At Christmas celebrations, Mark Greenwood (pictured above, inset) challenges you to be Really Good News for family and friends.
In many ways it only seems like yesterday, yet in many ways it seems like ages ago. In truth, I am almost reluctant to mention it as we definitely don’t want to be reminded of it. However, the Covid lockdowns did inspire me to create a campaign, along with my colleague Andy Wopshott, Elim’s Communications Lead, called ‘Really Good News’.
We shared a ‘Really Good News’ story from an Elim member every day on our Elim socials. We produced a whole bunch of Easter weekend resources and then 165 Elim churches joined together to do an Elim-wide Alpha online, all at the same time. All this was under the theme of ‘Really Good News’. It was a four-month online campaign which I loved leading.
The ‘Really Good News’ name has stayed with me ever since. In fact, I keep imagining every Elim church joining together under ‘Really Good News’ to do evangelism in word and deed through the power of the Spirit.
Brexit, Covid, the war in Ukraine, the threat of nuclear weapons and now the cost-of-living crisis that shows no real end, even among a few shoots of hope, and who knows what is around the corner?
I have been sharing the gospel full-time since 1988 and I am more committed to and passionate about it than ever. Why? Because I am still convinced and convicted that the gospel is ‘Really Good News’, even when the world feels really bad news.
This isn’t something I hope is the case; no, I see it across our nation and in our churches. It’s easy to be discouraged and lose confidence when you don’t see it near you, but the gospel is alive and well and is still ‘the power of God unto salvation’ – it’s still ‘Really Good News’!
Over the past few years, I have arrived at the conclusion that everyone is going through something challenging – that everyone is living with bad news and in some cases, really bad news. As believers we carry some Really Good News in our hearts – let’s share it more intentionally than ever.
As we celebrate Advent, and Christmas, I wonder if you could recommit to being ‘Really Good News’ to your family, friends and neighbours. It might be something you say, pray, do or give.
With being Really Good News in mind, over the course of 2024 my Elim Evangelism articles will be around the theme of ‘How can Elim be Really Good News?’
I have asked Elim’s strategic evangelism partners (you can find out more about them at elim. org.uk/partnerships) along with some of my leading evangelistic friends to help us discover how we in the Elim family can be really good news as we continue to advance in this decade of evangelism.
And just in case you didn’t know … the name Elim Evangelism is the new name for the REACH department. With my dear friend Gary retiring as head of church planting, we have done a restructure and a rename, and in future months we will have a rebrand.
My responsibility remains evangelism, and so in these articles I will be mainly talking about that. Of course, church planting is also evangelism, and while I won’t be heading that up, I will be cheering it on, and doing everything I can to see Elim plant more churches.
Please do pray for myself and Nikki, my PA, as we shape the future. We are very excited about all that God has planned as Elim becomes even more ‘Really Good News’.
Praying you enjoy a Christ-filled Christmas.
• Rev Mark Greenwood is the National Evangelist and Director of Evangelism for Elim Churches in the UK. With over 35 years of experience in full-time evangelism, he is passionate about equipping church members to better share their faith and is best known for his relevant and humorous communication of the gospel. He is a speaker, writer, broadcaster, and podcaster. He loves curry, coffee, Cherry Pepsi Max, Midget Gems and brogues.
