I first encountered the ministry of Rico Tice when I was searching for John Stott sermons on the All Souls Langham Place Church website. Stott led the London, England church for many years until his retirement. I was quickly struck by Rico’s command of Scripture and wisdom. He also conveys truth with a warm, welcoming tone as if he was an old friend sitting down across a café table. Many teachers can flex their seminary muscles but the true pastor can communicate theological depth to the “normal” person. Rico has a gift for bringing timeless truth to the 21st-century person. He serves as the Senior Minister for Evangelism at All Souls and founded Christianity Explored.
Rico, thank you for taking the time for this interview! As you can see, I’m a big fan of your work. It seems you have a genuine heart for the person new to Christ and new to the church. What drives your evangelistic passion?
I come from a family where the majority of people have died believing in their own goodness and not feeling that they needed Christ to pay for their sin. Such a thing is only needed by bad people. So when I read of the reality of hell in for example Matthew’s Gospel (e.g. Matthew 5:22, 5:29-30, 8:10-12, 10:26-28, 18:8), I realised this was not academic. They would pay for their sins themselves in hell. So my personal mission statement is “people without Christ go to hell”. I try and organise my life around that belief. If you believe this warning and you love people, then one is compelled to speak. My problem is I do believe it, but love myself more, so that’s why I often don’t bother.
You’re a pastor in London, England, and I’m writing from the heartland of the United ...
