National news stories in 2014

Churches across the UK challenged to become long term advocates of blood and organ donation

'Religion helps workers cope with stress'

More likely to report low levels of anxiety, depression and fatigue - and higher presence of meaning in life - new study

'Chilling reality for children in poverty'

More than three million families are likely to cut back on food so they can pay their energy bills this winter

Faith link with lower levels of criminality

People who regularly visit a place of worship are less likely to be involved in low level crime and delinquency

‘Major impact’ of fresh expressions

Fresh expressions of church are having a major impact on growth, according to new research

'Completely irresponsible television'

A Baptist minister is supporting a community at the heart of the controversial Channel 4 documentary Benefits Street

Thanks expressed for Home Mission appeal

The 2013 Home Mission appeal has clocked in at just below £4m

'Notice the poverty, exclusion and injustice'

Challenge to Christians in the seventh Poverty and Homelessness Action Week

GB Ministries moves to Derbyshire

GB Ministries, the Girls’ Brigade and Arise Ministries in mission together, has relocated to a new base in Derbyshire

DWP spin feeds 'unpleasant narrative'

'Using statistics to fit a narrative that stigmatises the most vulnerable in society as scroungers'

Get in the picture - stats and feedback

Thousands engaged with an initiative that enables all kinds of people to be involved in the Christmas story

Floods - long term prayer needed

It's going to be a long haul, say Baptist ministers at the heart of communities affected by the floods

Higher, deeper and wider - Assembly 2014

Delegates will be encouraged to understand God as ‘bigger than anything we can possibly conceive’ this year

'Misleading' response to Vincent Nichols

DWP only shows a carefully selected 'airbrushed' picture of UK welfare reform, say churches

UK shoebox response praised

Of the almost 10 million gift-filled shoeboxes collected for Operation Christmas Child, 900,000 came from the UK

Welfare: 'stick to the facts' about the poor

Free Churches attack the Government over ‘misleading’ use of statistics to explain welfare policy

End Hunger Fast - Baptist support

The End Hunger Fast campaign aims to bring a national focus on why people are going hungry

Government's child poverty plan attacked

Three major British Churches say the Government’s strategy fails to provide a credible plan to tackle child poverty

Fast relay begins to highlight hunger

General Secretary Lynn Green is among those taking part

Highlighting the stories of Christian women

A website telling the stories of women who have had significant ministries has been created by a Baptist minister

Hunger petition taken to Downing Street

A Baptist minister joined others in handing in a petition calling on the Government to act on UK food poverty

Budget alcohol plan criticised

Churches say George Osborne's announcement is 'irresponsible'

A prayer for End Hunger Fast

Bishop’s prayer calls for courage and “the will to end the hunger that shames our society”

Call for clarity on US use of UK drones

Defence Committee report confirms the likelihood of UK drones having been used by US drone operators

The church and challenging injustice

A resource designed to empower Christians to engage in campaigning for the global poor launches

Growing calls to end UK hunger

EA calls on David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Milliband to put issue of hunger firmly on the political agenda

'He didn’t see barriers, but opportunities'

Tributes have poured in for a student at Spurgeon’s College who died in the early hours of Monday morning

Churches' Gov immigration challenge

Don't just accept the ‘brightest and best’ immigrants, and show greater humanity towards the most vulnerable

Prayer request from Lynn Green

Diagnosed with breast cancer; early detection; good prognosis; all being well plans to be at Baptist Assembly

Duffett boost for Pioneer Collective

New funding allows for direct involvement of evangelist and former Union President

Foodbank figures 'shock and anger’

Church Leaders have responded with concern to the latest figures from the Trussell Trust

Jamaica and British Baptist bicentenary

The rich 200-year association between Jamaican and British Baptists will be marked by a series of events this year

'Extraordinary resource for youth workers'

Youth For Christ launches new website with 'cutting-edge' youth work resources

Baptismal blessings over Easter

Hundreds of baptisms have taken place in Baptist churches in recent weeks

'Missed opportunities on nuclear disarmament'

Church leaders push UK government to make progress at non-proliferation conference this week

CVM teams up with the BMM

The two groups announce they are covenanting together to introduce men to Jesus Christ across the UK

A Baptist Assembly 2014 preview

More than 1,600 people will be challenged to go further with God at the Baptist Assembly this weekend (10-11 May)

EA discontinues Oasis membership

The Evangelical Alliance has discontinued the membership of Oasis Trust, it announced on Friday (2 May)

Bullying, anxiety and going without

New research from The Children's Society and StepChange exposes the impact of debt on children

Urban mission training centre launches

A new Baptist-led training and research centre into pioneering mission has launched

Giving what we have to Jesus

The story of the feeding of the 5,000 formed the backdrop to the Baptist Union AGM on Saturday afternoon.

The Highest Goal - BMS session

The six themes of the new BMS vision document formed the backdrop to the early afternoon session on Saturday

A three-dimensional faith

‘The gospel of a God so big that he takes our breath away,’ Chris Ellis told Assembly delegates

The Baptist Assembly 2014 opens

Chris Ellis was inducted as President of the Baptist Union in the opening session of this year's Baptist Assembly

Stories from the Baptist Assembly 2014

Stories from the Baptist Assembly

God's banquet - there is still room!

Let’s get all those who are not yet Christians into our hearts, prayer, discipleship and mission.

Mission together and pioneering

The 200 year relationship between Jamaican and British Baptists and a host of local church stories

Recognitions and valedictions

Baptist ministers, lay preachers and mission workers took centre stage on Saturday evening

#bringbackourgirls

Baptist leaders have added their voices to calls for a safe return to the Nigerian school girls abducted in April

Dirt, sacrifice and following Jesus

Baptists were challenged to get their hands dirty like Jesus during the Saturday evening session

Innovation at Baptist Assembly 2014

"They get so much from being together and are really hungry to learn"

Challenging food poverty

New JPIT resource looks at growth in foodbanks, and ways churches can take action to tackle the underlying causes

What does a Good Society mean to you?

Baptist churches invited to participate in a nationwide conversation

Catalyst Live 2014: the world in a day

Miroslav Volf, Walter Brueggemann and Richard Rohr are among the speakers at the second Catalyst Live

Welcome for Modern Slavery Bill

Tougher penalties for human trafficking, announced in the Queen’s Speech, have been welcomed

'A visible sign of our connectedness'

A prayer initiative that brings together our Baptist Union and seeks to place Jesus at the centre of everything we do

Churches unite for World Blood Donor Day

Churches encouraged to raise the profile of blood donation in their local communities

'20m meals given out in last year'

Big rise in food poverty in last 12 months, according to new report

New Night Shelter Quality Mark launch

A new national good practice standard for Night Shelters will be launched this week

Fostering call for Christian men

Church-based organisation, Home for Good, is appealing to Christian men to step forward this Father’s Day

Marking 100 years of military chaplains

One of the organisations which sends Free Church chaplains to serve the armed forces has marked its centenary

'Missional Dragon's Den' launched

A competition to find the best new ideas for missional enterprises in the land

'Make climate manifesto pledge'

Christian Aid demand action to tackle climate change is at the heart of parties’ plans for government

Spell it out in National Transplant Week

Christians urged to share donation decision with their friends and family

Faith in the economy - workplace chaplaincy

"It is becoming very clear that mission in the economy and workplace chaplaincy is increasing in popularity"

The gift of organ donation

A cathedral is wrapped in a giant red ribbon to highlight National Transplant Week

Baptist welcome for General Synod vote

Baptists have warmly welcomed the Church of England's "historic" decision to allow women bishops

'Don't pass Assisted Dying Bill'

Baptists have joined other faith leaders calling for Lord Falconer's Assisted Dying Bill not to be enacted

General Secretary search for BUW

Current incumbent Peter Thomas will stand down at the end of the year

Freedom Sunday: end human trafficking

A new resource to enable congregations to reflect and act on the issue of human trafficking has launched

Vivienne tops the polls in Perth

A Girls’ Brigade leader from Surrey has been elected as the next Girls’ Brigade International President

New JPIT resource on organ donation

Presumed Consent: What happens to your body after you die?

Building hope amidst prison distress

Churches are being encouraged to support a national annual prayer initiative focused on "crisis-hit" prisons

Krish Kandiah new LST President

Dr Krish Kandiah is to become the new President of the London School of Theology

How will you vote next year?

The Evangelical Alliance has launched a survey to find out - and is inviting Christians to take part

Clean Living wows the Dragons

An ethical cleaning business that re-invests profits in its employees' wins a missional Dragons' Den

Home for Good becomes a charity

Home for Good - a church-based campaign to promote adoption and fostering - becomes a charity

Girls' Brigade Gov grant success

Successfully chosen to be part of the Cabinet Office’s Uniformed Youth Social Action Fund project

Archbishop to speak at JPIT conference

Conference designed to equip delegates to be effective Christian disciples ahead of 2015 general election

150 days on: prayer for Nigerian girls

Girls’ Brigade members join campaign on significant anniversary of kidnapped Nigerian girls' disappearance

Call to prayer for Scottish referendum

Baptists have been encouraged to join a call to prayer for Scotland and its referendum on independence

Churches campaign for abolition of Trident

Call comes as diplomatic initiatives gather pace to build a framework for a nuclear-weapon-free world

'A financial case for climate action'

Christian Aid welcomes new report outlining economic benefits of transitioning to a low carbon economy

Christmas campaign making its mark

Greater understanding about the true meaning of Christmas, thanks to Christmas Starts with Christ campaign

'Difference faith groups make to society?'

Question being asked by the Cinnamon Network in a new, wide-ranging national audit

Equipping young women leaders

A new discipleship opportunity for young women called the Esther Collective has been launched by Girls’ Brigade

'IS cannot be defeated by military alone'

The UK Government must not give into rhetoric that Islamic State can be ‘simply bombed out of existence’

The role of Baptists in Scotland

Scottish Baptists will be exploring the place of their churches in the nation at the forthcoming Assembly

'Mark the 1914 Christmas Truces'

One of the most remarkable events in the annals of modern warfare is the focus of new Christmas resources

Cultivating mission in marginalised places

Urban Life, a new urban mission and training initiative, has ‘well and truly launched’

The Free Churches and the MPs

It’s not only politicians, campaigners and the media who have a busy time at party conference season

Participating in God's purpose

A report from the 2014 Sam Sharpe Lecture

Let no one be a stranger

Not even a major BBC hitch could dilute message of the bicentenary services, says Baptist pastor

Biblical teaching and financial crisis

New publication analyses economic issues from a Biblical perspective through six Bible studies

The impact of night shelters in 2013/14

Church volunteers are responding to rising homelessness in their communities - latest figures

Faith in politics but no faith in politicians

That's what young people in the Church are saying, according to JPIT survey

Baptist Union Trustee, ecumenist, dies

Dr David Goodbourn was a former General Secretary of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland

Prison week organisers urge action

Christians are being called to join a week of prayer to support all those affected by the criminal justice system

Inter Faith engagement in the spotlight

Hundreds of organisations are holding events to mark the sixth Inter Faith Week, which began on Sunday

'Depth' of Jamaica British Baptist links

A Baptist service is broadcast live on BBC Radio 4 on Sunday morning to conclude a busy season of events

Why are there so many black prisoners?

Churches will present findings on black over-representation in British prisons to all political parties ahead of Election

Paul Potts to sing new version of Silent Night

Commissioned by Hope, the new version has been recorded by the former Britain’s Got Talent winner

Presidential nominations now open

Nominations are now open for the person who will serve as Baptist Union President in 2016-17

Why people use food banks

Gaps in the social security safety net are a key reason why people are turning to food banks - a new study

Love your Neighbour: more tickets

Due to large demand extra tickets made available for first part of next year's JPIT conference

'Demand for emergency food is increasing'

The most extensive report into the causes of food poverty in the UK was published this week

Church ad challenges supermarkets?

The first ever church-produced Christmas ad has been revealed on YouTube

Growing the website of Urban Life

The website of Urban Life – a new missional and urban training initiative - has been expanded

Thousands attend Silent Night services

Hundreds of carol services that draw on the Christmas Day truces in 1914

New directors at the Evangelical Alliance

Gavin Calver has been appointed to the leadership team of the Evangelical Alliance

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