Andy Stevens
Age 36 (and counting)
Marital Status - holy matrimony
Looking for: 100 people to go to China
Likes: His Wife (Jenni), his son (Matthew - see him on YouTube) and his daughter (Isabelle) his dogs (Chow Chows - not Chihuahuas), worshiping
Dislikes: Tries to see the good in everyone and everything, but when push comes to shove he doesn't like, long boring sermons, bad music, rude people, setting budgets, conflict situations. (Does this make me a bad person)
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One world one dream - half an hour to go
As we approach the multi-million dollar Olympic opening ceremony, my nerves are tingling. I can’t quite pinpoint exactly why. The following may be some of the reasons:
The expectations of the people of China.
I was in China in July 2001 when the Games were granted to Beijing – even then there were fireworks displays and street parties. The Chinese people genuinely believe...
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Ten ideas for a strategic missional church
If you’re reading this blog post, it’s because you saw the title and thought to yourself, “Yes, I want my church to be strategic and missional”. Chances are that your church is already halfway there. Perhaps you have some members who are working on the mission fields. You receive their prayer letters. Their pictures are pinned up on notice boards. That’s great. But the fact of the matter i...
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The day I kicked a panda
Please don't tell the Chinese Government, but once upon a time, many years ago, I kicked a panda. I would like to say it was self-defence, but that would be a lie. It's a little concerning because there is a death penalty in China for killing a panda, so I imagine for a kick I could be sent down for a good few years. Herewith is my defence.
We were travelling in the remote count...
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Cardiff China Day - 10th February
felt a little bad since I wasn't sure I had done enough work to pull this event off. Fortunately, the Lord intervened and things went much better than planned.
The previous day there had been a flurry of phone calls as a result of the flurry of snow that was falling in the Cardiff and Newport areas. Jenni was very uncertain whether it would be safe to drive. I was prepared to tr...
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Under 30s Conference - Feb 16-18 2007
What a grand weekend. It didn't go entirely as planned, but God's hand was in it, and I am sure that He was moving. Poor John, who had organised the conference in fine detail was unavoidably forced to be absent. This meant that the team he had delegated some tasks to were required to take over. He had done so much planning, though, that it wasn't too hard to step in.
This was a g...
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Learning Mandarin
I was listening to a debate on Radio Five Live this morning (Radio Four devotees please forgive), in which they were arguing for Foreign Languages to be made compulsory from ages 7-14. I like that; and neither am I so Asian-focussed to think that it is crucial that children be taught Mandarin or Japanese. There were occasional listeners suggesting that Far East languages would be useful fo...
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Made for China Conference - planning
Nov 16-18. Seems ages away. However, in planning terms, it is practically next week. This is the major event I take responsibility for. Fortunately, I have a fantastic planning team around me - all of whom provide great ideas, and many are able to give time and energy to sort out the details as well as the big picture.
We have a pretty powerful line-up of speakers. With Jamie Tay...
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The Oxford Seven?
Last weekend was absolutely hectic. I drove the two hours to Oxford four times in the week. We had five events in three days. On Friday 90 people came to a day conference in St Aldates church. 90! On a Friday! As was to be the catchphrase of the weekend, this was beyond expectation, but below hope. I was delighted with the turnout, which included people from as far afield as Bournemouth an...
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Gaining Momentum
Gaining Momentum
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MOREMoney-making mission
Money-making mission
Anyone who knows China will understand that it is a money-orientated world. Deng Xiaoping is reputed to have said “to get rich is glorious”. It doesn’t matter whether or not he actually used these words, the fact that it’s plausible is what’s important. Christians would be falling off their pews with delight if he had said “To find God is glorious” or “To get s...