Phil Knox
Phil Knox is an evangelism and missiology senior specialist at the Evangelical Alliance and is trying to be a good friend. His book on the subject, The Best of Friends, was published on 16 February 2023. You can read his first book, Story Bearer at www.storybearer.com
Reaching young adults: a journey of hope, not despair
11 September 2019Growing up at a time of global instability in the wake of a digital revolution was always going to make sociological and cultural waves. The effect of these are identified and analysed in a huge piece of research released on Tuesday by Barna Group and World Vision. Faith for the Future surveyed more than 15,000 respondents across 25 countries to better understand their values and their relationship to faith. The research does identify a number of challenges. But there are also some very good…
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Angels on our streets
7 August 2019It all started in a stuffy church meeting. We were discussing plans for our church’s 50th birthday. I was 25 years old, idealistic and not particularly designed to sit still in church meetings. Frustrated by the predictable plans for a church birthday celebration involving quiche, a quiz and a few party poppers, without any forethought I stood up and said, ‘What if our celebration wasn’t just for us, but for our whole community?’ So in 2009 we bought 3000 mugs, delivered one to every home in…
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Spoiler alert... Jesus wins
2 May 2019Caleb is growing up in an age when entertainment is instant. He cannot fathom a time when there were four TV channels, a few hours of children’s TV a day, and ‘on demand’ viewing consisted of putting a black box full of tape into a machine and listening to it whir as it wound to the start of the programme. But even in our world of virtually unlimited entertainment, where you can customise your viewing to have what you want whenever you want it, there are some shared viewing experiences. I spent…
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Finding the ‘missing generation’
29 April 2019If only I were able to tell you that we all had spent the last couple of decades doing just that. Today, I don’t know where most of my peers are at in their walk with Jesus, but I do know there are only a handful of us still going to church. Zoom out from this snapshot and see a wider panorama where a decade ago we began to label young adults as a ‘missing generation’ in our churches. The statistics around church attendance among young adults and the stories break my heart. Because I love the…
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The church is the hope for a hurting generation
11 February 2019These days, I barely go a day without checking news sites or current affairs and sports finding me as I thumb through social media feeds. And as the flickering pixels hit my eyes, there are some stories that make me laugh, some that make me feel warm inside, and others that provoke nothing more than mild indifference. But occasionally there is one that hits me like a punch in the stomach. Last week I clicked on such an article, and this is what it said: “The number of young people in the UK…
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Andy Murray: lessons from a sporting great
17 January 2019In the depths of winter, amidst the frosty mornings and shortened hours of daylight, it can be difficult to remember the feel of the British summer. But, if you close your eyes for a moment, you can take yourself there, to the smell of burgers sizzling on a barbeque, the sight of morning sunlight bursting through the curtains, and the sound of racquet on ball (accompanied by the occasionally grunt) from Wimbledon. And part and parcel of our country’s love affair with Wimbledon is the tendency…
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Christmas: The proximity of Emmanuel
13 December 2018Proximity. Noun. Nearness in space, time or relationship. Immanuel. Noun. God is with us. As human beings we are made with an inbuilt awareness of how close is too close. We ideally like to keep strangers at least three metres away. We feel comfortable with acquaintances coming as close as one metre away. Closer still is the acceptable distance for good friends and family of around 50cm, before we reach the most intimate of spaces that we reserve for those few people closest to us. When our…
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No ordinary church service: teens take their stand in Jesus
17 September 2018But every so often, there are those that leave us knowing that things will not be the same again, where we have encountered God in such a compelling and authentic way that our lives are profoundly and irreversibly changed. I went to one of these services last Sunday. The service filled me with such hope, that I have not stopped talking about it since. It created in me a fresh enthusiasm for the work I do, made me evermore grateful for the next generation, and left me wanting to punch the air…
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Let the mission to reach young adults begin
5 September 2018I still don’t feel like I’ve been out of the education system long enough to have escaped the feeling that, in September, something new happens. Memories of emerging from long summer holidays into an autumn term, armed with a new pencil case, bag and good intentions to make this new school year or uni semester count, are fresh in my mind at this time of year. And this term, for only the second time ever, I started a new job. For the last 12 years of my life, I have worked at Youth for Christ,…
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Why me? Your story is worth sharing
17 January 2018"I’m outside." Two terrible words to receive in a text message if you're just out of the shower, frantically throwing on clothes (you don’t even care if they're yours at this stage), toothbrush hanging out of your mouth, wishing you'd packed your bag the night before and set your alarm half an hour earlier to be ready for your colleague to pick you up. In contrast, readiness is a great feeling. You feel confident, capable and prepared for the task ahead. When sharing my faith with my friends, I…
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