Travel by car, bus or train (one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world -it is said!) Walk the Peace Bridge (if it’s not blowing a gale). Make your way past the Guildhall and up Shipquay Street to the Diamond. You are now entering the historic Cathedral Quarter of the City of Derry. Where are you going? You are heading to Gateway Shop on Pump Street in the heart of the city!

Solas is the Irish word for ’light’ and is in the name to provide a simple evangelistic opportunity to point people to Jesus who is the Light of the World who came into the world in order to rescue those who are in darkness. SOLAS is also the term used to highlight five important Bible truths of the Reformation known as the Five Solas: Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone), Solus Christus (Christ Alone), Sola Gratia (Grace Alone), Sola Fide (Faith Alone) and Soli Deo Gloria (to God’s Glory Alone).

The Logos School of English Education in Cyprus is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. It has had many faithful Christian workers throughout its time. The school has around 350 pupils in Kindergarten, Primary and Secondary School. There are 39 nationalities represented in the school from a variety of different religions. We interviewed one of the teachers to find out more about Cyprus and how God is working there.

A Reformed witness has been sustained in Knockbracken since 1772 and the ministry of the Rev. William Stavely. Over the years, the Lord Jesus Christ has provided Knockbracken with 15 ministers.

Chad is the largest land-locked country in Africa and is rich in diversity: The landscape flows from the sub-tropical South to the Saharan North, home to over 130 distinct people groups, each with their own language, culture and religious expression. A Muslim-majority country with a significant portion of Christians and traditional religions too, there is a great deal to be learnt from the largely peaceful, tolerant way of life.

In standing firm, the Algerian Church has become an example for other Christians in the region, especially those from a Muslim background. Algerian believers are “all Muslim converts, but they’re not afraid; they’re resisting” the forced closures, Youssef described. “They want to keep their churches open, so it has given a lot of hope and also shown to the world that it’s possible: They’re not only willing to believe but they’re also willing to suffer.”

Bulgarians have known oppression from many hands. In the late 14th century, the Ottomans conquered Bulgaria, and the country was part of the Ottoman Empire for the next 500 years. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria came under the influence of another major power, Russia. The People’s Republic of Bulgaria, as the country became known after the Second World War, was ruled by the Bulgarian Communist Party from 1946 to 1989. This history has resulted in a significant lack of trust in government, authority and outsiders.

Melbourne is the second-largest city in Australia and the capital of the state of Victoria. It has an ethnically diverse population of around 5 million people. Pre-COVID lockdown days, Melbourne boasted in the title of being Australia’s capital of culture, coffee, fashion, food, education, and sport. It still is the home of the famed Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and the Australian Football League (AFL). It still is home to 7 Australian universities and also five university satellite campuses. But where Melbourne was once known as the most liveable city in the world, pride goes before the fall, and it is now best known as the most locked-down city in the world!

Before I went, I thought - Angola is a Christian country, do I need to go there? But being here over a year, I was like yeah, Angola still really needs the gospel.

Albania achieved fame for being the most closed country in Europe during the period between WWII and the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was subject to an even more extreme form of Marxism than the rest of Eastern Europe. During that period, it was well known that it was the first country in the world to outlaw all forms of religious expression – except worship of the Party of course! Then, in a spectacular turn around, it became one of the most open countries for Christian outreach during the 1990’s

Someone recently said to me that “now the US is gone things will return to as they were in the past.” That is a complicated statement as many do not realise what Afghanistan, and particularly Kabul, used to be like.

The congregations of Ballenon and Ballylane are a joint charge, both congregations in and of themselves being too small numerically and unable financially to have a pastor of their own.  The church buildings are located just over halfway between Armagh and Newry in the townlands of Loughguilly (Ballenon) and Mowhan (Ballylane). Currently there are two elders in Ballenon and three in Ballylane (one of whom is retired from duties due to advanced age).

This is a story about an Australian school teacher, a Co Down farmer, a long boat journey to Ethiopia, language study, three children, schools, clinics, chickens, chess sets, two famines, a revolution, a civil war and a spider plant. Sort of in that order.