While I was in London and Brighton, England, this past summer with Pastor Mark, the Spirit impressed on me with the phrase, “For a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries” (1 Corinthians 16:9).

I had not read that passage for eighteen months, and yet the Apostle Paul’s statement burned in my spirit and continues to burn. I had been told that the UK was not receptive to the gospel, but I was terribly misinformed. In addition to Pastor Mark’s numerous speaking engagements, we held a church-planting boot camp where planters from twelve different countries attended. Between each session, the men asked pressing questions and begged us to start planting churches in their respective countries.

A wide door for effective work has opened to us, and we are asking the Holy Spirit to help us walk through this door into areas of the world where the church has diminished the gospel. Many young people in the UK want a message and mission similar to that of Mars Hill Church and the Acts 29 Network. Not only is there receptiveness to the gospel in the UK, but also there are several vibrant ministries and strong leaders working faithfully in Jesus’ name.

Newfrontiers is a UK-based ministry that understands the gospel. It’s a church-planting movement that has started 200 churches in the UK, and over 500 churches in 52 countries around the world. Pastor Mark preached to 5,000 leaders at their annual conference and made a huge impact on them. The leader of Newfrontiers, Terry Virgo, is a dear man who is full of the Holy Spirit and an embodiment of an elder above reproach. He and Mark spent a great amount of time together talking about the future of Newfrontiers. Mark was in awe of Terry’s character, but was able to help him think through the next ten years for their continued impact. This week, Terry wrote about some of the highlights from Mark’s summer visit to Newfrontiers.

About eighteen months ago, I received a manuscript from an author I was not familiar with–another minister in England. He asked me to review it and give him some feedback. The manuscript was entitled Total Church and was written for a British audience. I was busy at the time, but dutifully read the chapter on church planting. I was greatly impressed so I read the chapter on missions. I wrote the author, Steve Timmis, back and asked him if he wanted suggestions, endorsement, or a review. He wanted it all! I printed the manuscript out and placed it in a three-ring binder and carried it with me everywhere I went for a week. I read it at half-time at basketball games, at stop lights, and during boring meetings (is there any other kind?). I made over 200 comments in the manuscript—mostly translating UK terms to English…uh, I mean American. It was a labor of love.

As a result, Steve Timmis and I struck up a friendship. I invited Steve to speak at the Seattle Acts 29 Boot Camp at Mars Hill Church. We taught together this summer at the Dwell:London church-planting conference. I introduced Steve to several key Acts 29 pastors who were immediately drawn to the gospel-centrality of this book. I submitted the book to Mark Driscoll and asked if it could be published through Re:Lit. Crossway Books approved the manuscript and the book is scheduled for release this month. In anticipation, Desiring God posted an interview this week with the book’s co-author, Tim Chester.

Mars Hill Church’s mission is more than Mars Hill Church. We love Seattle, but we also want to see the gospel take root and grow throughout the world. And so we start new campuses, start new churches, publish books and other resources in order to participate in Jesus’ global movement of redemption.