’ve found helpful is the Perspective app, which has the added bonus that it’s free and you always have it with you as it’s on your phone. It can help you explore your worldview on your own, but is probably more useful with one or two other people so that ...

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The Prodigal Son [Guest Post]

Posted by Anne Witton on Tuesday, April 14, 2015, In : Reflections 
One of my friends and mission partners, Susanna (or Constable as I call her, rather ridiculously!), has recently written a very thought-provoking reflection on the prodigal son and has kindly allowed me to repost it here. She writes from the point of view of the church and the LGBTQ community as that is her area of ministry, but I think it's applicable to anyone who has felt less than welcome in the church, for whatever reason. It captures the spirit of how we're trying to connect with studen...

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Evangelism castles

Posted by Anne Witton on Thursday, March 19, 2015, In : Ministry 
Recently, we've been doing a lot of thinking as a team about our model of ministry and how we do evangelism. Duncan has helpfully come up with a diagram that illustrates how we've been trying to move away from an 'Us vs Them' approach to evangelism in the way that we run Student Life.

My own personal conviction and approach to evangelism has changed over the years as I've grown in my faith and sought to help others come to know Jesus personally. I was definitely guilty in the past of taking qu...
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Invitation to the Agapé Move weekend

Posted by Anne Witton on Wednesday, March 11, 2015, In : Training / conferences 


Details have just been released for Agapé's Move weekend - a chance for staff, supporters, student leaders and church leaders to enjoy fellowship, evangelism training and worship together. I'll be going and would love to be joined by friends and supporters. I think it'll be a really exciting time to hear stories of how God's at work and gain practical help with sharing our faith in our circle of influence, so why not check out the details and pray about whether you'd like to come?

12-14 June ...

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Sharing life together

Posted by Anne Witton on Wednesday, October 22, 2014, In : Church 

As conservative evangelicals we sometimes criticise non-Bible-teaching churches for being ‘just a social club’, but isn’t there also a danger that church sometimes isn’t enough of a social club? Part of church should be really enjoying being together, having a laugh, sharing experiences, eating together, catching up on news, caring, praying, crying and celebrating together. There can be a danger that we make church too academic - listening to a lecture on Sunday and studying the mat...


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4 thoughts about the Great Commission

Posted by Anne Witton on Monday, September 1, 2014, In : Bible study 
At the weekend, I had the privilege of speaking at Kelvin Grove Church in Gateshead. I shared some thoughts about the Great Commission, and thought it might be useful to summarise them here.

Matthew 28 is one of the most exciting chapters in the Bible. The preceding chapters have been an emotional roller coaster - Jesus has had the final meal with his friends, was betrayed by one of his closest followers, was arrested and dragged before the high priest. Then he was disowned by Peter, who had p...
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