The charity said the free platform is the first of its kind in the UK. The Resource Hub is geared towards church leaders, small groups and individual Christians.

So far, the website includes a handbook for doing mission on housing estates, interactive Bible studies, prayer exercises and articles from guest contributors on the latest theological and missional developments.

There are also videos, study guides for small groups, as well as video and audio recordings of missionaries telling stories of transformation from around the world.

Helen Brook, church mission adviser at CMS, said the website aims to help people get over fears about mission.

“A recent survey we conducted among 2,000 Christians shows that while nine out of ten Christians believe mission is for all, 44 per cent said they were not putting their mission call into action,” she said.

“We have designed this new platform as a tool to encourage Christians wanting to dive into mission.”

“The Resource Hub has been designed… to help people overcome their fears or misconceptions about mission and set them free to put their call into action, whether overseas or over the road.”

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Housing Justice said ministers must implement a cross-departmental strategy to tackle homelessness, which has reached its highest level since current records began eight years ago.

Director, Jacob Quagliozzi told Premier: “Rough sleeping homeless is now almost 170-per-cent higher on what it was in 2010, and the Government needs to start thinking about this as a crisis and they need to address that in a cohesive way.”

Figures collected from local authorities and released by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) show there were 4,751 rough sleepers on a single night last autumn.

The figure has risen 15-per-cent since the same time in 2016, and is significantly higher than the 2,744 figure recorded in 2014.

Asked why more people are sleeping rough, Mr Quagliozzi answered : “We’ve a perfect storm over the last few years where rising rents – particularly in the private rental sector, wages not going up as fast of those rents and welfare reform are contributing to a very bleak picture…”

The figures show 14-per-cent of homeless people in England are women (653) and 16-per-cent are EU nationals from outside the UK (730).

They also reveal homeless is most rife in London (1,137), with Westminster being the worst-affected council area in the country (217).

A MHCLG spokesman said: “No one should ever…

US Senators narrowly approved Sen Sam Brownback, who’s the current governor for the state of Kansas, with Vice President Mike Pence casting the deciding vote.

Mervyn Thomas, chief executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, has welcomed the appointment, saying Sen Brownback is a Christian and has shown a passion for religious freedom for a while.

When asked what he expects from the new ambassador, Thomas told Premier: “The ambassador should travel to countries where there are abuses of religious freedom and make it known that the US is watching.

“Countries don’t like to be shamed for religious freedom abuses and I think Sen Sam Brownback has got the seniority to actually make a difference in this role.”

Brownback, who will end his seven year post as governor, was the centre controversy when he was nominated by US President Donald Trump for the role.

Thank you to @POTUS, @VP, and all the Senators who supported my nomination. I’m looking forward to starting my new position as Ambassador and working hard for the American people and religious freedom around the world. #ksleg

— Sam Brownback (@govsambrownback) January 24, 2018

Lawmakers and campaigners have expressed concern that Brownback’s Republican and Christian Conservative views will infringe on same-sex marriage and abortion rights.

Brownback now joins the ranks of an administration fully committed to…

Helda Hindi, who has returned to the Nineveh Plains with her parents and younger brother, spoke to Catholic charity Aid to Church in Need (ACN) about the night of 6th August 2014, when IS seized her home town.

She said: “Alarm bells rang out in our streets – we had to escape the living hell of violence and terrorism.

“I went along, crying, with no hope of ever returning to my town, my school – with no hope of ever seeing my friends again.”

She added: “We had no idea how long we would be displaced from our beloved city.

“The days passed and we lived in torment and tragedy until we got used to it.”

According to ACN, up to 44,000 Christians fled Helda’s hometown of Qaraqosh, a Catholic majority town, when it was seized by the extremists.

The majority sought shelter in Erbil where ACN has supported churches building schools so that children could continue their education.

Helda said: “I was sad, clinging to hope of returning to my old school, but I made new friends.

“And today, by God’s grace, we have returned to our town and I am back in my old school among my old friends.”

The girl added that her faith had sustained her through difficult times.

“We had only God and we never stopped believing in His power and His mercy for all those hurting in Iraq and around the world,” she said.

“My family, friends and relatives never felt that God was far away from us.

“As far as I can…