The Church of England has recognised that pioneers are vital for the future of the Church. The Church Mission Society’s pioneer mission leadership training programme provides a designated pathway for ordination as an ordained pioneer minister - alongside the more traditional routes for teachers and pastors. This year there has been a further growth in numbers; an eclectic mix of missionaries will graduate this week after completing their studies in theology, ministry and mission. The pioneers included some being ordained into the Church of England as deacons or admitted to the order of Lay Pioneers. Mission pioneers are giving the Church a glimpse of the future, where mission will not be delivered solely by large para-church organisations, but increasingly through agile, innovative and creative pioneers, witnessing to love in action.

We are all very grateful for the loving relationships we experience yet we also need to ask the question: ‘Who is my neighbour?’ When Jesus was asked, he responded with the story of a beaten man, helped by someone who could have been his enemy (Luke 10:25-37). Think about the different communities you belong to locally, through your interests, and even online.

(Bishop Mark O’Toole, Bishop of Plymouth)

The media are unquestionably powerful and influential voices in our culture. They are also a battleground between God’s purposes and Satan’s. In any given situation, Christian voices giving God’s perspective are poorly represented in broadcasting and in print. In an open society it is not the journalist’s job to represent Christian points of view; they just report an analysis of what is heard and seen. Christians have no middlemen, therefore believers in positions of authority need God’s empowering to speak up clearly to the media, declaring Kingdom values. Likewise, Christians working in the media need our prayers for boldness and fresh vision in all that they do and report. Pray for God to use His people to bring about change in media reporting and presenting, ending chronically misunderstood Christian values and spirituality, ending misrepresentation of Christianity in documentaries, ending irreligious literacy in plays and reality programmes. Pray for the media workforces to research basic Christian values and then to represent them truthfully.

(Linda Digby, Prayer Alert team)

Pray for education ministers as they consider reviewing the tuition fees and student loan system, after a damning report revealed that 75% of students will never fully repay the loans (which leave graduates with average debts of over £50,000). Sources close to Jo Johnson, the universities minister, said that the interest rate on loans might be reduced. She indicated that the situation was being looked at, along with a review of higher education funding as promised in the Tory manifesto. Labour education minister Lord Adonis, who originally promoted tuition fees, said that the annual £9,000 charges should be scrapped after becoming a ‘Frankenstein’s monster’. Adonis accused the government of running a ‘Ponzi scheme’ which left graduates with massive debts and the government with a black hole in public sector finances. Other critics said that the government should save money by withdrawing loans for degrees that lead to low salaries.