The FIEC Podcast

How can we care well for people in our churches who have experienced trauma during the pandemic? During this webinar, FIEC National Director John Stevens was joined by Catherine Haddow, a Chartered Psychologist and part-time Women's Worker at North Bradley Baptist Church, to think about how church leaders can care best for those in their churches who have experienced trauma.   This is an especially important topic as the effects of the coronavirus pandemic are felt as society opens up more in the coming weeks and months. You can watch the webinar and access further resources from the FIEC website.

Jonathan Thomas, the pastor at Cornerstone Church Abergavenny, explains what the implications of the coronavirus restrictions are for churches in Wales, and how Cornerstone has been serving during lockdown. You can find more resources for church leaders on the FIEC website.

During this week's Leadership in Lockdown webinar, FIEC National Director John Stevens gave an update covering the latest situation with coronavirus restrictions in England. Also during the webinar, Jonathan Thomas, pastor at Cornerstone Church in Abergavenny gave an update on the situation in Wales. You can access more resources for church leaders on the FIEC website.

Orlando Saer, the pastor at Christ Church Southampton, shares how the church has been serving during lockdown. You can watch this presentation, and find more resources for church leaders, on the FIEC website.

During this week's Leadership in Lockdown webinar, FIEC Scotland Director Andy Hunter shared the latest coronavirus restrictions for churches in Scotland and FIEC National Director John Stevens gave an update covering the restrictions in England. You can watch this presentation as a video, along with this week's webinar, on the FIEC website.

Colin Smith, pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in Chicago, USA, joined us for this week's Leadership in Lockdown webinar to preach from Malachi 3:13-18 as an encouragement to church leaders that their labour in the Lord is not in vain. You can watch this webinar, and find further resources for church leaders, on the FIEC website.

Coming out of lockdown will be much harder than going in to lockdown. What do we need to think about now as we do come out of lockdown? FIEC National Director John Stevens spoke to local churches in the South West Gospel Partnership in March 2021 to help them think about what to consider as lockdown restrictions are eased. You can watch a video of this presentation, and access further resources for church leaders, on the FIEC website.

The Queen’s Speech to Parliament in May 2021 announced plans to bring forward legislation to ban “conversion therapy”. Though there are many practices evangelical Christians should rightly reject as abhorrent, there is also a real threat to ordinary gospel ministry. In this episode, you'll hear FIEC National Director John Stevens speaking to Paul Hammond on UCB's Friday Round Up (recorded 19 March 2021) about the proposed ban to "conversion therapy". For a written, biblical response to conversion therapy, visit the FIEC website.

In this Leadership in Lockdown webinar, FIEC National Director John Stevens is joined by social entrepreneur Dr Krish Kandiah to discuss why the issue of race is such a big deal at the moment, how it has impacted church leaders, and how churches can be part of the welcome reception for the many thousands of Hong Kong new arrivals. You can watch the video of this webinar and access further resources on the FIEC website.

Step 3 of the Government’s Roadmap Out of Lockdown from 17 May sees a change in tone in relation to the guidance for places of worship. While churches (along with wider society) are still being urged to exercise caution with regards to indoor interaction, the emphasis is now switching from laws and guidance to personal responsibility. That said, there are still mitigations churches need to consider in holding worship services and events at church. FIEC National Director John Stevens shares how the changes in Step 3 will impact church ministry. You can watch the video of this presentation on the FIEC website.

Mez McConnell, pastor at Niddrie Community Church in Edinburgh, shares how his church has been serving through lockdown. This talk was given during the Leadership in Lockdown webinar on the theme of domestic abuse in lockdown. You can watch the full webinar, with Mez and Sharon Dickens, on the FIEC website.

In light of the announcement by the Prime Minister this week, that the Roadmap out of Lockdown is going ahead on 17 May, FIEC National Director John Stevens gives an update on the implications for church leaders and their churches. You can watch the presentation on YouTube. This talk was given during this week's Leadership in Lockdown webinar on the topic of domestic abuse in lockdown. You can watch the webinar and access further resources on the FIEC website.

How can churches and church leaders respond to hidden domestic abuse in church life? The problems of domestic abuse have been highlighted through the Covid crisis, and many church leaders feel inadequate to know how to respond. Mez McConnell and Sharon Dickens, from Niddrie Community Church and 20 Schemes join FIEC National Director John Stevens to help us think about how we can pastorally serve our churches and people in the area of domestic violence. You can access further resources on the FIEC website.

How can we bring the gospel to bear in the times in which we find ourselves? FIEC National Director John Stevens is joined by Dr Daniel Strange, director and tutor at Oak Hill College, to speak about 'religious consciousness' and how understanding the 'magnetic points' of our culture can help us to share the gospel. 00:00 - Bible reflection (Psalm 131) 08:11 - Introduction to Dr Daniel Strange 10:44 - Covid and Religious Consciousness 37:32 - Q&A You can watch this webinar and find further resources on the FIEC website.

Colin Adams, pastor at Greenview Church, Glasgow, explains how his church are serving through lockdown. This talk was part of the Leadership in Lockdown webinar on Wednesday 5 April. You can watch the talk, along with the whole webinar, on the FIEC website.

What does God's word say to us as we contemplate this past year and all that has happened? During a Women's Worker online meet-up, FIEC Women's Ministry Coordinator Rachel Sloan encouraged with the words of Psalm 105. This psalm is a good place to come and, when we grasp the context of the psalm, we see why we too can heed the call of the psalmist to give praise to the Lord. Rachel explains how we can praise God and give thanks even when we can't see what he is doing or where he is working: remember that the Lord remembers. About FIEC: We are a fellowship of Independent churches with members of the family across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission is to see those Independent churches working together with a big vision: to reach Britain for Christ. Being part of FIEC links you to a growing number of Independent evangelical churches and there are now more than 50,000 people who are part of churches affiliated to FIEC. You can find more resources for church leaders on the FIEC website. Follow FIEC on social media: Instagram Facebook Twitter

What important leadership lessons has it taken a pandemic to teach us? FIEC National Director John Stevens is joined by Peter Baker, Senior Pastor at Lansdowne Church in Bournemouth, to speak about the things he wished he learned before the Covid crisis that we can put into practice as we emerge out of it. You can watch this webinar on the FIEC website. About FIEC: We are a fellowship of Independent churches with members of the family across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission is to see those Independent churches working together with a big vision: to reach Britain for Christ. Being part of FIEC links you to a growing number of Independent evangelical churches and there are now more than 50,000 people who are part of churches affiliated to FIEC. You can find more resources for church leaders on the FIEC website. Follow FIEC on social media: Instagram Facebook Twitter

Andy Weatherley, pastor at Grace Church Stirchley, south Birmingham, explains how his church are serving through lockdown. This talk was part of the Leadership in Lockdown webinar on Wednesday 28 April. You can watch the whole webinar on the FIEC website. About FIEC: We are a fellowship of Independent churches with members of the family across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission is to see those Independent churches working together with a big vision: to reach Britain for Christ. Being part of FIEC links you to a growing number of Independent evangelical churches and there are now more than 50,000 people who are part of churches affiliated to FIEC. You can find more resources for church leaders on the FIEC website Follow FIEC on social media: Instagram Facebook Twitter

It is important for us to be able to think clearly about Christian ministry, especially ministry in the context of Independency. At The Hub conference in January 2021, FIEC National Director John Stevens spoke about Independency and the benefits of ministry in an Independent church setting.   You can find more resources for church leaders on the FIEC website. About FIEC: We are a fellowship of Independent churches with members of the family across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission is to see those Independent churches working together with a big vision: to reach Britain for Christ. Being part of FIEC links you to a growing number of Independent evangelical churches and there are now more than 50,000 people who are part of churches affiliated to FIEC. Follow FIEC on social media: Instagram​ Facebook​ Twitter

Tom Fenning, pastor at Beccles Baptist Church, explains how his church are serving through lockdown. You can watch this talk and access further resources on the FIEC website.