|TOP|Nominations are coming in from across the country for the 2006 Faithworks Awards which will see the best three Christian community projects awarded with £5000 for their commitment to professionalism, innovation and best practice in Christian service to their local communities.

The Faithworks Support Team will also provide the three winning projects with strategic provision for the development of their work.

The various awards to be handed out this year are being sponsored by two leading Christian organisations.

One Faithworks Community Excellence Award 2006 will be sponsored by Congregational & General Insurance plc and will be awarded to a project that is committed to professionalism and valuing people.

|AD|Meanwhile, two projects will receive awards for delivering services to their communities in ways that are creative and original to the local area. These two awards are to be sponsored by Spring Harvest.

Leader of the Faithworks Movement, the Rev Malcolm Duncan, hopes that the awards will inspire more Christians to put their faith into action within the local community.

“Through these Awards, Faithworks hopes not only to boost the work of the three recipient projects, but also to inspire further initiatives where Christian faith is practically put into action for the benefit of the local community,” he said.

“Faithworks is excited to be working with Congregational and Spring Harvest in order to celebrate the vital ways in which people of Christian faith are transforming lives and communities.”

A total of £45,000 has already been shared out to seven different Christian community initiatives since 2003, allowing the projects to grow not only through the vital additional funds but also through the added PR.

The deadline for applications is Friday July 28th and the three best projects will be selected from the nominations by the Awards sponsors before their official announcement at a special ceremony in November.