We get this question a lot: “How long do you see yourselves in Manchester?”
Only God knows, of course, but if it was up to us, we’d stay as long as possible. Your support has been key to our staying put for the past eight years.
Why are we committed to living here and doing what we do, though? Here are three reasons we’re staying on the mission field:
1. We’re surrounded by immense needs.
The clear needs strengthen our awareness of God’s call and increase our conviction that we’re here for a reason—this helps fuel a here-to-help posture.
More than any other mission field, Europe is now considered the new dark continent.
Here are some alarming stats that show the need:
Less than 1 per cent of people in England’s urban areas attend an evangelical church.¹
Europe now has the world’s smallest proportion of evangelicals (2.5 per cent), and the growth rate is falling.² (By contrast, communist China boasts triple the growth rate.)
The UK has around 1,500 mosques or prayer rooms and the second highest population of Pakistanis outside Pakistan.³ It’s projected that by 2050, one in five Europeans will be Muslim.⁴
Yet there’s an extraordinary re-evangelization taking place in Europe.
There’s a new generation of missionaries streaming from Africa to Europe. Nations impacted by European missionaries over the past few centuries are now reaching back to impact the continent that reached out to them.
2. We’re surrounded by nations.
Since I was eight years old, I've had a vision to reach into the nations. People from around the world are mixing in our church and city. And unlike in many of their native countries, we have freedom to openly preach the gospel.
When immigrants are awakened, equipped, and sent on mission, it impacts others from closed nations, too.
3. We love the work.
It's been 20 years since I joined the ministry team at the Ramp, and I still resonate deeply with our values and aspirations—awakening, equipping, and sending. Passionate pursuit of Jesus. Freedom and purity in worship. Contending prayer and God’s manifest presence. Depth in God’s word and Spirit-fuelled discipleship and community.
New Sermons
Interested in our latest messages? Visit our Podcast page or YouTube to catch up on…
My new talk on how to build a strong marriage →
Joe’s latest on getting a vision for singleness → (or his Easter message for a more evangelistic focus)
¹ Voas, D., Brierley, P.W. (2010). English Church Census, 2005. [data collection]. UK Data Service. SN: 6409, http://dx.doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-6409-1; “[ARCHIVED CONTENT] 2011 Census Analysis - Comparing Rural And Urban Areas Of England And Wales - ONS”. Webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. N.p., 2016. Web. 17 May 2016.
² Operation World Evangelicals, 1970-2020. Figures from “Christianity in it Global Context, 1970-2020”, Centre for the Study of Global Christianity, (Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary: June 2013), p17.
³ Wikipedia contributors. 2023. “Pakistani Diaspora.” Wikipedia, May. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistani_diaspora#:~:text=Predominantly%20Islam%20minorities%20of%20Christianity,Chicago%2C%20and%20New%20Jersey.
⁴ Schäfer, G., ed. 2006. “Europe in Figures.” June 2006. Accessed May 8, 2023. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3217494/5611007/KS-CD-06-001EN.PDF/bff24660-2fb5-4c11-a336-9d356a6fdda5?version=1.0.