Our history
How we started…
Christians in Politics (CiPol) began not as an organisation but as a set of relationships. It was simply a space for Christians with a shared passion for calling the church to political engagement. At its heart was a set of trusting, prayerful relationships rather than a corporate entity. We continue to welcome anyone else from any party or none, who has the same “kingdom before tribe” attitude, first into relationship and then into shared mission. We welcome anyone who puts a high value on grace and truth in private and public interaction and who has a generosity of spirit towards those who are not in the same camp!
In its current form, Christians in Politics sprang from the relationships forged between Andy Flannagan, Elizabeth Berridge and Zoe Dixon who at the time led the respective Christian agencies affiliated with their political parties. Through time in discussion and prayer, relationship and trust grew. Over time, when one of them would get an invite to a church, an event or festival, they began to invite the others to come and share the stage. The impact was surprisingly profound. People responded strongly to the “kingdom before tribe” and “disagree well” narratives as a refreshing change to what they were seeing of politics through the filter of the national media. More and more opportunities began to emerge, leading to the establishment of an administrative function under the kind incubation of the Parliamentary Christian Trust (also incorporating Christians in Parliament and the National Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast) and the Bible Society.
It became clear that the umbrella of Christians in Politics would be the perfect vehicle for allowing this message to get a much broader hearing, sidestepping many churches and events’ hesitancy and fears of being seen to favour one side or another. This occurred without compromising the key message of unashamedly calling people to get involved in political parties – not because that was the only thing worth doing, but because it was the thing that many Christians do not see platformed as an obvious option. Most Christians were likely to see NGO work and lobbying as a more natural route to political influence, rather than involvement “on the inside”.
The work became more organised in the run-up to the 2015 general election with the publication of the book, “THOSE WHO SHOW UP” and the resources of the “SHOW UP’ campaign. This launched the message of Christians in Politics far beyond where it had gone before, especially with the viral use of the original “SHOW UP” video.
In late 2017 Andy Flannagan was appointed as the first Executive Director of Christians in Politics, so that CiPol might be able to capitalise on the multiple event and media opportunities being presented. In 2018 Benita Hussain was appointed as the Operations and Communications Officer, and is revolutionising our operations and building the strong foundations for this generation-shaping long-term work.