Peter Lynas

"Who do you actually represent?" It’s a question I am often asked in my role at the Evangelical Alliance. Usually it is followed by another: "How many evangelicals are there in the UK?" Then, "What actually makes someone an evangelical?"

For years, those questions did not have straightforward answers. We pointed to our 30,000 personal members, and to our more than 3,000 church members. We might mention charity Tearfund's research from 2007, which estimated there were around two million evangelicals in the UK. It was the best answer that we had, but it was almost 20 years old.

Jonny Pollock

My son does social media for his part-time job. Part of the task is creating posts for the business's social media account.

The hope behind so much online activity is shared by many: that one day a post will "go viral", meaning that a post catches the algorithm, the numbers rise, strangers pass it to other strangers, then suddenly, thousands of people are paying attention (and buying stuff!).

Ben Chang

Recently, the Government published a report into unemployment amongst young people in the UK. The stark headline figure was that 12.8% of 16- to 24-year-olds, or one in eight, are not in education, employment or training (or “NEET”). In 2021, the figure was 9.7%. This works out at just under one million unemployed young adults in the UK today.

This trend in unemployment amongst young people is a huge societal problem. On a national level, it means that the government is receiving fewer tax receipts and facing greater demands on the welfare state.

Alejandra Ortiz

Generation Z has access to more information about Christianity than any other generation.

In my experience, serving among students in México for more than 15 years, and then more widely in Latin America and beyond with IFES, I see less resistance to Christianity today than when I was in university more than 20 years ago.

subtle idols

Graeme Shanks

“We surpass the furthest distance humans have ever travelled from planet Earth. We do so in honouring the extraordinary efforts and feats of our predecessors in human space exploration. To the next generation, make sure this record is not long-lived.”

Those were the words of one of the Artemis astronauts upon returning to Earth, having broken the Apollo 13 record.

Rhys Laverty

What does it mean to be the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 2026?

At the time of writing, that post is still held by Sir Keir Starmer. For how much longer remains to be seen. If he resigns any time soon, his successor will be the United Kingdom’s seventh premier in just ten years.

Karen Soole

As Christmas approaches, gift buying is underway. Shops are full, and atmospheric Christmas markets entice you with their beautiful, expensive, but ultimately unnecessary items. You return home with nothing - except perhaps a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie.

What to buy? Back in the day, the physical gift of music was an easy choice: a CD, a tape, or an LP, but now it's all accessed through streaming services. The other physical choice used to be a book, but has that disappeared too?

Graeme Shanks

Working nine to five? What a way to make a living. Working life has moved on a lot since Dolly Parton first released her catchy and timeless 1980s hit, 9 To 5. Indeed, fast forward a few generations and it would appear that flexibility has trumped security as the key thing that Gen Z’ers are prioritising when it comes to employment.^[1]

Have you noticed that recruitment firms are now fronting their adverts with their ability to perfectly match people to a job that fits with their lifestyle? Have you read about the companies experimenting with a four-day week, complete with flexible start and finish times, a nine-day fortnight, and compressed hours?^[2] The desire for flexibility with our employment, it would seem, is here to stay.