CBC history dates back to 1986 when the Christian Broadcasting Council of the United Kingdom was founded as a charity. (Charity number 327340). It started initially with laying a foundation of prayer and intercession for the rise of Christian media when it was still very much in its infancy.
The original CBC charitable objective was to “stimulate and promote the knowledge of the Christian faith and the propagation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by means of radio and television broadcasting; through the exhibition of films, videos and DVDs, through the distribution of cassettes and records and via the printed word.”
Though the means may have changed with advances in technology, the CBC mission remains to: “Promote the proclamation of the Christian Gospel through the electronic media. Organising conferences and giving awards for excellence in broadcasting and related matters. Support of independent Christian broadcasters. Communication with Ofcom and other Government related agencies.”
Since the CBC stared, the UK has seen the rapid development of Christian TV, radio and many new and exciting online opportunities and the CBC has helped to facilitate this. In its prime the CBC hosted high profile awards ceremonies to recognise high quality Christian programming, including the work of both Christian and secular broadcasters.
The 2012 CBC Awards were hosted by stand up comedian, Tim Vine with Olave Snelling
to recognise British media talent in Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards.
The last awards banquet was held in 2012 and unfortunately the role of the CBC has diminished in recent years but with the support of the Christian community we can get things back on track.
Looking back over CBC history the charity has been led by a team of high profile patrons and trustees for many years. Sadly, the former chairperson, Canon Ian Goodling passed away in 2020 and CBC has been largely dormant, except for ongoing prayer led by the current chair, Olave Snelling. During this period the charity has been administered by Cornerstone Vision on a pro bono basis to comply with Charity Commission requirements.
In 2021, Media Solicitor, Luke English felt a call to revive the ministry and get it back to being fully operational. He is currently working with the charities to achieve this and a new Executive Committee is currently being put together to revive the original operations and develop helpful new initiatives to support Christian broadcasting.
Luke’s idea was to collaborate with all stakeholders to develop a new website that will connect and encourage Christians in the media industry. CBCUK.directory is the result. The new committee hopes that this new online listing of everyone involved in Christian broadcasting can revive some of the initiatives CBC has offered previously as well as provide a sustainable way of funding the organisation to achieve its Vision and Mission (including bringing back the annual broadcast awards).
All media practitioners are invited to become a member of the CBC at the cost of £55 per year for organisations and £15 per year for individuals. You are also invited to access your free CBC Directory listing and edit it as you see fit. Should you choose to take advantage of our premium listing at £15 per month, this will increase your exposure on the CBC website as well as via our pages on social media.