Christians in Action in Government

Hi - my name is Trevor Payne! I am a wing commander in the Royal Air Force, and have been working at the Ministry of Defence in London for the last 6 years. I have been a Christian for over 30 years; I play the keyboard and lead worship, and in the last year have joined the eldership in our local church in Huntingdon.
In London, I have been involved with the Christian Fellowship in the MOD for some years, and also with a wider group comprised of Christians working across government. Recently I have taken over as the Chair of Christians in Government UK - CIG for short and as I write this I suddenly realise how much has changed for me in the last year!

CIG is a group that links together the Christian workplace groups in various government departments. We seek to encourage those networks, facilitate activities that are beyond the scope of individual groups to arrange, and also, where appropriate, to represent a Christian view within government.
Many of the government departments (or ministries) have Christian fellowships. Some are quite large, with several hundred contacts, and some quite small. Most meet weekly or bi-weekly for prayer, study, sharing or other activities. CIG serves these groups, which are its core. Although many of CIG’s activities take place in London, we also connect in groups in national government offices around the Nation. This aspect of the work is still in its infancy, however, and we would love this part of our work to grow! If you are a Christian working in National government and are not linked into a local workplace fellowship, please get in touch! E-mail us at mailto:info@christiansingovernment.org.uk.
The largest and most significant event that CIG puts on is the Whitehall Carol Service. Running for over 12 years now, last year we held the service in Westminster Abbey for the first time and were honoured with the presence of HRH Princess Alexandra. The service attracts a number of government ministers, opposition MPs and senior civil servants, and over 2000 civil servants and friends. In recent years we have also put on an Easter service, a smaller event, but one which seeks to bring the real message of Easter to Westminster.
As well as these 2 main events, we are active in prayer, meeting on the first Friday of every month for prayer and praise in Methodist Central Hall, Westminster. We feel we are called to pray for government and for the Nation – that God would grant us good government and that God would restore the Nation to Him. We have recently concluded our annual week of prayer, with a major event in the Emmanuel Centre, Marsham Street supported by several other organisations.
We usually run an Alpha course every year – the one this year had 45 people booked in! We also run follow-up courses such as Christianity Explored. We have taken part in volunteering events, join with others in speaker events, and many more things! We partner with a number of Christian organisations and churches in London – it is amazing how many people God is calling to pray for and support government, and really exciting to see what is happening spiritually in our Nation.
All in all, it has been a real privilege to serve with CIG, and in the last few months in the capacity of Chair. Following the departure of several key people, my first task has been to build a new leadership team, and I’m please to say that God has been at work in this, adding some wonderful people to our team!
Please pray for the work of Christians in Government – both our work as an organisation and for individual Christians working in government – that they would live out their Christian faith more effectively in the workplace, working with the values that Jesus taught us, reaching out as examples and inspirations to others.
As for me, I strongly believe that Christianity is not just ‘for Sundays’! I’m sure that God wants us to live out our faith ‘24/7’. In CIG we are involved with the leadership of the Nation - what a responsibility! In TWUK we can reach all who are at work, everywhere. Join us as we seek to live out our lives truly to the glory of God in every aspect of our work.
Bless you all!
Trevor Payne (Author: Trevor Payne)

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