United Kingdom
Summary
The United Kingdom has historically played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith in the 19th century, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth’s surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK’s strength seriously depleted in two world wars and the Irish Republic’s withdrawal from the union. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council and a founding member of NATO and the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1998.
The UK has been an active member of the EU since its accession in 1973, although it chose to remain outside the Economic and Monetary Union. However, motivated in part by frustration at a remote bureaucracy in Brussels and massive migration into the country, UK citizens on 23 June 2016 narrowly voted to leave the EU. The UK is scheduled to depart the EU on 31 January 2020, but negotiations on the future EU-UK economic and security relationship will continue throughout 2020 and potentially beyond. [1]
📷: Wikipedia
Statistics
From the The Joshua Project [2]
In the News
📷: Wikipedia
Prayer Guide
Students in higher education are exposed to great pressures. A largely godless, consumeristic and hedonistic younger generation is being formed by the secular system. Less than 2% of students are actively involved in church. Pray especially for a life of consistent and loving witness by Christian students; they are the ones best equipped to reach their own peers. Pray for:
a) The Christian Union groups among students, especially the more than two million in colleges and universities. Their growth and diversity are encouraging, the main ones being Agapé (CCCI), Navigators, Fusion and UCCF(IFES). The oldest and most widespread is the work of UCCF, with over 10,000 students involved in Christian Unions. Pray for mature, stable leadership and for effective support and advice from the 70 full-time workers and more than 60 volunteers. Pray also for solutions to the increasing challenge of maintaining a witness on campuses, which are ever more biased against Christianity.
b) Overseas students. There are about 400,000 international students in the UK – 80,000 from China alone – plus many thousands in English-language schools. Outreach to them is varied but too limited, and many return home without hearing the gospel. Friends International, UCCF(IFES), Navigators, COCM and others have ministry to them.
[3]