CU students welcome newbies
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 24 Oct 2025
Up, down and across the country, university students have been welcoming fresh faces to campuses, with the Christian Unions (CUs) seizing what has been coined as “Welcome Week” to invite young adults to CU and church.
Elly Lane is Co-President at the University of Manchester (UoM) CU and told en: “We were out on the street every single day doing evangelism, with fun and interesting activities and did some worship in the street joint with some local churches. Someone even gave their life to the Lord while one of our members was telling them about God one of the afternoons – praise God! We saw a high intake of freshers who are all very keen to get stuck into CU, as well as meeting many other people in different years who were also interested in being part of the Christian Union.
CofE: Liberals face setback
en staff
Date posted: 23 Oct 2025
Liberals in the Church of England hoping to change its stance on same-sex relationships appear to be suffering a setback.
At its most recent meeting, the House of Bishops agreed that standalone services of “Prayers of Love and Faith” affirming LGBT relationships would need a special process known as B2. This requires a two-thirds majority in all three Houses of the General Synod, the CofE Parliament. “On the basis of previous votes,” commented the Church Times, “this seems likely to forestall their introduction”.
Narnia turns 75: Royal Mail & Netflix join celebrations
en staff
Date posted: 23 Oct 2025
Narnia is marking a major milestone. It is 75 years since the fictional land first appeared in print, with the publication of CS Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe happening on 16 October 1950.
Since then, it has reportedly sold more than 115 million copies globally and been translated into around 60 different languages.
Christians in Sport visits Isle of Lewis
Christians in Sport
Date posted: 21 Oct 2025
Last month, Christians in Sport staff members Dr. Graham Daniels and Josh Strike travelled to the Isle of Lewis, off the coast of Scotland, for a packed three days of events for sportspeople.
Friday saw Josh speaking at three schools and organising a youth sports tournament. In the evening, Josh and Graham ran a "Clubhouse" evening focused on training and encouraging amateur sportspeople to share their faith.
politics & policy
Christianity is not a 'private hobby'
Krish Kandiah
Date posted: 21 Oct 2025
“I’m a Christian. I enjoy the church, I believe in God. But the role of the archbishop is not actually to interfere with international migration policies.”
This remark – recently made by a political leader in response to an archbishop’s critique of immigration policy – reveals a common yet troubling misunderstanding of Christianity’s role in public life. Faith is increasingly being equated with a private therapeutic tool to help individuals get through hard times. Christian faith, while acceptable when quiet and compliant, is deemed unwelcome when it spills over into public debate and dares to speak into national issues.
Ireland transformed: Peace, prosperity & the gospel's quiet advance
John-Edward Funnell
Date posted: 18 Oct 2025
This month, I had the privilege of being invited to Southern Ireland to speak. It had been over a decade since I last visited the area, and I could not believe how much it had changed.
I met with a number of Baptist ministers seeking to plant churches in working-class estates around Cork, and I was asked to advise them accordingly. I was so encouraged by what I saw.
Call for more complementarian bishops in CofE
Ros Clarke
Date posted: 17 Oct 2025
A new report has called for more episcopal provision for complementarian evangelicals in the Church of England.
"Church Society welcomes this analysis from Maggie Swinson, the Independent Reviewer tasked with examining the provision for traditional catholics and complementarian evangelicals," writes Ros Clarke, Associate Director for Church Society.
Mullally 'gaslighting' church - claim
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 17 Oct 2025
A leading conservative evangelical in the CofE says Sarah Mullally has led the way in an attempt to “institutionally gaslight the entire church.”
In an article published by the Gospel Coalition in the USA, Lee Gatiss, Director of Church Society, writes: “The biggest challenge for the new Archbishop is the crisis of trust and credibility she faces. She has led the way in an attempt to institutionally gaslight the entire church, claiming that she and other revisionist bishops are not changing the doctrine of the church on marriage and sexuality, even while they attempt the most radical change to Church of England teaching and practice for 500 years.
An interview with new UCCF head Matt Lillicrap
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 14 Oct 2025
This summer saw more than 1,000 students descend on The Quinta Christian Centre in Oswestry, Shropshire, for the annual Forum conference, hosted by the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF).
Attending the gathering for the first time in his role as CEO was Matt Lillicrap, who took over leadership last autumn. en had an exclusive opportunity to chat with him about all things student ministry, just as UCCF is launching its brand-new Uncover Luke publication.
AI ‘scarily parallels Biblical prophecy’
en staff
Date posted: 13 Oct 2025
Theologian, mathematician and bioethicist John Lennox says some predictions about Artificial Intelligence (AI) taking over the world “scarily parallel Biblical prophecy”.
Writing in The Times, Lennox – whose thinking has been extensively covered in en – said: “If we are going to take seriously the view of leading scientists and engineers that AI poses an increasing threat to humanity, should we not also take seriously Biblical predictions that become more realistic by the day?”
Mount Sinai climb: Modern-day Moses?
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 13 Oct 2025
The Director of Bible translation organisation The Word for the World UK (TWFTW) is doing a sponsored climb of Mount Catherine (the highest mountain in Egypt) and Mount Sinai.
Steve Lancaster is raising funds to buy 10,000 Sena Bibles for the people of Malawi; he needs £48,000 and has already raised over £24,000. Lancaster said: “The Sena Bible was published in 2006… Twenty years on and the Sena church is growing, but they’ve run out of their stock of Bibles and are pleading for more!”
Loving our Jewish friends in the wake of tragedy
Ziggy Rogoff
Date posted: 10 Oct 2025
This week (7 October) marked two years since the world witnessed, with horror, a modern-day pogrom, events that shocked the modern conscience. And just last week, two British Jewish men were shot dead outside a synagogue in Manchester. How must the Jewish community be feeling?
This moment is not only about the fear and loss of the present; it’s also a reminder of deep, generational wounds.
Churches bring hope amid poverty
Luke Randall
Date posted: 9 Oct 2025
Churches are increasingly being seen as places of “genuine hope and care” by struggling families who are struggling to feed their children, according to Christians Against Poverty (CAP).
The organisation recently released its latest Client Report, which highlights the impact of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. The research revealed that 12% of UK parents have skipped meals during the last year to feed their children, while 59% of clients have borrowed money to pay for their regular food shop.
Duo joins leadership at West End church
Jim Sayers
Date posted: 4 Oct 2025
Members of Hope Community Church in London’s West End have a sense of anticipation as a change of leadership takes place. Alex Brito as pastor and Tim Gardner as evangelist are joining Hope, serving Soho and Covent Garden, each working for the church part-time. Alex and Tim took over from Andrew Murray and Keith Holmes in September.
Alex comes from Mosaic Multicultural Church, which was based across the river in Southwark, but has been adopted by Hope. Members of Mosaic Church have come with him to Hope. Tim, an elder at Hayes Lane Bromley, knows Hope well, having worked alongside them in the past as Grace Baptist Association evangelist. He looks forward to offering pastoral care for the existing members, and reaching out to the city centre community.
New Archbishop poses challenge for evangelicals
en staff
Date posted: 3 Oct 2025
Evangelicals in the Church of England are facing fresh challenges following the announcement that Sarah Mullally is to be the new Archbishop of Canterbury.
The appointment of a woman with liberal views on a number of issues will prove difficult not only for reformed evangelicals in the CofE but for the wider Anglican Communion, which is more conservative than the Church of England.
Evangelicals condemn synagogue attack
en staff
Date posted: 3 Oct 2025
Evangelicals are among those expressing their horror after an antisemitic terrorist attack at a synagogue in Manchester.
Two people were killed and four others left in a serious condition following the incident, which took place at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation, a large Ashkenazi Orthodox synagogue founded in 1935.
Scotland: Humanists go on offensive
Emily Pollok
Date posted: 3 Oct 2025
Humanists are calling out Scottish schools for what they allege is Christian bias and a lack of inclusivity in religious observance (RO) in state schools.
In a new report, titled “Preaching is Not Teaching,” the Humanist Society Scotland (HSS) claims that schools fail to provide adequate transparency on RO to parents and carers – and can be hostile to humanist, atheist, agnostic, or other non-religious worldviews, it is alleged.
Reflections from ReNew 2025: Growing Leaders
Tim Vasby-Burnie & Neil Robbie
Date posted: 1 Oct 2025
Tim Vasby-Burnie and Neil Robbie reflect on the 2025 ReNew Conference, Growing Leaders, which was held from 29-30 September in Leeds. The event is all about "advancing Anglican Evangelical ministries for the salvation of England", and ReNew describes itself as a mission, a network, and conferences.
Reflections from day one - Tim Vasby-Burnie
Why should people attend a conference like ReNew?
