Speak Life Web page

LOVE JESUS, SHARE JESUS

Since 1952 our ministry has been speaking life to a needy world. Founded by evangelist and broadcaster, Eric Hutchings, we have always had a twin focus: proclamation and media. Today we have a new name—Speak Life—but our vision remains: to re-evangelise church and world through captivating, Christ-centred communication.

CHRIST-CENTERED AND ALL-OF-LIFE

The doctrine of “Christ alone” is not a narrow insistence because Christ is not narrow. He’s cosmic. Jesus is not a bridge we cross so that we get what we really want (other-worldly blessings). When we come to Christ we get him and through him we look again at the whole of life: seeing a captivating vision for God, the world and ourselves.

EVANGELISTIC AND CHURCH-FACING

Following Ephesians 4:10-11 we see the work of evangelism as primarily equipping the church for her work of evangelistic service. Church is God’s mission strategy for the world. Therefore we do not turn our back on the church and strike out into the world. Instead we speak life to the church that the church might speak life to the world.

BIBLICAL AND CREATIVE

There is no trade-off between biblical faithfulness and creativity. The Bible is creative. Profoundly so. To be biblical is to tell the Jesus story in compelling and captivating ways (just like the Scriptures do it).

WEIRD AND WELCOMING

We do not so much believe in “stepping stones” from the non-Christian world to the Christian. We don’t try to persuade by being similar to the world, we persuade by throwing open the doors of our distinctively strange Christian house and saying, “Come inside. It might look weird, but you’re very welcome. In time we trust you’ll see an internal logic and beauty to the whole thing.”

PROCLAIMERS AND STORY-TELLERS

Being creative is not the ‘softly, softly’ approach in evangelism. We don’t really do ‘softly, softly.’ Actually story-telling is the most uni-directional form of communication. If I immerse you in a story I don’t just take the moral or intellectual high ground, I take all the ground. I surround you with a whole new world and say ‘Look again!’

THOUGHTFUL AND HEART-DRIVEN

We believe strongly that Jesus answers the questions of the most serious intellectual. We are committed to giving ‘reasons for the hope we have’ (1 Peter 3:15). But we’re also convinced that humans are heart-led creatures. As Ashley Null has said: “What the heart loves, the will chooses and the mind justifies.” Without a heart-captivating vision, no-one changes their mind.

EVANGELISTIC AND PASTORAL

Evangelism is pastoring non-Christians. Pastoral care is evangelising Christians. We must never divorce the seeking of lost sheep from the shepherding and protection of them. Instead we evangelise the people of God with the good news of Jesus and we pastor our friends and neighbours, pointing them to the Good Shepherd. Evangelism and pastoral care are the very best of friends.

URGENT AND AT PEACE

All is lost apart from Christ so we implore the world: “Be reconciled to God!” (2 Cor. 5:20). At the same time we do so as those who are new creations (2 Cor. 5:17). We ourselves are at peace and reconciled (2 Cor 5:18-19). We are not guilted into evangelism, instead we are liberated when we see the goodness and power of the good news. We want believers feeling they want to share Jesus, not simply that they ought to.

CONFESSIONAL AND ECUMENICAL

We know what we think — coming from a reformed evangelical context, firmly anchored in the solas of the reformation (Christ alone, Grace alone, Faith alone, Scripture alone, God’s glory alone). But we also work broadly within UK evangelicalism and beyond (The Gospel Coalition, Evangelicals Now, Desiring God, Premier Christian Radio, UCB Radio, The Evangelical Alliance, many churchmanships).

ANCIENT AND MODERN

Too much of what passes for theological conservatism is really social conservatism and fear of the new. Conservatives seem happy to use ‘modern media’ as long as it’s the ‘modern media’ used by their heroes from another century. But just as Luther made use of the new technology (printing) and birthed a reformation, we want to use the media of our day to unleash the good news on a desperately needy world.

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