The wonderful good news of Jesus lies at the heart of our ministry. It’s Christ's love that compels us to keep going, knowing that the gospel is the power of God for salvation (Rom 1:16).
And so from our earliest days, ensuring that Christians are free to share that good news, and help people understand it – and that people are free to hear and believe it – has been a vital priority for us. Every time we appear on the TV or the radio, we hope to share this good news.
In fact, it was this freedom to share the good news that, in many ways, led to Christian Concern being started. In 2006, God brought many people together – who would go on to significant roles in our ministry – in opposition to the Religious Hatred Bill, which could have had grave consequences for the freedom of Christians to critique other religions. Thanks to God, the crucial amendment that protected this freedom passed in the House of Commons by just one vote!
It was a debate on the uniqueness of Christ that led Rev. Mahboob Masih to being ejected from his role as a presenter at a radio station. Our legal team helped him challenge the decision.
Over and over, we've continued to support Christians as they've been suspended or fired for sharing Christ's love in the workplace. Caroline Petrie made headlines in 2009 when she was suspended from her role as a nurse for offering to pray with a patient. Following our intervention, Caroline was reinstated, and the trust: "accepted that, for some people, prayer is an 'integral part of health care and the healing process'.”
Similarly, Richard Scott, a GP, faced consequences for sharing his faith with a patient. We supported him through disciplinary proceedings (which were encouraged by the National Secularist Society). Victoria Wasteney, a senior NHS occupational therapist, was suspended for nine months after giving a Christian book to a Muslim colleague. And Barry Trayhorn was forced to resign from his post as a gardener at HMP Littlehey, after a complaint was made about Bible verses he quoted at a prison chapel service where he volunteered.
More recently, we helped Sarah Kuteh continue in her profession after attempts to strike her off the nursing register for offering a Bible to a patient.
But the challenges are not only in the workplace. Time after time, police have wrongly interfered with, arrested or charged Christian street preachers as they seek to share the gospel with the public. In every single case, we've successfully helped them when their freedom to share the gospel was under threat. Tony, Josh, Dominic, Bill, Rob, Mike, Michael and Adrian, another Michael, Ian, Daniel, Oluwole, David, Stephen and many others have had their names cleared because of our help.
The challenges remain. Despite our many successes, police still cause problems for street preachers. And with police forces encouraging the reporting of 'hate incidents' (see below), these problems are unlikely to go away.
Please join us at our 10 year celebration to celebrate what God has done, through us, to help the gospel continue to be heard in our nation - and to help us shape the future of gospel freedoms in the UK.
“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20)
Read more
Read about 10 years of mobilising the Church
Read about 10 years of championing Christian foundations
Read about 10 years of championing marriage and family
Read about 10 years of championing life