Good News People

The Gospel means good news, but what makes it news? If the message has been around for 2,000 years, what could possibly be newsworthy about it? And what makes it good? Surely not the stories we hear of damnation, violence, and an angry God. Tom Wright believes many Christians have lost sight of what the ‘good news’ of the gospel really is. In Simply Good News, he shows how a first-century audience would have received the gospel message, what the ‘good news’ means for us today and how it can transform our lives.

This report from a working party of the House of Bishops examines the role of the "evangelist" in the light of the New Testament and Church history, looks at models of good practice in other churches, and offers guidance and recommendations for selection, training and recognition of evangelists.

In a world that may seem dark, Good News Network shines a spotlight on the extraordinary and everyday heroes, the solutions and innovations that can give us hope. This collection celebrates GNN's 20th anniversary of publishing positive news from around the world at GNN.org. Founded in 1997 by former TV news editor Geri Weis-Corbley, these are among her favorite stories from two decades.

David Suzuki cuts through the gloom surrounding the current state of the world's natural resources, and draws attention to the numerous positive instances where private companies, communities and individual citizens are making a real difference to the environment.

In more than forty years of ministry, Harold Percy has sought to waken a slumbering church by reminding it of its true calling—to imaginative evangelism, faithful discipleship, and innovative leadership. As a priest in the Anglican Diocese of Toronto, and as founding Director of the Wycliffe College Institute of Evangelism, Harold has challenged and encouraged leaders in a range of denominations across Canada through articles and books, conferences and workshops. This books engages in lively dialogue with Harold’s many contributions to the life of the church today, with chapters on leadership, discipleship, spirituality, congregational ministry, and missional outreach from eighteen pastoral practitioners, all of whom continue to expand on his unique legacy in the service of Christ.

The “Good news” not always been experienced as good for minorities within evangelical communities in the United States. Vincent Bacote argues a reckoning with race is necessary for evangelical theology to cultivate an evangelicalism more hospitable to minorities, particularly African-Americans.

In 2009, the Good News Club came to the public elementary school where journalist Katherine Stewart sent her children. The Club, which is sponsored by the Child Evangelism Fellowship, bills itself as an after-school program of "Bible study." But Stewart soon discovered that the Club's real mission is to convert children to fundamentalist Christianity and encourage them to proselytize to their "unchurched" peers, all the while promoting the natural but false impression among the children that its activities are endorsed by the school. Astonished to discover that the U.S. Supreme Court has deemed this -- and other forms of religious activity in public schools -- legal, Stewart set off on an investigative journey to dozens of cities and towns across the nation to document the impact. In this book she demonstrates that there is more religion in America's public schools today than there has been for the past 100 years. The movement driving this agenda is stealthy. It is aggressive. It has our children in its sights. And its ultimate aim is to destroy the system of public education as we know it.

If one word evokes discomfort when spoken to Christ-followers and non-Christ-followers alike, it would be the word “evangelism.” For the Christ-follower, this word brings feelings of guilt, shame, and inadequacy. They know that, at some level, they should be participating in evangelistic activities, but they are not. My passion is to see Christ-followers intentionally engaging people in spiritual conversations. I wrote this book to educate and encourage Christ-followers in the beauty of sharing the love of Jesus with others. Speak Good News aims to change the less-than-favorable reputation associated with evangelism. This book will encourage and equip Christ-followers to confidently engage in spiritual conversations with individuals they experience life with. I do this by taking a historical look at evangelism, its purest meaning, and offering a fresh lens for the Church to view evangelism. I identify misconceptions and barriers that keep faithful Christ-followers from sharing the wonderful story of Jesus with others. It nudges believers into the shallow end of the “gospel pool” while encouraging them to engage in simple spiritual conversations about Jesus with others.