The Diocese of Europe warned a reliance on reserve funds in the current budget “could not continue indefinitely” as it approved plans for greater contributions to help meet costs.

Ten per cent of each church’s annual income will go towards meeting diocese-wide costs via the Common Fund by 2020, double the current five per cent figure.

Similar to Diocesan Share payments made by Church of England congregations in the UK, the Common Fund raises money for services which benefit the diocese as a whole, such as safeguarding.

Following a two-day meeting of the Bishop’s Council in London this week, leaders also gave the green light to plans to tackle the “pressure” facing its seven Archdeacons, many of whom also lead churches of their own.

It came after the Archdeacon of North-West Europe, Ven Dr Paul Vrolijk and the Archdeacon of France Ven Meurig Williams gave accounts during the summit of the strain they have been under.

Under the new financial plan agreed on Friday, the number of full-time Archdeacons in the diocese will increase from one to three during the course of the next three years.

The document also allows for an increase in staffing and support for safeguarding, and new arrangements for the diocese communications department from the end of the year.

The Diocese of Europe has a presence in dozens of European countries, as well as Morocco, the Caucasus and central Asia.

John Lawson handed 50 free copies of his book to a chaplain at HM Prison Lewis (pictured below), only to receive an email two weeks later saying they would not be passed on to inmates.

The 50-year-old from the nearby town of Seaford, said: “My book, ‘If a Wicked Man’, is a true crime biography that contains the Gospel message, so that we can deliver the Gospel to readers who won’t usually pick up a Christian book.”

During the course of a decade, Mr Lawson has shared his testimony in more than 25 countries, visiting some of the world’s most challenging prisons in doing so.

He said: “I was quite shocked; I get many requests from prison chaplains for copies of my book. [Lewis] is the only prison where this has ever happened.”

The Prison Service said jail governors can exercise discretion is deciding which books are “suitable” for offenders, in order to “maintain good order”.

It also said: “If a book is deemed unsuitable or would risk creating disorder, Governors have the discretion to take the book out of circulation.”

In the past fortnight, copies of his book have been accepted into HM Prison La Moye in Jersey and HM Prison Wandsworth in south London.

A former gang enforcer, Mr Lawson, who became a Christian while in jail, said it was “essential” inmates at Lewis Prison heard the Gospel.

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Ninety individuals with a flair for creating apps, building websites, using virtual reality technology and writing code are joining the Kingdom Code BUILD 2017 contest in Farringdon, central London.

Organiser, James Doc told Premier: “We encourage people to stay for the whole weekend; we provide space for them to get out an airbed or a sleeping bag if they want but some people will literally have their laptops open for the full 48 hours.”

Working in teams of four, participants have from 6pm on Friday 20th October until 6pm on Sunday October 22nd to create a working product which must tackle a problem set by one of two Christian charities.

Explaining how guests don’t have to be professionals, Mr Doc added: “We’ve got people who’ve been coding and developing for years; they are well beyond me in their technical ability but we’ve also got people who just want to learn…”

 In the third annual Kingdom Code BUILD event, Christians Against Poverty has requested digital tools to help staff reach and care for people struggling to make ends meet.

Meanwhile, Home for Good asked other participants to design a product to support their work finding new foster carers and adoptive parents for children.

Addressing the competitive element, Mr Doc continued: “We’ve got a prize for a…

Rev Chantal Noppen (pictured above with husband, Tony Harbottle-Noppen) told Premier that St Cuthbert’s in Sunderland had received a letter of complaint about Saturday evening’s Beer and Hymns event.

The team vicar of North Wearside parish said: “We have prayed about it, it’s not like we’re just deciding to throw all integrity and morals out of the window.

“I actually think if the person in question [who wrote the letter] came along, they might realise they may have misunderstood.”

Concerned that congregations are not as effective in engaging with their local communities as they were in the past, Rev Noppen has encouraged parishioners to “think outside the box” in reaching people reluctant to try church.

Rev Noppen went on to say: “Once you’ve been to a Beer and Hymns event, you realise that it’s not just about having a drink.

“It really is about doing church is a different way, in a kind of very low-key way, and it’s much more spiritual than people expect, often.”

The annual Christian arts festival, Greenbelt established the idea of Beer and Hymns several years ago and churches across the country have since replicated it.

Rev Noppen: “Churches are realising that people aren’t necessarily connecting with us totally as well as we would like on a Sunday morning but people are very happy to still go to the pub and meet…