The Profile

Husband and wife Makoto and Haejiin Fujimura are a couple who have blended their two passions and found a deep connection between them. Makoto is a Christian artist born in the US to Japanese parents. His scientist father instilled in him a deep appreciation for beauty and creativity from childhood and after spending his formative years in Japan, he later began to pursue traditional Japanese painting at Tokyo University of the Arts.

Fujimura encountered Christ in his late twenties. The poems of William Blake became instrumental in his conversion, helping him reconcile his newfound Christian faith with his artistic expression. Today, Fujimura is recognised as one of the most significant contemporary Christian artists, creating stunning abstract works while advocating for the role of beauty and art in culture, faith, and renewal.

Haejin Shim Fujimura is a Lawyer and Justice Advocate who was born in South Korea and immigrated to the United States during her teenage years. She pursued a career in law, bringing her Christian faith into her professional calling. Today, she is a seasoned attorney with over 20 years of experience and the founder and managing partner of Shim & Associates, P.C., a firm founded on the vision of cultural renewal within the legal industry.

Her Christian conviction animates her work as a human trafficking advocate. She is the co-founder and CEO of Embers International, a global NGO dedicated to protecting, restoring, and empowering victims of injustice. She also serves as the NYC Area Leader of International Justice Mission, the world's largest anti-slavery organization.

Together with her husband Makoto, their joint missional work is around the transformative movement of beauty and justice, exploring how Christian principles of justice and redemption apply across every sector of society which has resulted in their latest book: Beauty and Justice: Creating a Life of Abundance and Courage.

In this edition of The Profile they talk to Deputy Editor of Premier Christianity magazine Emma Fowle about how their professions have informed their practice of restoration, justice and beauty, how it is not the job of the Christian to 'end' evil and the impact of being a 9/11 survivor.

The Profile is brought to you by Premier Christianity, the UK’s leading Christian magazine. Enjoy thought-provoking Christian content, including the latest news, inspiring interviews, and exclusive commentary on all that God is doing in the world today. Grab the next 3 issues for just £6. Subscribe today at premierchristianity.com/subscribe.

Andy Peck talks with founder of the Satellites Youth Event, and deputy director of Youthscape about the extraordinary events surrounding the call to run a youth event following the closure of Soul Survivor in summer 2019.
They discuss stories of how God gave both a green light and a red one, and what is unique and fresh about this Youth Event running for its fifth year in 2026.
The Profile is brought to you by Premier Christianity, the UK’s leading Christian magazine. Check out the latest offers at premierchristianity.com

In this week's edition of the Profile we remember the late Lord Richard Harries, who was one of the most beloved and influential voices in British Christianity of his generation. Born on 2 June 1936, he served briefly as a British Army officer before answering the call to ordained ministry in the Church of England. He was consecrated Bishop of Oxford in 1987, a role he held until his retirement in 2006, when he was elevated to the House of Lords as Baron Harries of Pentregarth.

Harries was a gifted theologian, broadcaster, and writer and authored 26 books on Christian ethics, prayer, art, and faith in the public square. For more than fifty years he was a familiar voice on BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day, where he brought The Gospel into everyday life with warmth, clarity, and humility. He was a long-standing contributor to the Church Times and a tireless advocate for interfaith dialogue, particularly between Christians and Jews.

Lord Harries died peacefully on 29 April 2026, aged 89, after a short illness.

The Profile is brought to you by Premier Christianity, the UK’s leading Christian magazine. Enjoy thought-provoking Christian content, including the latest news, inspiring interviews, and exclusive commentary on all that God is doing in the world today. Grab the next 3 issues for just £6. Subscribe today at premierchristianity.com/subscribe.

Andy Peck talks with a retired head teacher about what he’s learned from several decades leading Reigate St Mary’s Preparatory and Choir School.
What parts of his role has he warmed to, what Christian influence does he think he has been able to have and what are the transferable principles for leaders in other walks of life?
The Profile is brought to you by Premier Christianity, the UK’s leading Christian magazine. Check out the latest offers at premierchristianity.com

Best known for leading the multi-site National Community Church (NCC) in Washington, D.C., Pastor Mark Batterson has also authored nearly 30 books, most notably The Circle Maker, a guide to persistent prayer which has sold over a million copies.

Batterson came to Christ at the age of five after watching a Billy Graham film and describes himself as a "congregational mutt" going Church to Church in his early years, not settling on a particular tradition. That sense of being something of an outsider must surely have led to his inventive approach to Church planting that would eventually follow.

At the age of 24, having abandoned a Church plant in the Chicago area, he spotted an ad in a Christian magazine for a role at the Urban Bible Training Center and went on to found National Community Church, famously transforming a former crack house into the largest coffeehouse on Capitol Hill and converting an abandoned apartment building into a community centre.

Today, NCC owns and operates Ebenezer's Coffeehouse, The Miracle Theatre, the DC Dream Center, the Capital Turnaround, and Culture House, a portfolio that reflects his idea that Church belongs in the marketplace.

In this interview with Premier's AJ Gomez he talks about his business successes and failures, taking the long-term approach and why he takes his shoes off when he writes.

The Profile is brought to you by Premier Christianity, the UK's leading Christian magazine. Enjoy thought-provoking Christian content, including the latest news, inspiring interviews, and exclusive commentary on all that God is doing in the world today. Grab the next 3 issues for just £6. Subscribe today at premierchristianity.com/subscribe.