Traditional Christian teaching could effectively be ‘criminalised’ in some settings under David Cameron’s plans for new anti-extremist banning orders, a top Anglican theologian and former parliamentary draftsman has warned. The Rev Dr Mike Ovey, a former lawyer and now principal of Oak Hill Theological College in London, a training school for Church of England clergy, said proposals for new ‘Extremism Disruption Orders’ could be a disaster area for people from all the mainstream religions and none. Mr Cameron and Theresa May have signalled that the new orders, planned as part of the Government’s Counter-Extremism Bill, would not curb the activities of radical Islamist clerics but the promotion of other views deemed to go against ‘British values’ even if it is non-violent and legal. Dr Ovey warned that unless the criteria are tightly defined, the orders could be used against almost anyone and would have chilling effect on preachers and even call into question the curriculum of colleges such as his.

We’ve grown used to stories of dazzling new churches with huge followings, global media ministries and where founders and leaders become worldwide celebrities. Roy Godwin and Dave Roberts tell a different story. No glittering palace of worship here, no global media empire and no megachurch congregation. Instead, this is the story of a converted farm, high up in the bleak but beautiful hills of west Wales, where God breaks through. The Grace Outpouring is a simple story of hospitality and prayer - where all are made welcome and aware of God’s presence. There’s no story of building a congregation or even a resident community. Instead, the core vision is a scattered prayer community - the Caleb Community - pouring the grace and power of God outward into the world, rather than inward, into a church. To read the wonderful story of A House of Prayer with the Father’s Heart, click the 'more' button below.

The number of recorded sexual offences against children in England and Wales has risen by a third, according to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). There were 31,000 offences recorded in the year up to April 2014, up 8,500 on the previous year. Figures compiled by the charity show that 85 offences were recorded by police every day, with significant rises in Scotland and Northern Ireland also. A spokesman said high-profile cases had ‘played a contributory factor’ in encouraging people to come forward. Jon Brown, from the NSPCC's sexual abuse programme, told BBC Radio 4's Today that cases in Rotherham, Rochdale, Oxford and elsewhere had helped prompt children, young people and adults to speak about abuse that is either happening to them or has happened to them. Chief Constable Simon Bailey, the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) lead for child protection, said police now looked upon child abuse very differently but the latest figures could be still only be the tip of the iceberg.

A new ComRes poll commissioned by Tearfund asked practising Christians in the UK to identify the main social and political issues they believe the world will have to face over the next ten years. They said it would be climate change or the environment. Next came social justice, then secularism, migration and poverty. The research was released just before a mass lobby of Parliament on Wednesday calling on parliamentarians to tackle climate change. Campaigners want MPs to support a climate change agreement aimed at limiting temperature rises to two per cent of pre-industrial levels, and to work towards ending pollution from coal in the UK.