Joel Forster is a pastor and the director of Evangelical Focus, a Christian news website.
When did you trust Christ?
Walking with God and following Jesus has been a journey over many years. I first understood the weight of my sin when I was 11 years old, and since then have been understanding more and more aspects of the Gospel, like the meaning of the cross, the depth of God's grace, and why I should live for His glory. For me, there have been different moments in my life where I have understood with my mind and my heart things I thought I knew. And thankfully, there is still much to learn to get a bigger picture of God and his kingdom.
What have been the defining moments of your Christian walk?
One critical moment was starting university, leaving home, and arriving in an environment where God was not around. Getting involved with a GBU group in my university, reading the Bible seriously, finding answers to questions for myself and fellow students, and growing in Gospel-centred friendships were vital. During those years, I also got the evangelistic vision to connect the Gospel with our culture.
What do you hope to gain from participating?
I am very grateful to be part of the Forum and share with others from all over Europe engaged in media. I have made valuable connections; many collaborations have come out of previous Forum meetings. The profit from attending ELF throughout the years has been tremendous—exciting training and community in the Media Communicators Network. I have made new contact with people in Europe who can report about issues happening in their context and whom I can interview on relevant topics.
What is your ministry?
I lead Evangelical Focus, a daily news information website for Europe. It was started in January 2015 by the Spanish Evangelical Alliance with the support of the Forum of Christian Leaders, among other entities. We have published 28,000 journalistic content pieces, and we reach around 30,000 readers monthly. We report current issues from a Christian perspective, giving a voice to Evangelical Christians with exciting insights on relevant topics. The team and contributors from multiple countries see this ministry as bringing together journalism and a mission to serve the church and connect with society. We aim to build bridges between church and society, giving a voice to Christians who make a difference in all areas of society. We do journalism to serve God's mission in a post-Christian Europe.
What is your leadership role or what were your past leadership roles?
I was president of the GBU student committee for the university in Barcelona from 2006-2008. I had an internship at TV3, which is the Catalan Public Television station, in 2008. I was a relay worker for UCCF from 2009-2010. I have been a writer for Protestante Digital since 2008 and a GBU staff worker since 2010.
Why should someone invest in your ministry?
Having a Christian point of view on the daily news is a key issue in Spain. I want to keep learning and getting a new vision to work on my responsibilities and start new projects side-by-side with other people, which advance God's kingdom both in Spain and Europe.
