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Christian institute meeting at Ashton Baptist Church 10 September 2025

Last night I attended a meeting of the Lancashire Reformed Baptist Fellowship at Ashton Baptist Church in Preston. There were 53 of us present representing many of the 14 churches in the fellowship, and the atmosphere was one of warm Christian friendship, and also a desire to pray and to hear about the issues covered by the visiting speakers from the Christian Institute.

After a chance to catch up with others over tea and coffee in the church hall, which I thoroughly enjoyed, we moved through into the main church to pray together and to hear the talk. The prayer lasted for about 30 minutes and we lifted up the local churches and the work of the gospel in the north west. It is encouraging that a number of churches have had multiple baptisms in recent months.  It is also encouraging that several churches have been running courses for those exploring Christianity. The talk lasted for the remainder of the time, and concluded shortly after 9pm. 

The subject was "Westminster through the looking glass" and the two speakers from the Christian Institute spoke well, alternating with short talks on four issues of concern: assisted dying, islamophobia, a new education bill, and conversion therapy. In many cases, concerns with the legislation in question centre around a failure to define precisely what is being permitted or banned, with vague wordings potentially giving scope for intrusion into religious and other liberties. The Christian Institute has on several occasions obtained legal advice from leading lawyers on key matters, and, in some cases, this has been instrumental in pushing back against potentially harmful legislation. The tone of the talks was robust but not in any way "hateful" or "negative", and was undergirded by a genuine concern for people's welfare, and the truth of God's Common Grace towards all - regardless of whether or not they are Christian believers. In many cases, the work of the Christian Institute has involved partnering with other campaigners from a variety of backgrounds, for example, on the issue of assisted dying, with advocates for those with disabilities, and, on the issue of free speech, with figures such as Rowan Atkinson (famous for his role as "Blackadder"). I came away from the meeting better informed and with a sense of gratitude for the work being done. 
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