Feature articles published in 2022

Review of the year 2021

Highlighting the most clicked pieces in The Baptist Times last year

New Kapporet launched midway through 2020. Its director Tim Harding shares some of the key lessons the Lord has taught

The most recent meeting of the Fellowship of Baptists in Britain and Ireland (FBBI) included an insight into how Lebanese Christians have sought to respond to the crisis in their country. It was both stimulating and challenging, reports Stuart Davison

A new resource for an age-old question - who made God?

One of the most-asked questions about God is addressed in a new family resource created by Baptist church member and Christian app developer Joanne Gilchrist

Protect your church and its community

The first Baptist Insurance article of 2022 highlights the handy risk calendar for churches, and its home emergency cover

'It really has been life changing'

Introducing Kids Matter, which engages local churches to equip parents and carers facing disadvantages with confidence, competence and community, enabling their children to thrive. By Carol Richardson

The Eyes of Tammy Faye

New film is a sympathetic portrait of a Christian woman who spectacularly fell from grace

Need help with Leviticus?

Baptist minister and tutor Helen Paynter introduces a new, short video series on one of the trickiest books in the Bible

Wellbeing - we talk about it a lot, but do we know what it is?

Interview with Ruth Rice, whose new book A-Z Wellbeing is an accessible introduction to help you attend to your own wellbeing

Cyrano: A story of love or lust?

A film that asks questions about the nature of love. Review by Mat Gale

Finding unity in the heart of Christian ethics

The International Baptist Theological Study Centre is hosting a conference in Amsterdam from 4-6 May on the theme “The Heart of Christian Ethics.” Theologian-in-residence David Gushee explains more

Ladder safety and working at height guidance

The latest feature from Baptist Insurance

Five tips for exploring our children’s biggest questions about God and science

By Steph Bryant, co-author of 101 Great Big Questions about God and Science

The witness of Baptist churches in the Russia-Ukraine War

And what you can do to support them. Joshua Searle on the "silent heroes" bringing light and hope to local communities throughout the whole of Eastern Ukraine

Navigating the brave new world of media

How do you effectively reach people online? Graeme Spencer of Media Mentoring shares a way forward

'Beautiful blend of powerful truth with touching musical response'

Kevan and Jill Sutton of Millmead, Guildford Baptist Church, present passages of Scripture from memory accompanied by viola improvisations. A new resource for your ministry?

Father Stu: The R-Rated Christian Film

The story of a damaged man training for the priesthood portrays faith in a realistic and authentic way

More like David, less like Saul?

What was different about two men who were so similar at the start - and how does this relate to us today? The first blog of a new series about leadership, by Terry Young. The five part series will examine aspects of David's life

Loyalty and loving kindness

For David, loyalty was a difficult but essential practice. What lessons are there for Christian leaders or leaders in training?

Reading the situation

David often made decisions that mystified his advisors. How did he go about it - and what can we learn?

Moving the mental health conversation into the heart of the church

Corin Pilling introduces The Sanctuary Course, a new small-group resource designed to reduce stigma, raise awareness, and engage communities in meaningful conversations about mental health and faith

Communicating with God

David persevered and developed several communication channels, managing to integrate reflective communication with God alongside more formal lines, writes Terry Young in the fourth blog of his leadership series

Succession: a neglected theme today

Throughout his life, David perceived more of what mattered and focused less on the obvious. Despite some poor choices, he oversaw a royal hand-over and was alive when Solomon took power. We too have an investment option that will stand the test of time

Daring to believe

Christian media pioneer Terence Ascott has seen an 'explosion of interest in Christianity' in the Middle East - and in a new book and tour the SAT-7 founder shares highlights of 50 years of impact

Am I my neighbour’s keeper?

Helen Paynter offers a brief report and some personal reflections from the recent Christ at the Checkpoint Conference held at Bethlehem Bible College

'We want Sunday mornings to be the best part of the week for children and young people'

Duncan Reid introduces RaiseUPfaith.com – a new curriculum and resources platform designed to equip children’s and youth ministry leaders with high-quality, Bible-based multi-media content

Suggestions for your summer reads

In his regular offering at this time of year, Andy Goodliff selects seven books that will help us think about our Christian faith - and there's something for all ages.

Staying calm in the storm – how your church can respond well in a public crisis

Jersey Road PR, an agency which specialises in supporting churches and Christian organisations, has created a course to help churches prepare for the crisis stories they may face

Building a fundraising team

Baptist Insurance understands that building a fundraising team for your church may seem overwhelming, so it's put together some guidance on how to get started

Film review: After The Flood

Well-produced and easily understood documentary on the role of UK churches in the slave trade. By Chris Goswami

'Embodying the good news in marginalised coastal communities'

Barney Barron introduces Coastal Expression, a response to the often-unrecognised deprivation and spiritual needs of many coastal neighbourhoods

Supporting families in your community

Christian signposting charity the National Parenting Initiative can help your church determine how best to work with families in your community. One of the ways it does this is through its free monthly online vision events - Kayte Potter explains more

Praying for your local schools

September is a great time to focus our prayers on schools and to pray for children, young people and all those who work in them, writes Jane Newey. Here are some ideas and resources

Supporting you in your toddler group ministry

Helen Lock introduces this year's Playtime National Conference, an event for churches looking to start, grow or hone the Kingdom impact of their toddler group

'We have to be hopeful. But we have to be urgent...'

Climate activist and environmental scientist Laura Young (Less Waste Laura) on the solutions we must adopt 'to bring the world back into beautiful equilibrium', the importance of young people, and how her activism has led to her talking about Jesus

A warm embrace: welcoming internationals to our churches

2:19 Teach to Reach is a charity which aims to help churches connect with the international communities around them through English conversation classes. Its CEO David Baldwin explores how we can ensure our welcome of the stranger is genuine

'It's been stimulating, faith stretching and enriching'

Christina Carter has served the Baptist Union as a Trustee over the last six years, and has offered some reflections as she completes her term of service

Pure Heart: behind the songs

'I pray they would help people to have life changing encounters with Jesus' UK worship leader and songwriter Luke Wareham shares an insight into the songs from his latest EP Pure Heart

Welcoming prison leavers: the love of Jesus and that of the church

The number of churches supporting prison leavers is growing, says The Welcome Directory, a multi-faith organisation equipping faith communities in this area. By Amelie Taylor

'At such times, people are more open to think about those big questions'

The latest book from Baptist minister Nick Megoran is a timely one, as it revisits apologetics questions through the lens of recent crises like the pandemic, war, and financial collapse. He explains more in this interview

Jericho Road Project – evangelism and justice brought powerfully together

Mike Lowe recently had the privilege of spending a day with the Jericho Road Project in Nottingham, a Christian charity "showing Jesus’ love and hope to those affected by the sex industry in Nottinghamshire"

Is Kingdom working?

Can Christian values and modern best business practices genuinely align? And if so, how? New series in which Phil Hanson and Terry Young explore how human longings and behaviour play out in making business a platform for the Kingdom

'My hope is that people will read it and think about church differently'

Interview with freelance writer, teacher and Baptist church member Deborah Jenkins about her novel Braver, and her long-held dream of writing a book about people with faith

A lens on the Kingdom

The second part of the blog series 'Is Kingdom working?' attempts to try to understand the kingdom without parables - and then introduces a framework that connects business best practice to ethical virtues

Can business deliver Kingdom?

If business is to be a platform for making the world a better place, it needs to be both excellent in operation and Kingdom in purpose. Is there such a thing as Kingdom business?

Is Kingdom working? Spoiling the job

The bad fruit highlighted in Galatians 4 represents the very behaviour that spoils work. Here's a brief look at how.

Is God at work?

There are businesses trying to work out what a better work/life balance could look like in an always on world, which means, as Christians, we are living in a potentially fruitful time

'I hope it will inspire people to take action'

Interview with Robert Beckford, a climate and social justice professor at the University of Winchester, about why the climate crisis is a racist crisis, and his hopes for a new racial justice training programme for Baptist ministers

From 26 to 27. Another year. Another COP.

A shared call to prayer for COP27 from the Baptist Union Environment Network (BUEN) and the John Ray Initiative (JRI)

Why did that just happen?

Paul Ashley is an elder of Dorchester Baptist Church and a full-time pioneer. Under the name of Mind the Gap Ministries he has just launched two exciting new initiatives. He explains more

'Let us help you be a voice of hope to young people in your local hospital'

Christian charity Emerge Advocacy, which works with young people who have been admitted to hospital and are struggling with mental health issues, is seeking to partner with more Baptist churches

What does climate justice mean to you?

Climate justice is at the heart of the 2022 edition of Wonderful Youth, a resource that enables Black and Brown young people to read the Bible through their cultural and theological lenses

'We must give children and families a warm welcome this winter'

Transforming Lives for Good (TLG) are looking to equip more churches to open a Make Lunch Club during the winter and cost of living crisis. They explain more about their crisis response here

'Open our eyes to those who are crying out for help this Advent'

Krish Kandiah introduces a series of daily reflections he has produced for Advent, each day sharing an element of the Christmas story to help us to explore how we should respond to those in need

'We are looking to contribute towards more mission-focused small building projects'

One of the ways Baptist Building CIO supports Baptist churches is offering grants through its Empowering Change Fund. The latest round of grants is now open for applications