60,000 children in Britain are problem gamblers
Tens of thousands of 12 to 15-year-olds in Britain are becoming problem gamblers, a charity that works with gambling addicts has warned. GamCare, a charity which gives help, advice and treatment to problem gamblers, has released a report calling for children to be taught about the dangers of gambling. It says the rate of adolescent addicts is over three times as high as adult addicts. It also says young problem gamblers are more likely to be involved in alcohol and substance abuse, theft, truancy and likely to do less well at school. Jane Rigbye, head of the education development at GamCare, said: ‘Gambling is all around us. It is advertised on television, children are accessing Internet bingo sites and Internet poker sites. They have found ways of lying about their age to access these sites’. Rt Hon David Willetts MP, Minister for Universities and Science said, ‘Educating young people about the risks of gambling is vital’. Pray: for the advertising and accessibility of gambling to be tightened in order to protect our youngsters. (Heb.13:5) More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/video-60000-children-in-britain-are-problem-gamblers/6
Spend more on evangelism
Too many churches are neglecting evangelism, with little time and money spent on it, a leading evangelist has claimed. Many churches have one-dimensional evangelism strategies that just focus on Alpha, while very few are actually training their congregation in how to evangelise. The issue is so critical because compared to evangelism, everything else the church is doing 'is like rearranging the furniture on the Titanic'. The comments were made by J John, during a wide-ranging address on what makes a church community at the latest leaders' day at Gorsley Baptist Church. 'What is church about?' he asked. 'It's about looking up in: worship. Looking in: wellbeing. And looking out: witness. However, all the research shows churches spend 90-95 per cent of their time on two of those three things. The first two. Don't you think that's an imbalance?' It's not that churches are not working hard, he said, but more a case of changing their approach. Pray: for church communities to reconsider the place of evangelism in their activities. (1Pe.3:15)
Methodist and URC ecumenical milestone
Ecumenical relations between the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church (URC) will reach a milestone moment next week when both church’s Councils convene for their first-ever joint meeting. 140 members of the two Free Church councils will meet at the Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick from October 13-15, when they will deal with both domestic and inter-denominational issues. Although the Methodist Church and the URC are not bound by many formal agreements, there has been extensive collaboration between the two bodies during recent years. Next week’s summit will be the latest step in this journey of joint working between the two Churches, which both span England, Scotland and Wales. At the meeting, each Church Council will meet privately to carry out its own business. However, for the majority of the sessions, members of the two bodies will come together to work from the same agenda, as part of an ongoing drive to unite in mission and outreach. Pray: for unity of purpose between Christian churches (2Co. 11:28)
GDOP London links up with Micah Challenge
Global Day of Prayer London (GDOP) is partnering with Micah Challenge’s 10-10-10 campaign as part of their 500 days of prayer initiative. They are encouraging churches across the UK to pray for the marginalised in their local areas and the world’s poor this October. As churches throughout the UK are getting behind this initiative, GDOP’s London Convenor, Jonathan Oloyede, wants to continue to build this momentum of prayer by providing more and more resources to keep mobilising Christians towards 24-hour intercession. GDOP London is now producing a monthly podcast with regular interviews and features with key Christian leaders. Their October podcast has a special focus on praying for the world’s poor. Oloyede also presents a monthly video blog to keep Christians inspired and updated on the 500 days of prayer movement and there are a number of prayer resources on the GDOP London website. Pray: that all Christians remember and pray for the world’s poor that their plight is lessened by God's strong intervention. (Dt. 15:7)
