One week of Evangelical Focus

First week is gone. The first seven days have passed since we launched the new Evangelical Focus Project on the evening of January 8th.

It has been an opportunity to enjoy the benefits of all the work carried out during the months prior to the launch, especially since September: contacts with evangelical leaders throughout Europe (and even outside Europe), the preparation of the first articles, the technical trials of the web, last minute translations…

The material we have already published includes news of the terrorist attacks in France, the condemnation from many people, including the statement issued by French evangelicals, the demonstrations and repercussions in other countries, as well as several reflections concerning Islam in Europe.

We have also discussed the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the situation of the 350 YWAM missionaries who could be expelled from the UK.

We explore these subjects “bringing a “Biblical worldview regarding the society in which we live”, as Pablo Martinez said in his opening interview.

THINKERS WHO REFLECT ON SOCIETY

From the beginning we have sought a range of opinions on current affairs, and in the Blogs section we have received contributions from people who speak with an authoritative voice, including Marc Jost, Leonardo de Chirico, Miguel Juez, Pablo Martinez, Stefano Bogliolo and José de Segovia. Other blogs which have been confirmed and will begin to appear during the course of the next few weeks include authors writing from the UK, the USA and Turkey.

Among the first contributions to the Magazine were posts by Michael Gowen, Helder Favarin, Alain Auderset and Will Graham.

We have also had some audio contributions, including interviews by Belen Díaz with the British scientist Rodney Holder: “The story of conflict is largely an invention of some late nineteenth century historians”, with the Spanish director of Open Doors, Ted Blake: “Radical Islam has become much stronger throughout the world” and with Pablo Martinez: “We must be a significant voice in a secularised society like Europe”. 
 

One daunting challenge will be the translation of a range of articles into English: Roger Marshall, Nicky Seadon, Esther Barrett, Jonathan Dawson, Joana Morales… Thank you for your cooperation. Is English your native language, and do you also speak any of the following languages: Italian, German, French, Romanian or Dutch? Or are you a native Spanish speaker who knows one or more of these languages and who would like to help translate articles into Spanish? Write to us at [email protected]

FIRST DATA ABOUT EVANGELICAL FOCUS

• Web visits: Close to 3,000 visits and 9,000 seen pages.
• Most read News story: “Boko Haram kills 2,000, Western media start reacting now”
• Most read Opinion article: “Are you a pagan if you celebrate Christmas?”
• Followers on Facebook: 667
• Followers on Twitter: 91

Twenty people are already receiving the latest news and opinion articles daily. If you wish to receive these articles in your email inbox every day, you can subscribe to “Newsletters” on the right hand side of the page.

 “THANK YOU FOR YOUR ENTHUSIASM”
Even with all this progress we have made in the first week, what we are most encouraged by as we take these first steps as a media project are the messages of enthusiastic support that we have been receiving from all kinds of people who identify with this initiative. We have received words of encouragement by email, on social media, in personal conversations, in comments; from Spain, Italy, Switzerland, the UK, France and the USA…

A warm thank you to everyone who has already contributed in any way, who reads the magazine and who shares our stories on social media. Thank you for sending us your first impressions, your constructive criticisms, and your encouragement.

Above all, we are grateful to God. If we were not sure of his guidance the project would make no sense. We pray that everything we do at Evangelical Focus will serve to build bridges between God’s truth and the society we live in, and that more people might consider for themselves the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.