UK & Ireland

Latest news in brief
Pioneering in Pembrokeshire: reaching Welsh-speakers

Pioneering in Pembrokeshire: reaching Welsh-speakers

Milla Ling-Davies
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 5 Feb 2025

After months of prayer, a small group has boldly begun a new monthly service in Haverfordwest – delivered entirely in the Welsh language.

Described as a missional project rather than a church, the initiative (called ‘Rhywd y Brenin’ meaning the ‘net of the King’), was begun by seven people with a desire to better share the gospel with Welsh speakers across Pembrokeshire. They launched the first service on 6 October in Emmanuel Christian Centre in Merlins Bridge, and were delighted to welcome in 22 adults and eight children.

Parents could be forced to report Sunday School attendance

Parents could be forced to report Sunday School attendance

Nicola Laver
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 5 Feb 2025

A statutory obligation could be imposed on parents to report if their home-schooled child is attending Sunday School and other forms of church education, under the wide-ranging Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

The bill, which details plans for compulsory registration of home-schooled children, has also been criticised by some for a suggested implication that ‘all home-educated children are at risk’.


From jail to Jesus: Ex-addict’s transformative journey

From jail to Jesus: Ex-addict’s transformative journey

Emily Pollok
Emily Pollok
Date posted: 5 Feb 2025

Just before he received his last prison sentence in 2019, Lewis Gibson was living in a homeless hostel. He’d been warned that he would end up in jail again if he continued on his drug-fuelled lifestyle.

‘I was in despair, because I knew I was going back to prison,’ Lewis explained. At a crisis point, Gibson turned to a United Christian Broadcasters (UCB) devotional he’d picked up during a previous stint in prison. In it, he read Romans 10:13: ‘Whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’

Chick-fil-A defies activists to open in UK

Chick-fil-A defies activists to open in UK

Emily Pollok
Emily Pollok
Date posted: 3 Feb 2025

One of the most popular fast-food restaurants in the United States, which has attracted controversy for its Christian roots and ethical stance, is attempting to launch in the UK for the second time.

Chick-fil-A has 2,800 stores spanning Canada to Puerto Rico. It is best known for its fried chicken sandwiches and closed doors on Sundays and is planning to open five branches early this year in Belfast, Leeds, Liverpool and London.

Peacemaker Trust  face antisemitism  complaint

Peacemaker Trust face antisemitism complaint

Nicola Laver
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 1 Feb 2025

Allegedly antisemitic photographs published on the Peacemaker Trust website have led to a complaint to the charities regulator by the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA).

The charity, founded by Stephen Sizer, a well-known critic of Christian Zionism, says it is ‘dedicated to peacemaking’. But a spokesperson for the CAA said: ‘At a time when 80% of British Jews identify as Zionists, according to our polling, the publication of such images is not only the complete opposite of “peacemaking”, but actively adds fuel to the fire of Jew-hatred in Britain, which is currently at an all-time high. Such actions are contrary to what we should expect from a registered charity.’

Ex-LGBTQ activist warns about Conversion Therapy Bill

Ex-LGBTQ activist warns about Conversion Therapy Bill

Emily Pollok
Emily Pollok
Date posted: 1 Feb 2025

One hundred people attended a London conference on 6 January which addressed the UK government’s consideration of a Conversion Therapy Bill and the Church’s response.

The event, titled ‘The MSC Group Introduces James Parker,’ was organised by the Marriage, Sex and Culture Group in partnership with Anglican Mainstream.

Christian MP made envoy for religious freedom

Christian MP made envoy for religious freedom

Emily Pollok
Emily Pollok
Date posted: 30 Jan 2025

Christian Labour MP, David Smith, has been appointed to the role of Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for the UK government.

Smith, who became MP for North Northumberland in July 2024, takes over from Conservative MP, Fiona Bruce.

250 young athletes equipped

250 young athletes equipped

Brian Glynn
Date posted: 28 Jan 2025

More than 250 young adults are aiming to connect their sport to their faith more and more as the result of Christians in Sport’s annual ‘New Year Training’ conference.

Delegates across three venues were encouraged in evangelism to their sports clubs and teams. Main meetings at each conference focussed on the ‘I Am’ sayings in John’s Gospel, alongside workshops on worship and witness, thinking through how faith in Christ transforms identity and brings freedom and security to sportspeople within a performance-dominated culture.

Alarm bells sound as assisted suicide bill progresses

Alarm bells sound as assisted suicide bill progresses

Nicola Laver
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 27 Jan 2025

Kim Leadbeater, the MP behind the new and controversial assisted suicide bill, has been criticised for deciding the first committee sitting would sit partly in private – and for producing a list of potential witnesses broadly supporting the bill.

The committee has already issued a call for written evidence. But when the committee met for the first time on 21 January, Leadbeater told members some of the sitting would be in private to respect ‘individuals’ privacy’.

Record 4,000 toys distributed

Record 4,000 toys distributed

Nicola Laver
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 25 Jan 2025

In Birmingham, 1,700 families received a record number of toys at Christmas from Birmingham City Mission, with the assistance of dozens of local companies.

Around 4,000 children received the gifts in December via the Birmingham City Mission’s (BCM) annual ToyLink project, with around 70 local companies who, between them, held toy collections, wrapped presents or delivered them to families.

Christian school worker loses unfair dismissal claim

Christian school worker loses unfair dismissal claim

Nicola Laver
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 24 Jan 2025

A Christian school pastoral worker has lost her claim for unfair dismissal after losing her job at a London Catholic school.

She had posted in support of Biblical marriage on her personal social media accounts. Gozen Soydag, 37, who is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre (CLC), says she is ‘devasted and confused’ by the decision and will appeal.

Barnabas Aid: Police involved; regulatory scope widens

Barnabas Aid: Police involved; regulatory scope widens

Nicola Laver
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 23 Jan 2025

A man and a woman are under police investigation for suspected fraud, alongside the regulatory investigation into Barnabas Aid (formerly Barnabas Fund), a charity supporting persecuted Christians – which has been widened to include four linked charities.

Wiltshire Police has confirmed it arrested two people on 7 November 2024 ‘in connection with an ongoing fraud investigation’.

Is the UK church ready for Trump 2.0?

Is the UK church ready for Trump 2.0?

Ben Chang
Ben Chang
Date posted: 20 Jan 2025

Today sees the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States.

Over on this side of the pond, polling consistently confirms that most of the British public have a pretty dim view of Trump. At best, he is seen as a ridiculous clown who cannot string a sentence together. At worst, he is viewed as a wannabe autocrat who idolises Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. However, he won a resounding victory in the Presidential election and his party gained control of both the House and Senate.

Maximise 2025: Nurturing future church leaders

Maximise 2025: Nurturing future church leaders

9:38
Date posted: 19 Jan 2025

‘Fan the flame’ was the theme of the Maximise 2025 conference held in January, an annual event aimed at encouraging ministry trainees, interns and apprentices who are dipping their toes into local church ministry.

This year's conference saw close to 100 people gather for all or part of the time and included trainees from all over the country and a broad leadership team representing numerous training institutions, ministries, networks and churches. It was once again a chance to come together for encouragement, equipping and exploring a future in vocational ministry. For many attending, the event proves the high point of their year.

Debate on AI in church 'urgently needed'

Debate on AI in church 'urgently needed'

Graham Nicholls
Graham Nicholls
Date posted: 17 Jan 2025

Towards the end of last year, Affinity organised a webinar to discuss important questions around artificial intelligence use in the church.

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to feature prominently in the news, whether in discussions about replacing humans for practical or social tasks, medical diagnostic tools, or deepfake videos. There is no doubt about the benefits of some AI tools; only this week, I came across an AI service that offered to handle charitable grant applications. This immediately appealed to me, having found the process tedious and frustrating in the past.

Barnabas Aid exclusive: Police investigate two people for money laundering

Barnabas Aid exclusive: Police investigate two people for money laundering

Nicola Laver
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 15 Jan 2025

A man and a woman are under police investigation for suspected fraud, alongside the regulatory investigation into Barnabas Aid (formerly Barnabas Fund) and four linked charities.

Wiltshire Police has confirmed that it arrested two people on 7 November 2024 ‘in connection with an ongoing fraud investigation’.

Chapel reopens in Yorkshire Dales

Chapel reopens in Yorkshire Dales

en staff
Date posted: 15 Jan 2025

Last month, two organisations joined together to re-open a chapel in the Yorkshire Dales, which had been closed for six years.

Salem Chapel in Martin Top, Lancashire and the Gospel in the Dales Trust re-opened the old chapel at the Yorkshire Dales village of Hetton, which is about five miles north of Skipton. It had been closed by the Methodists some years ago.

Celebrating 150 years of evangelism

Celebrating 150 years of evangelism

Mike Mellor
Date posted: 12 Jan 2025

Christians and evangelists from all over the country gathered at Loughton Baptist Church in Milton Keynes to joyfully celebrate 150 years of God’s faithfulness to Outreach UK.

The mission organisation, born in 1874, started life as the Christian Colportage Association. A Colporteur (French col = collar, portage = to carry) was a person who carried a shoulder bag from which to sell Bibles and other Christian books and literature. In order to convey significance to subsequent generations, the name changed over the years from Christian Colportage Association to Home Evangelism and then to Outreach UK, as it is known today. More than 70 evangelists, supported by five Area Field Officers now work alongside churches, supporting and training others in sharing the good news one-to-one.

12 churches started in Birmingham

12 churches started in Birmingham

Dave Williams
Dave Williams
Date posted: 6 Jan 2025

More than 12 churches have either started since 2020 or are set to start in Britain’s second largest city, the ‘Birmingham Collective’ reports.

The group was set up in 2010 (then called 2020 Birmingham) and comprises leaders from the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC), Newfrontiers and Acts 29. With many churches closing over the next few years, the group says it is only scratching the surface, while Birmingham’s population is growing rapidly.

Training day aids plans for church plants in the South East

Training day aids plans for church plants in the South East

Milla Ling-Davies
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 3 Jan 2025

The London Seminary have hosted their annual Plant Conference – encouraging and equipping around 15 leaders from different networks in church planting.

The aim of the day – which took place as part of London Seminary’s wider ‘Plant’ course – was to help those wanting to begin vibrant new congregations to meet, think and discuss their plans. Three morning sessions were led by Dan Steel, principal of Yarnton Manor (pictured) and former pastor of Magdalen Road Church in Oxford, and Barry King, who runs the ‘Plant’ course. The afternoon finished with a Q&A session, giving attendees the chance to learn from more experienced church planters.