“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.”
Psalm 136:1
For over 40 years, CARE has sought to bring truth and grace to the world of politics, and to speak God’s better story for human flourishing into our broken world.
Ross Hendry, CEO of CARE
We know that politics has a real impact upon people’s lives, whether it be the child who is protected from online pornography, or the elderly person who might need greater access to palliative care services.
It has been an exciting year for us at CARE. Although the standout moment was undoubtedly the General Election, we have radically amplified our Church Engagement work, launched a new suite of resources, seen some great policy wins, and continued to invest in 13 young Christian leaders-of-tomorrow through our Leadership Programme.
There have also been some sad times as well: longstanding friends of CARE losing their Parliamentary seats, colleagues moving on, and the passage of the Assisted Suicide Bill through the House of Commons and the Scottish Parliament.
But the key word that comes to my mind as I reflect on 2024/25 is thankfulness.
I am thankful to you, our supporters and gospel partners. Your help in prayer, financial giving and political action is what makes CARE work. We cannot do what we do without you.
I am thankful for our team at CARE. It is a privilege to lead such a talented, missionorientated group of colleagues.
And I am, above all, thankful to God for His provision. Not only has He helped us to fulfil the majority of our projects this year, but He has blessed us with new staff members, additional Parliamentary contacts and a strong financial position.
Thank you again for your support over 2024/25. I look forward to working with you over the coming year to see politics renewed and lives transformed!
Our Vision
POLITICS RENEWED LIVES TRANSFORMED
At CARE, our vision is simple. We want to see politics renewed and lives transformed.
In Romans 13, we read that God appoints governments and gives them responsibility. When politics is working well, and our leaders promote good and restrain evil, we can see a society where injustice is challenged and where the powerless are protected.
But how can we renew politics? We believe that as Christians, we can speak a better story to our broken world. It’s a story which is rooted in God’s word and modelled by Jesus himself. And it’s a story which shows us how human beings, created in the image of God, can flourish, as our Creator and Heavenly Father intends.
To do that, we do three main things:
Engaging the Church
We keep God’s Church informed on key issues, help them to think about politics from a Christian perspective, and inspire them to make a difference.
Equipping Politicians
Our relational approach means we get alongside politicians and support them in their work to secure legislative change, producing briefings, writing speeches and drafting amendments.
Empowering Future Leaders
We invest in the Christian leaders of tomorrow through our Leadership Programme, giving talented graduates the opportunity to work in Parliament and access high-quality theological and leadership training.
Engaging the Church
What we’ve been up to
We have radically expanded our Church Engagement work in 2024-25, doubling our speaking engagements across the UK, and launching a revamped website and a suite of new resources. We are aiming to keep the church fully up to date on key topics, to provide top quality content which teaches Christians about God’s better story for humanity, and to mobilise supporters at key moments.
What you’ve said
“I greatly value the work of CARE. The quality of their research and presentation is excellent, and they have enabled our church to begin to engage with complex social issues through Bible-principles of compassion, justice, truth and grace.”
Rev Ian Linton
Two key initiatives
CARE on the Road
Our Church Engagement Team have journeyed around every corner of the UK and have visited more than 120 churches from various denominations. Over half of these churches are new to CARE, and over 10,000 people heard a CARE speaker. The team teach congregations about everything from Assisted Suicide to Artificial Intelligence, and provide practical wisdom on how to best engage with your local MP.
Instagram
Instagram is a key channel for us in expanding our reach among younger audiences. This year, we’ve revamped our Instagram content and used Carousels and Reels to repackage our long-reads, prayer points and web articles into a more accessible format for younger people. We’ve now surpassed 5,000 followers for the first time, of whom almost 2,000 are under the age of 35, and our engagement levels are 10x higher than where they were two years ago.
The Stats
205 church speaking engagements
10,000 people wrote to their MP or MSP via our online tool
31% growth in Instagram followers
1,251 people attended a CARE event
577,081 website views
An Extended Look
CARE’s Resources
We really care about resourcing the Church, and helping Christians to be fully informed about the big issues of our day! This year, we have begun a number of exciting new initiatives; whether you prefer reading theological papers in your spare time or listening to Christians chatting while you’re on your commute, there’s something here for everyone.
Engage Podcast
We launched the Engage Podcast during the 2024 General Election, hoping to connect with younger audiences, and it is going from strength to strength. Featuring James Mildred and Peter Ladd, each episode features extended discussion of top news stories from a Christian point-of-view, covering everything from Trump to the transgender debate.
Engagement levels have been consistently strong and are continuing to grow, with an average of around 600 listeners/episode in 2025, many of whom are under the age of 35. Anecdotal feedback has been extremely encouraging, with a number of young Christians telling us about how it is helping them to connect their faith with politics: one even said ‘I listen religiously’!
Video Primers
Our first Video Primer, ‘Understanding Assisted Suicide’, was recorded about 12 months ago, in preparation for the Assisted Suicide vote which we knew was around the corner. The video featured the story of Alison Davis, an introduction to the theology around end-of-life issues, and gave real-world examples of the dangers of introducing legislation, with a particular focus on Canada.
So far, the video has been played more than 4,000 times, and has been circulated by a range of evangelical churches. We’ve built on this by releasing other subsequent videos about Pornography, Transgender Ideology, Artificial Intelligence, and most recently, Abortion, with plans to roll out similar videos across all the topics we work on at CARE.
Biblical Deepdives
Sometimes, you just want to go a bit deeper into a topic! We’re conscious that short-form website content can only take you so far, and that some of our supporters want to engage with something a bit more meaty!
Our team have begun writing in-depth theological resources to help you really get your teeth stuck into what the Bible says about a topic. So far we have released Biblical Deepdives on Old Age, God and Government, and Gender Ideology, with another one on Poverty currently being designed and more on the way.
Topic Guides
Over the years, we’ve written and collected lots of material about the different topics we work on. But rather than expecting someone to browse through everything on our website,
we wanted to make it as easy as possible for people to learn about the things they’re interested in. Instead, we trialled a new type of booklet compiling our content into one place, including key statistics, articles, blog pieces, prayer points, and interviews into one catch-all resource, to help you learn everything you need to know.
We began with a Topic Guide about the new Labour Government, in the aftermath of the General Election, and after the Second Reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, we released a second one about the Assisted Suicide Debate. Almost 20,000 copies of both have been distributed, and they’ve been so popular when we take them out on the road that we’re currently investigating reprints!
Equipping Politicians
What we’ve been up to
It has been a busy time for our Policy Team, with both internal and external changes to respond to. Our former Director of Policy and Advocacy Louise Davies has moved on and Caroline Ansell, former MP for Eastbourne, has stepped in to lead the team. With the turnover in Parliament after the General Election, we have spent much time in recent months forging new relationships with Parliamentarians. We also continue to be at the forefront of advocacy around Assisted Suicide, Pornography and Commercial Sexual Exploitation.
Two key initiatives
Assisted Suicide
For the last couple of years, we have been working alongside politicians to oppose Bills both in Westminster and in Scotland, whether it be through supporting the APPG for Dying Well, drafting amendments which were debated at Committee stage, or helping with speeches for the key debates. Regardless of the result at Third Reading of the Leadbeater Bill, we will call on the Government to protect the most vulnerable and to invest far more into our country’s palliative care services, and we will continue to oppose legislation in whichever region of the UK it appears, both working with politicians and by mobilising supporters to write to their local representatives.
What you’ve said
“It has been a joy to work with CARE in advocating for a fairer tax system that recognises and supports families, and I am profoundly grateful for their contributions to the incoming Online Safety Bill which will make a significant difference in protecting our children online, not least from the dangers of pornography.”
Miriam Cates, ex-MP
GAMSTOP
Before the rise of internet betting, people could only bet when a shop was open. Now, the online shop never closes, and those impacted by addiction are never safe. At CARE, we proposed creating a single tool that enabled people to register with the Gambling Commission, to say they wanted to selfexclude themselves from all gambling websites. Our amendment mandated the Commission to provide such a tool, which became GAMSTOP. Under GAMSTOP, users can self-exclude for a period of six months to five years, and all licensed gambling websites are not permitted to contact them. This year, the number of people helped by GAMSTOP reached over 500,000. 75% of users said that they felt in more control of their gambling as a result of GAMSTOP, and 80% would recommend it to a friend.
The Stats
235 Parliamentary policy meetings we have attended
24 cross-party coalitions we are part of in the UK Parliaments
20 speeches written on behalf of MPs
81 different Parliamentarians we have personally met with
18 amendments drafted for the House of Commons
The Implementation of Age Verification An Extended Look
“Porn is the starting point for young people when it comes to sex.”
Those are the words of a young girl in a recent report by the Children’s Commissioner about the impact of pornography upon our young people. Her words are not hyperbolic. The average age at which children first encounter pornography here in the UK is just 13. With increased access to smartphones, there have been reports of some children accessing it from just 5 years old.
• 38% of 16 to 21-year-olds said they had accidentally come across pornography online
• 41% of young people have come across it on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter
• 51% of 16 to 21-year-old girls have been sent explicit photos of someone they know in real life
The impact of this is far-reaching; almost 4 in 5 young people have seen violent
pornography before the age of 18, 47% of young people stated that girls ‘expect’ sex to involve violent behaviour such as slapping and choking, and 47% of people between the ages of 18 and 21 have experienced a violent sex act (they were 50% more likely to have experienced this if they were frequent users of pornograpy).
The Children’s Commissioner’s report into the effects of pornography on young people was simply titled, ‘A lot of it is actually just abuse.’
At CARE, we have long been concerned about the easy availability of pornography and about online safety for our children and young people; gone are the days of teenagers hiding a magazine under the bed, and sexually explicit content - often featuring violent and misogynistic themes - is just a couple of clicks away.
For more than seven years, we campaigned for age verification on online pornography,
which would require anyone who wants to watch porn to prove they are over 18. There were setbacks along the way: the Digital Economy Act in 2017 should have led to the introduction of age verification, only for the government to abandon it in October 2019.
But we refused to let the matter lie, and the introduction of the Online Safety Act, which finally passed in 2023, gave websites a finite timeline to introduce age verification. CARE has played a key role throughout this process; our work has involved multiple briefings, meetings, letters to Ministers, polling and partnerships with like-minded organisations. Simon Calvert, Deputy Director for Public Affairs at the Christian Institute, has said, “Age verification would not have happened were it not for CARE.”
From the end of July this year, every pornography website will have to verify the ages of those who are viewing its content, to ensure that they are 18 or over. Methods could include verifying credit card details, mobile phone data, or other official documents. New technologies mean that while it is not an impenetrable system, it is more effective than ever, and should stop the majority of children from stumbling across pornography online accidently. Failure to comply could lead to fines of up to £18m or 10% of annual global revenue.
But that’s not all. During the roll-out of the Online Safety Act, CARE secured from the Conservative Government of the day a commitment to review the online pornography industry. This review, led by Baronness Bertin, makes 32 recommendations to the Government,
30 of which we were calling for ourselves, including:
• outlawing online porn involving choking, adults dressing as children, and degrading, violent and misogynistic themes
• banning so-called ‘nudification’ apps
• making it an offence to take nonconsensual intimate images, or create them via AI
• establishing an independent body to monitor non-compliance on online platforms
For many years, there has been a troubling lack of parity between our approach to porn offline and internet porn. Content that would not be allowed in shops is freely accessible online. The Government now has a choice: to undo the harm caused by pornography in our society, or to abandon another generation of young people to experience abusive practices and damaged relationships. We will be continuing to campaign on this issue, and will be calling on the Government to ensure that the recommendations are implemented in full.
And we will continue to speak God’s better story to a broken world on this issue. Pornography has nothing to offer beyond cheap thrills and shadowy pleasures, and reduces intimacy to nothing more than bodily chemicals. We believe in a world in which sex has meaning, because it is rooted in the safety of marriage and lifelong commitment: when two people give all of themselves to one another, in a beautiful picture of God’s love, which lies at the heart of our universe.
Empowering Future Leaders
What we’ve been up to
It’s been another exciting year for the Leadership Programme, with 13 graduates being placed in the House of Commons, House of Lords or with NGOs. The Grads, under the guidance of Philippa Taylor, continue to receive teaching from a wide range of first-class speakers, including lectures on Core Theology, God and Government, and Leadership training. Meanwhile, former grads have gone on to a number of positions in public life, including within the House of Commons, Cabinet Office, Home Office, BBC News, Daily Telegraph, Tearfund, Alpha, Theos, the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship and the Centre for Social Justice.
What you’ve said
Two key initiatives
Alumni Network
We have expanded our alumni work this year, and are now putting on regular events, including drinks receptions, dinners, and our first ever alumni lecture, delivered by Dr David McIlroy on the topic, ‘What would CS Lewis say to our culture today’. These events provide former graduates with opportunities to network with one another. We have also launched a regular Alumni email newsletter, ‘Formative’, to keep them up to date with new developments around the Leadership Programme, and to connect them with this year’s cohort.
Study Weekends
Each term this year, we have taken the grads away on a study weekend for an extended time of teaching and fellowship. Hosted in a family home in the medieval town of Stamford, this provides the grads with the chance to reset, to have deep conversations, and to learn about tricky theological topics; this year they have covered life-issues and bioethics, and received public speaking training. We are also taking the grads away to Poland this year to the European Leadership Forum, where they will have the chance to network with Christian political leaders from across the continent.
“The experience of the Leadership Programme has definitely informed the way I think about my future, both in my career and walk with God. Throughout the Programme, we meet people who are serving God in a variety of ways. It has opened my eyes to many different ways to glorify God in public life.”
Ayomi, current grad
The Stats
13 graduates this year
382 graduates who have now come through the Leadership Programme
15 former graduates currently work in the UK Parliaments
16 different placements this year
4 former graduates are currently MPs or MSPs
What is it like being a Grad on the Leadership Programme (LP)?
Being a Grad on the LP has been an incredibly lively and enriching experience. It has been a unique opportunity to engage directly with professionals in politics, develop different skills, and gain firsthand insight into the workings of government and leadership. Each day on placement presents new challenges, whether it’s contributing to a policy briefing, attending discussions in Parliament, or navigating the fast-paced environment of advocacy life.
What have you learnt on the CARE Fridays?
The CARE Fridays aspect of the Programme (alongside all CARE events!) has offered me a steep but rewarding learning curve, equipping me with both practical experience and a deeper understanding of leadership in action. Most importantly, it has taught me more on how to authentically live out my Christian faith in the public sphere, embodying the call to be ‘salt and light’.
Is there anything that has surprised you about the LP?
One of the biggest surprises has been the level of access and exposure to politically ‘important’ figures. There have been several moments
An Extended Look
Hannah Greer 2024-2025
Placed with Home for Good, NGO
where I’ve had to take a step back and appreciate the fact that I’m not just observing from the sidelines but actively walking down the corridors of Parliament contributing to discussions that shape policy and governance.
Have you made friends on the LP?
There is a strong sense of community within the Programme - learning alongside a cohort of fun and supportive peers has made the experience in London truly transformative.
What do you think the LP experience has added to your options as you make decisions about your future career?
The Leadership Programme has significantly broadened my career perspective. I now have a much clearer sense of the kind of impact I want to make in my career, whether in government, policy, or leadership roles more broadly. The experience has reinforced my passion for working in spaces where meaningful decisions are made, and it has given me the confidence to pursue opportunities that align with my long-term ambitions.
General Election
What we’ve been up to
Every General Election represents a unique opportunity for us at CARE: politics is back on everyone’s agenda! With that in mind, we went all out to create our most comprehensive election-offering ever in 2024!
Our election website was our most viewed site ever (tripling the number of visitors!), our quiz briefly went viral on social media, we recorded interviews with Christian MPs from each of the major parties, wrote manifesto analysis and blog pieces and developed prayer resources, all with the big aim of helping the Church to approach this election as Christians, not just as ordinary voters.
Two key initiatives
Quiz
One of our big goals this election-time was to help Christians to think about their vote: it is so easy to vote for a party because we always have! The aim of our election quiz was for you to pick the subjects which matter most to you, whether it was the Economy, Education or the Environment, and to answer questions which would show you which party your preferred policies would most align with, which might help inform your vote. The response was amazing: the quiz was taken more than 35,000 times, and so many people were in contact with us to tell us how helpful they had found it!
Prayer Diary
How can you measure the impact of thousands of Christians praying in an election? We really wanted to saturate the election this year in prayer, and so we produced an additional General Electionspecific Prayer Diary last year, written by Celia Bowring. More than 25,000 copies were distributed to supporters, churches and other Christians: we can’t fully know the impact this side of eternity, but we’re sure that under God’s sovereignty, it will have made an enormous difference!
The Stats
What you’ve said
“CARE’s General Election resources were a real gift— thoughtful, accessible, and rooted in a well-formed Christian perspective. They helped many navigate political choices with wisdom, grace, and a clearer sense of faithful engagement.”
Paul Woolley, CEO of LICC
300,000 estimated social media reach with election content
165,000 election website page views
35,000 responses to our election quiz
25,000 election Prayer Diaries distributed
6,000 views or listens to our interviews with Christian MPs
How we do it
We are for people
Politics is not just theoretical: it affects real people’s lives. We care about people, rather than playing politics. We are party-neutral, but care about good government and good legislation. We don’t just care about winning arguments: we want to effect real change. And we particularly care about the vulnerable and the voiceless, who God has a special heart for.
We are for hopefilled solutions
We don’t want to just be known by what we are against, but by what we are for. Because we have a better story to tell, we want to put forward alternative hope-filled solutions, rather than just offering criticism from the sidelines. We want to provide people with hope and life, and ultimately, we want to see everyone truly flourish as God intends them to.
We are for truth and grace
We think the ‘how’ is just as important as the ‘what’. Jesus was himself “full of grace and truth”. We want to model speaking with humility, civility, and generosity of spirit. We want to see the tone of public debate improved, and to recognise that our opponents are ‘made in the image of God’, just as we are.
What’s next?
It might have been a busy year this year, but we want to keep being more ambitious for God’s Kingdom! Here are three big goals we have for 2025/26:
Engaging the Church:
Distribute more than 150,000 copies of CARE Resources
Equipping Politicians:
Expand our policy work into new areas, such as Poverty
Empowering Future Leaders: Run termly events for our Leadership Programme Alumni
Thank you
We are so grateful to everyone who has supported us over the past year, whether it is in prayer, with words of encouragement, or through financial giving.
We would love to continue to partner with you as we work to see Politics Renewed and Lives Transformed.
Please do be praying with us for our nation: you can find a range of prayer resources on our website, or sign up to receive our quarterly prayer diary for free!
Or why not connect with us more regularly by signing up to receive our weekly email, Impact Direct? It’s packed full of Christian commentary, new resources and updates from our work.
And some of you might even feel prompted to give; we are so thankful to God for the generosity of our supporters, who give so that we can Engage the Church, Equip Politicians and Empower Future Leaders.
care.org.uk/donate
If you would like to explore donating, you can visit care.org.uk/donate, ring us up at 020 7233 0455 , or use the QR code.
Thank you for your partnership in the gospel! As Paul says to the Philippians, “we thank our God every time we remember you” (Philippians 1:3).
