urc.org.uk

The United Reformed Church (URC) website at urc.org.uk publishes news, featured stories and projects, and videos that show what its roughly 1,500 local churches across the UK are doing. You can use these sections to follow church-wide announcements, read about award-winning community projects, and watch practical examples of church ministry and community work. The content is aimed at members, church leaders and anyone exploring the URC's work.

Latest news

The "Latest news" section carries short updates from across the Church. Items visible on the homepage include:

• RechargePLUS 2026 – described as "not just for children," suggesting an event or resource aimed at a wider age range.
• Growing younger in the West Midlands – a regional story about church growth.
• Free Black History Month 2026 service resource – a worship resource offered at no cost.

A "More news" link leads to the full news listing, so the homepage shows only a selection of recent items.

Featured stories and projects

This section highlights longer-form stories and recognised projects:

• 2026 Community Awards Winners – the page invites you to "discover the inspiring churches and community projects recognised in this year's awards."
• URC Resources Hub – presented as a place to "equip your church with practical tools, guidance, and inspiration to help your ministry thrive and grow."
• Reformed magazine – the URC magazine, subtitled "Reforming, Reviving, Resourcing, Reporting," available as a free copy in print or online.
• URC Bookshop – a shop for worship resources, books, certificates, merchandise, badges, cards, free goods and gifts.

Featured videos and the YouTube channel

The URC runs a YouTube channel (URCUK), and the website embeds selected videos. Examples shown on the homepage include:

The webinar listing points to further information at urc.org.uk/margins.

How to use these sections

• To keep up with announcements: start with "Latest news" and follow the "More news" link for the full list.
• To find inspiration or examples for your own church: browse "Featured stories and projects," especially the Community Awards winners and the Resources Hub.
• To watch rather than read: go to the "Featured videos" section or the URCUK YouTube channel directly, where view counts and upload dates are shown.
• To get practical tools: the Resources Hub includes a video showing how to use it, plus a staffed Helpdesk.

These sections exist to share what churches are doing, encourage ministry and community involvement, and point people toward resources they can use themselves.

The URC Resources Hub is the United Reformed Church's online library of practical tools, guidance and inspiration intended to help your church's ministry "thrive and grow." You reach it through urc.org.uk, and the site states that a video showing how to use the hub is provided alongside a staffed Helpdesk. Use it if you are looking for worship and activity material for a URC congregation or project; if you only want general information about the denomination, the main site pages will serve you better.

What the Resources Hub is for

The United Reformed Church describes the hub as a place to "equip your church with practical tools, guidance and inspiration to help your ministry thrive and grow." In practice that means it is aimed at people running or supporting local church life — ministers, elders, church-related community workers and volunteers — rather than at the general public.

The homepage places the hub alongside other URC services, including:

• Reformed magazine — described as "Reforming, Reviving, Resourcing, Reporting," available in print or online, with a free copy offered.
• URC Bookshop — worship resources, books, certificates, merchandise, badges, cards, free goods and gifts.
• Featured videos on YouTube — practical stories and webinars, such as "Creating a wildlife-friendly garden" with Peter Musgrave, an Elder at Vine URC in Ilford, and the "A Church With People at the Margins" webinar series on community hubs, volunteers and funding.

These sit next to the hub rather than inside it, so treat the hub as one entry point among several when you are sourcing material.

How to get started

1. Go to urc.org.uk and look for the Resources Hub section, listed on the homepage under "New URC Resources Hub and Helpdesk."
2. Watch the walkthrough video first. The site says a video showing how to use the hub is available — this is the quickest way to see how material is organised before you start searching.
3. Search or browse for the type of resource you need for your service, study group or community project.
4. Download or note what you need, then check the URC Bookshop if you require printed or physical items such as certificates, cards or badges.
5. If something does not work or you cannot find what you expect, contact the Helpdesk rather than guessing — it is described as staffed, meaning a person responds.

Expected result: you should come away with a specific resource for a specific task, or a clear answer from the Helpdesk about where to find it.

When to use the Helpdesk

The Helpdesk exists for problems with the hub itself — access, navigation or locating a resource. It is not a general enquiry line for the denomination, and the site does not state its hours, response times or contact details on the homepage, so check the hub pages for the current route in.

Use it when:

• You cannot find a resource you believe should exist.
• A download or link fails.
• You are unsure which resource fits your situation and want guidance.

Common sticking points

• Confusing the hub with the main site. The hub is a resource library; news, awards and synod information live elsewhere on urc.org.uk.
• Skipping the video. The walkthrough is the intended orientation, so starting there saves time.
• Assuming everything is digital. Some items — certificates, cards, merchandise — come through the URC Bookshop, and the site does not state prices or delivery terms on the homepage, so check there before ordering.
• Expecting the Helpdesk to answer theology or policy questions. It supports use of the hub.

If your goal is simply to understand what urc.org.uk is, the homepage description is enough: a family of Christians worshipping in the name of Jesus in about 1,500 local churches across the UK. The Resources Hub is the part of that site built for equipping local church ministry.

urc.org.uk is the official website of the United Reformed Church (URC), a Christian community worshipping in about 1,500 local churches across the UK. It is built for anyone exploring faith, existing URC congregations and church leaders, and community partners looking for practical support. The site is primarily an information and resource platform, so you can browse freely to understand the church and find tools for ministry without needing to sign up or transact.

Who the site is for

The homepage frames the URC as "a family of Christians" and a "community that shares God's love and joy in the hope of making the world a better place," with the welcome line: "Wherever you are on your journey, we are here for you." That framing points to several audiences:

• People exploring faith or curious about the URC — the welcome message and "Who we are" section are the natural starting points.
• URC congregations and church leaders — the Resources Hub, Helpdesk, and Bookshop exist to equip local churches with tools, guidance, and inspiration.
• Community partners and volunteers — featured projects and webinars show how churches work with their neighbourhoods, including on funding and volunteer growth.

Where to start

The homepage surfaces several entry points, each suited to a different need:

If you are new to the church, start with Who we are and Featured stories and projects to get a feel for its character. If you are involved in a congregation, go straight to the URC Resources Hub.

Using the Resources Hub and Helpdesk

The Resources Hub is described as a place to "equip your church with practical tools, guidance and inspiration to help your ministry thrive and grow." Two features make it easier to use:

• A how-to video showing how to use the hub.
• A staffed Helpdesk if you need direct assistance.

This is the most task-oriented part of the site, so it is the best place to begin if you have a specific ministry or practical need.

Learning from featured projects and videos

The site's videos and stories give concrete examples rather than abstract descriptions. For instance, Peter Musgrave, an Elder at Vine URC in Ilford, East London, shares how his church joined with local community members to transform their church grounds into a wildlife-friendly garden and inspire greening elsewhere in a built-up urban landscape. Another webinar, "A Church With People at the Margins – Places to Meet," features church-related community workers and a transformation director discussing how church spaces can serve the whole neighbourhood, what support and funding exist, and how to grow volunteer bases.

These are useful if you want to see what URC community work looks like in practice before deciding whether to get involved.

What the site does not do

The site is informational and resource-focused. It does not offer online transactions or membership registration, so you cannot join, pay, or subscribe through the website itself. The only pricing-related signal on the homepage is a "subscribe" reference, and the Reformed magazine is offered as a free copy in print or online — but no payment or account is required to browse the site's content.

Reformed is the magazine of the United Reformed Church, described on urc.org.uk as "Reforming, Reviving, Resourcing, Reporting," and a free copy is available in print or online. The URC Bookshop is the Church's separate retail channel for worship resources, books, certificates, merchandise, badges, cards, free goods and gifts. Both sit alongside the URC Resources Hub, which the site presents as the place for practical tools, guidance and inspiration for church ministry.

Reformed magazine

The homepage introduces Reformed as "the new name of the magazine of The United Reformed Church," with the strapline "Reforming, Reviving, Resourcing, Reporting."

• What it is: the URC's own magazine, covering the life and work of the Church.
• Cost: the site invites you to "Get your free copy of Reformed" — no price is stated for it.
• Formats: available "In print or online," so you can read it on screen or receive a physical copy.
• How to get it: the homepage links to the magazine; follow that link to choose the print or online option.

If you want a sense of the Church's current priorities and stories before ordering anything else, Reformed is the lowest-commitment starting point because it is offered free in either format.

URC Bookshop

The Bookshop is described as stocking "worship resources, books, certificates, merchandise, badges, cards, free goods and gifts."

The listing mixes paid categories (books, merchandise) with items the site itself labels "free goods and gifts," so the Bookshop is not purely a purchase channel — some items are described as free. The homepage does not publish prices or delivery details, so check the individual product pages in the Bookshop for cost, availability and shipping.

How these relate to the rest of the site

• URC Resources Hub and Helpdesk: the site describes the Hub as equipping churches with "practical tools, guidance and inspiration," with a how-to video and a staffed Helpdesk. Use the Hub for ministry support and the Bookshop for published and printed items.
• News and stories: the homepage carries latest news, featured stories and projects (including the 2026 Community Awards winners) and featured videos on its YouTube channel — useful context for what the magazine and Bookshop reflect.

Choosing between them

• Want an overview of the Church's life at no cost: start with Reformed, in print or online.
• Need worship materials, certificates, cards or gifts: go to the URC Bookshop and check each item's page for price and availability.
• Looking for practical ministry tools rather than publications: use the URC Resources Hub and its Helpdesk instead.

One caveat: the homepage confirms that Reformed is offered free and that the Bookshop includes free goods, but it does not state prices, stock levels or delivery terms for paid items, so confirm those on the relevant page before ordering.

urc.org.uk is the official website of the United Reformed Church (URC), a Christian church community in the UK. The site describes the URC as "a family of Christians, worshipping in the name of Jesus in about 1,500 local churches across the UK." It is primarily an informational and resource site for church members, church workers, and anyone curious about the URC — not a commercial or shopping platform, though it does link to a bookshop.

Who the site is for

• Church members and congregations looking for worship resources, news, and practical guidance.
• Church workers and volunteers who need tools to support ministry, community projects, or outreach.
• General visitors who want to understand what the URC is and what it does.

What you'll find on the site

News and stories

The homepage features a "Latest news" section and "Featured stories and projects," covering topics such as community awards, seasonal service resources, and church growth initiatives. Examples from the site include "RechargePLUS 2026," "Growing younger in the West Midlands," and a "Free Black History Month 2026 service resource."

The URC Resources Hub and Helpdesk

The site highlights a Resources Hub intended to "equip your church with practical tools, guidance and inspiration to help your ministry thrive and grow." There is a video showing how to use the hub, plus a staffed Helpdesk for support.

Videos

The URC maintains a YouTube presence, with featured videos embedded on the site. These include practical stories such as an elder at Vine URC in Ilford describing how his church transformed its grounds into a wildlife-friendly garden, and a webinar on churches as community hubs, recorded in August 2026.

Reformed magazine

The site offers Reformed, described as "the new name of the magazine of The United Reformed Church," with the tagline "Reforming, Reviving, Resourcing, Reporting." A free copy is available in print or online.

URC Bookshop

There is a link to the URC Bookshop, which offers "worship resources, books, certificates, merchandise, badges, cards, free goods and gifts."

What the site is not

• It is not a commercial storefront — the bookshop is a linked resource, not the site's main purpose.
• It is not a general Christian resource for all denominations — the content is specific to the United Reformed Church and its congregations.
• It does not appear to require payment or login to access the main content described on the homepage, though some resources or the magazine may have their own terms.

When this site is useful to you

If you are part of a URC congregation, exploring the URC, or looking for church-focused practical resources and news from a UK Reformed perspective, urc.org.uk is the starting point. If you need worship materials, community project ideas, or information about the URC's structure and activities, the Resources Hub and news sections are the most direct places to look.