Below are some excerpts for the edification of the youth group.
Principal Dr Mike Ovey introduces the features (there is no by-line - a small production blemish perhaps - but a side-on picture of him so one assumes he wrote it):
When I think back to when I was growing up in the 70s, the message of the Christian faith often aroused nothing more than boredom or embarrassment when it was aired in public. Very few scientists or writers bothered to spend time on why they thought 'God is not great', in the words of the polemicist Christopher Hitchens.
They do now because the Christian faith, far from slipping into a coma as widely expected in the 70s, has become more powerfully attractive and controversial in our time.
For Christians in Britain today, this is a great moment to be alive and serving God. Our country, which has seen a long and painful decay of faith, is once again a mission field. People are hungry for the good news of God's love.
Particularly striking is the piece by Duncan Forbes of New Life Church on the Alton Estate, Roehampton. He writes:
A bloke just out of prison sat on my sofa and said: "If someone told me a year ago I'd be sitting in a pastor's living room, I wouldn't believe them. But you come from the same place as me, you've grown up the same way as me - but you're a Christian! I look at you and I see there's hope for me, I see what I could become."
He'd thought Christianity was only for middle class people - that it wasn't for someone from a council estate. I understand that, because the church is mainly geared for middle class culture.
It's one of the reasons I planted New Life Church on the Alton Estate - one of the largest council estates in the UK. And it's why we've started from scratch.
The article by the gentleman ministering in Preston is refreshingly honest. Daf Merion-Jones writes:
We came to Preston, Lancs, five years ago because we believe people need to hear the Bible taught in a way that is faithful, clear and relevant.
Preston is a city of 150,000 people, and All Saints church is right at its heart.
Our parish includes council housing, University halls of residence and 19th century terraces which are home mostly to people of Asian heritage. We have three mosques within half a mile.
What drives our ministry? It's the conviction that God will work by his Spirit when his word is preached, bringing people to know and love Jesus. I was grounded in this conviction at Oak Hill as week by week I was helped to understand God's word and equipped to teach it to others.
The challenges are great. We haven't even begun to develop relationships with our Asian community, but our God is great and the gospel of the Lord Jesus is the power of salvation for those who believe.
Oak Hill didn't teach me everything I need to know. But it did teach me that prayer, preaching and loving people are the heartbeat of ministry.
Efrem Buckle, ministering to African-Caribbean communities in south London, writes:
While mainstream Christianity is the fastest dying religion in the UK, according to recent statistics African-Caribbean churches continue to grow at a fervent pace.
There are many possible reasons, one being that such churches are often characterised by vibrant and emotionally charged preaching, together with singing that stirs the soul and lifts the spirit.
From my earliest years of growing up in this kind of church environment in south London, I've become aware of how these factors can be a spiritually incendiary cocktail, slyly creating a smoky fire that feeds on the true gospel, stinging the squinting eyes of those who hope to see the truth in Christ.
No amount of excitement and emotion, and no amount of 'God fearing' good works, can substitute for a theologically sound and robust view of God in Christ.
When the scriptures are wrongly taught, people miss out on the transforming power of the gospel. Oak Hill has really helped me unpack the word of God and distinguish between truth and error - and then communicate the gospel to others.
Praise the Lord - this theological college is working.
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