The Plain Truth UK

03/10/2025

Congratulations to Rt Revd & Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally DBE, who was today announced as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury making her the first woman to be appointed to lead the Church of England in that role. Prior to her nomination to Canterbury, she served as Bishop of London from 2018. She sits on the Lords Spiritual benches in the House of Lords.

On 12th September, she spoke against the Bill on Assisted Dying urging others to ‘resist the Bill’ stating that ‘in God, whose very being is life, there is always hope’.

You can read more about this controversial Bill in our latest issue of The Plain Truth.

23/05/2025

https://magazine.feedspot.com/uk_christian_magazines/?feedid=7253134&_src=f1_featured_email

We're in at No 5!

Discover the Best UK Christian Magazines ranked by Quality of Content, Engagement, Social Media Popularity, and Freshness. The list highlights the most influential and widely read publications online.

15/01/2025

Christian persecution reaches new record high in World Watch List 2025 just announced by Open Doors

More than 380 million Christians around the world now face high levels of persecution and discrimination – a record number, representing one in seven Christians. It’s an increase of 15 million from last year’s figures and a rise of a staggering 140 million since 2018.

These are the disturbing findings of the 2025 World Watch List (WWL), which ranks the 50 nations where Christians face the most extreme persecution and discrimination worldwide.

Key findings from this year’s list (WWL position in brackets):
The two key drivers of this steep increase could be described as chaos and control:
Chaos: caused by ongoing conflicts, organised crime and Islamist insurrections. Amidst these areas of lawlessness, enemies of Christianity can act with impunity.

Control: as authoritarianism continues to rise, regimes are ramping up pressure and violence against Christian minorities.
North Korea still no.1 on the list. This year, the violence score rose even further, with Christians facing possible summary public ex*****on if they are discovered. Despite this China ( #15) is arresting and repatriating hundreds of North Korean ( #1) escapees, as “illegal immigrants” with no concern for the fate they face - a fate considerably more severe for Christian converts.

Sharpest rises in Central Asia: Several countries have risen sharply here. Kyrgyzstan ( #47) rose 14 places, the largest rise of any country. The nation, previously known as the least authoritarian country in the region has seen religious freedom restrictions and violence against churches. Kazakhstan ( #38) and Tajikistan ( #39) also rose in the ranking.

"The threat from authoritarian regimes in Central Asia has intensified to the point where many Christians in the region are in a state of fear," says Frans Veerman, Managing Director of Open Doors World Watch Research.

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): the most violent place in the world for Christians. Chronic government instability and civil conflict have created a vacuum in several nations in SSA. A vacuum filled by opportunistic Islamic militants. Parts of Nigeria ( #7) rank as perhaps the most dangerous places to be a Christian in the world. Christian communities are relentlessly targeted by Jihadist groups and Fulani militias – the religious nature of the targeting clearly shown in a shocking 2024 report.

The fractures in governance and security have also opened the door for the jihadist activities in CAR ( #27), DRC ( #35), Mali ( #14), Burkina Faso ( #20) and Niger ( #28). The growing violence is also causing a displacement crisis, as millions of Christians are forced to flee their homes.

The Church: driven out or driven underground. In the Middle East especially, several Christian communities are dwindling, and in some cases, on the verge of extinction. Syria ( #18) has seen a continuing exodus of its Christian communities, with only a tiny fraction remaining following the civil war, the rise of ISIS and the quakes of 2023. The fall of former President Bashar al-Assad in December (not accounted for in the statistics) creates further uncertainty, as Christians face an uncertain future under the rule of the primary rebel group HTS.

Meanwhile the Christian population are being driven deeper underground in several countries. They are doing it to evade ever more sophisticated surveillance and ever-harsher laws regulating or outlawing their existence. Algeria’s ( #13) persecution score has fallen, but only because there are no more protestant churches to close. The church in Afghanistan ( #10) is all but invisible to outsiders now, as those Christians that remain, hide from view to avoid violent punishment at the hands of the Taliban.

Civil War: The ongoing civil war in Sudan ( #5, from #8 in 2024) has caused unimaginable suffering and has seen a sharp uptick in persecution against Christians, who have been killed, assaulted or driven from their homes. Yemen has risen to #3. The ongoing civil war, and the increasing influence of the Houthis rebels, has forced dozens of Christian house churches to cease their meetings. The fighting between Myanmar's ( # 13) army and a host of opposition militias drove its score into the “Extreme persecution” category, which encompasses the top 13 countries on the list.

Source: Open Doors UK. 15 January 2025


(Photo's from Open Doors.) House church in Kyrgyzstan facing persecution; Syrian refugee girls, living in tented settlement in Lebanon; Women at food distribution shed in refugee camp, Sudan.

18/12/2024

Christmas message from The King

His Majesty King Charles sends warmest wishes to 100,000 Christians taking part in carol singing flash mobs

His Majesty sent his “warmest good wishes” to all who have gathered this weekend to come together to celebrate the “Shine Your Light Campaign”, a nationwide campaign which has seen and will see carol-singing flash mobs spring up across the UK and Ireland in the lead-up to Christmas, admiring the campaign’s “efforts to bring many Christian denominations together, and share in faith this festive period.”

The letter from Buckingham Palace shared that The King was most touched to learn of the success of the event last year, and sent wishes for a Happy Christmas and a peaceful year ahead to all who attend this year.

The Shine Your Light Campaign is gathering pace as Christmas fast approaches, with over 1100 events currently across the UK and Ireland having united 100,000 Christians to share the real meaning of Christmas with 1 million people through carol singing and nativity plays.

The campaign has been backed by over 75 key Christian denominations and organisations and has been endorsed by representatives across the major political parties. Dr Jonathan Oloyede, Convenor of the National Day of Prayer and Worship which is spearheading this national call, welcomed this endorsement from His Majesty The King, saying:

“To see Christians publicly recognised for taking the true message of Christmas into our communities by His Majesty, The King is such an encouragement.

We look forward to being able to share with him the great stories of inspiration from across the Isles as many spread light, hope and joy everywhere!!”

Shine Your Light is a Christian grassroots movement, which last year saw over 78,000 Christians from over 700 churches take their Christmas events into public spaces in December 2023. This year, the campaign will see over 100,000 Christians singing the real meaning of Christmas to over 1 million people, with large events taking place across the whole of December in public places across England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic.

In the lead up to Shine Your Light, there has been an advent social media campaign on Instagram which has seen prominent influencers such as Bear Grylls and Gemma Hunt read the nativity story from the Bible to raise awareness of the campaign and the true story of Christmas.

Photos: Hope Chapel Lane, Belfast & Trafalgar Square, London

13/12/2024

Charity applauds Government’s announcement of a new Envoy for Freedom of Religious Belief (FORB), David Smith MP.

Of the news, Henrietta Blyth - CEO, Open Doors UK & Ireland said: “This is great news, not just for people of faith, but for anyone concerned about freedom and human rights. We believe that David Smith is someone who truly “gets” the need to speak up for Freedom of Religion or Belief in Parliament. He has worked with several NGOs and Christian organisations and is highly spoken of. We look forward to working closely with him.

"The FORB Envoy is such an important role. Since it was introduced in 2018, it has made a significant difference in ensuring that the plight of persecuted Christians, and other faiths, has been kept on the agenda of the UK government.

"We know human rights are an important issue for this government and are so pleased they have now appointed someone to this critical role."



Photo by Deniz Fuchidzhiev on Unsplash

09/12/2024

Christians to Restore the True Spirit of Christmas onto our high streets


A national campaign asking Christians to unite in sharing the real meaning of Christmas through flash-mob-style public carol concerts has been backed by over 75 church leaders from many of the key Christian denominations and organisations around the UK and Ireland.

At present, more than 900 events are planned, ranging from small gatherings of a few people to medium-sized community initiatives and large-scale celebrations in stadiums involving hundreds of participants.

Representatives of the major Christian denominations in the UK, as well as evangelical and ecumenical organisations, local churches, and networks, have urged Christians to bring their carol concerts and nativity events outside church buildings and into high streets, shopping centres and town halls over the weekend of 13th – 15th December.

Dr Nicola Brady, General Secretary of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland has given her backing to this campaign saying:

"We are delighted to add our voice to celebrate the thousands of Christians of different denominations and traditions coming outside to shine their light this year. It gives everyone the opportunity to hear the real meaning of Christmas as they bring the hopeful and joyful gift of our shared faith in Jesus Christ into the heart of their local communities across Britain and Ireland.”

Shine Your Light is a Christian grassroots movement, which last year saw over 78,000 Christians from over 700 churches take their Christmas events into public spaces in December 2023. This year, the campaign hopes to see over 100,000 Christians singing the real meaning of Christmas to over 1 million people, with large events planned in December at Trafalgar Square, Westfield Shopping Centre East London, Trafalgar Square alongside many Football Clubs. There are multiple events in public places in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic.

Dr Jonathan Oloyede, Convenor of the National Day of Prayer and Worship which is spearheading this national call added:

“We are inviting Christians from the North, East, South and West of these Isles to join us in Shining Their Light in their communities this Christmas.

Imagine the impact of hundreds of thousands of Christians taking the message of Jesus into all public places and spaces...”

In the lead up to Shine Your Light, there is an advent social media campaign on Instagram which has seen prominent influencers such as Bear Grylls and Gemma Hunt read the nativity story from the Bible to raise awareness of the campaign and the true story of Christmas.

To find out more or sign-up visit www.shineyourlight.org.ukENDS

29/11/2024

The EA responds to result of Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) vote

Gavin Calver, CEO of the Evangelical Alliance, said: “I’m deeply disappointed parliament has voted to progress this bill to legalise assisted su***de. This is the biggest proposed change to our social fabric in a generation. Over recent weeks we have stood side by side with other faith groups, disability groups, medics, lawyers, and countless members of the public highlighting the significant shortcomings of this bill.

“Sadly, this bill will normalise su***de in our society as a positive option and places the most vulnerable at risk of abuse and coercion. We will continue to work to ensure that the bill does not become law. Many of those who voted in favour expressed concerns about safeguards and the workability of the law. In the coming months, as the bill is considered further, we will continue to engage and hold MPs to account if their hopes for the bill’s improvement are not met.

“When the bill returns for further votes next year, we will continue to campaign against the principle of this bill and advocate for the best protections for the most vulnerable in our society.”

For more on the story: https://www.eauk.org/news-and-views/whats-wrong-with-a-bill-seeking-to-introduce-assisted-su***de

(The Plain Truth is a Member of the EA in the UK.)

Representing our members since 1846, the Evangelical Alliance is the oldest and largest evangelical unity movement in the UK.