Cultivating Christian leaders

Cultivating Christian leaders

Shaping the public square with graduates serving in government, diplomacy, and beyond

Lyndon Bowring

Thirty years ago (although it feels like yesterday), my colleague Charlie Colchester and I were sitting in the House of Commons members’ dining room with David Alton MP to celebrate the success of his Private Members Bill to reduce the time limit for abortion from 28 to 24 weeks. However, to our dismay, an extra amendment had been passed at the last minute to permit abortion for babies with certain disabilities up until birth! Looking around at the MPs in the room, David said, “Until the membership of this House changes and we see more Christians entering politics, this kind of thing will keep on happening.”

It was like a word from the Lord to me, and later that day, we decided to set up CARE’s Leadership Programme. Each September a dozen or so university graduates who are committed Christians arrive at our Westminster offices to begin a year-long placement with an MP from across the political parties from Monday to Thursday, coming together each Friday to study what it means to act as Christian ‘light and salt’ within the complex world of politics and other areas of society.

Since then, almost 400 young men and women have gone through the Programme – two becoming MPs, many now serving in Westminster as researchers and advisors, in influential positions within the Civil Service, in international diplomacy, and working in various professions and strategic charities. The Programme is going from strength to strength, and to mark its 30th anniversary, CARE produced a booklet telling the amazing stories of how 30 of our graduates, one from each year, went on to be a godly influence in the ‘public square’. Please call us on 020 7233 0455 and ask for a free copy. Here are just a few of them:

• John Casson (1994) became the UK’s youngest ever Ambassador to Egypt.
• Paul Wooley (1999) is CEO of the London Institute of Contemporary Christianity.
• Kitty Kay-Shuttleworth (2002) oversees Alpha’s international work.
• Simon Hopkins (2008) leads climate policy for the Foreign Office in a challenging part of Africa.
• Timothy Cho (2018), who had fled North Korea, is Open Doors’ spokesperson for that country.
• Keira Olowumni (2019) is a barrister practising criminal law in London.

Let’s be encouraged that today, hundreds of these alumni are serving as Christ’s ambassadors in strategic places! We can also give thanks for the many remarkable MPs and Peers, as well as elected representatives in the other UK Parliaments who are faithful followers of Jesus, many of whom have provided placement opportunities over the years, acting as role models to our graduates.

Lyndon Bowring, Executive Chairman of CARE, comments on the causes close to the heart of the Christian community. CARE has produced an inspiring booklet to celebrate 30 years of its Leadership Programme. For a free copy, call 020 7233 0455.

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.