In the Diocese of Durham, £4.7 million has been awarded over seven years for plans including 20 new hubs, rooted in local churches, for ministry to children and young people. Training will also be provided for 600 people in youth and children's ministry.

The grant will also fund chaplaincy to secondary schools and support and seed funding for 25 churches to develop engagement with local secondary schools.

MB: I have been married to Katie, who is a lawyer, for 16 years. We have two children, Micah (14) and Hannah (13). We attend a small non-denominational church in our home city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Most of my career has been spent in Kingdom-focused roles. These included a university campus chaplain for Agape and film producer for the Jesus Film Project. Most recently I served as Chief Operating Officer of Our Daily Bread, where I was a trustee on the UK board of directors.

Changes of this magnitude require a reassessment of the landscape for Christians and the Church. Rising hostility from governments, big business, and big tech raises questions about the Church's place in the public square and the methods she uses to preach the gospel. In large swathes of the Western world, Christians are no longer welcome to fully practice and express their faith in public.

Instead, the church is a little bit of all these things. It is nondenominational, pulling together different Christian streams to minister effectively to the young white professionals who have moved to work in the capital, as well as the upwardly mobile Nigerians and South Koreans who've emigrated to the seat of the United States government.