Premier Christian radio's first ever Christian Blog and Web Awards took place last week, signalling a new era of web-wise Christianity and celebrating some of the best sites the UK's Christian community has to offer.

|PIC1|The evening got underway with a blessing from the Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, who confessed that he had only just managed to get his own blog up and running a few hours before the awards.

He expressed his hope that the awards would become an annual fixture long into the future.

"The role of each new Bishop of London is to have his own diary and take up the diary of the old Bishop," the Rt Rev Richard Chartres told the audience. "With that in mind I hope whoever holds the title of Bishop of London in 2107, will be attending the Christian Web and Blog Awards."

The standard of websites was high, with Soul Survivor, Worship Central, Stop the Traffik, and Tearfund all among the nominees.

The first category to be announced was for the Best Creative Christian Blog or Website, sponsored by EPLS design, which went to Dave Walker at CartoonChurch.com.

The Evangelical Alliance-sponsored Most Inspiring Leadership Blog was awarded to Colin Adams for his blog on leadership, UnashamedWorkman.wordpress.org.

Out of five churches shortlisted for the Best Church Website, first place and a cheque of £1000 finally went to King's Church, Manchester, with its website www.makingJesusfamous.org.

Christian Today, meanwhile, was presented with the Best Christian News and Reviews Site award by Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a charity which supports persecuted Christians around the world.

Russ Bravo's hugely popular Inspire Magazine came a very close second. "We were delighted to be shortlisted, let alone land the runners up slot," he said. "The awards are a welcome encouragement for UK Christians seeking to have an impact online, and hopefully will help us all develop and sharpen our internet ministry. These days, it's surely the world's fastest growing mission field."

Chief Executive of Premier, Peter Kerridge, encouraged all Christians to get online.
"In the UK, we spend more than 34 hours a month online and on any given day more than 21 million people are using the internet. Christians have a strong online presence and because of that, it is important to recognise and commend the outstanding work of Christians on the net.

"The Christian Web and Blog Awards was created to pay tribute to those people and celebrate the connection between the Christian faith and new media. From Churches and leaders to musicians and dedicated Christians wanting to share the message with the rest of the world, we are all part of this new initiative."

Awards and their winners:

Best Creative Christian Blog or Website - Dave Walker at CartoonChurch.com
Most Inspiring Leadership Blog - Colin Adams with UnashamedWorkman.wordpress.org
Best Christian Newcomer blog - Dr Krish Kandiah
Best Young Christian Blog (under 25) - Emily Woods with unfurlingflower.blogspot.com
Best Church Website - King's Church, Manchester
The Most Original Worship Blog - Worship Central (Tim Hughes and Al Gordon)
Best Provision for Youth Website - Soul Survivor
Best Christian News and Reviews Site - Christian Today
Best Christian Social Action Website - StopTheTraffik.org
Most Successful Evangelistic Blog - Rejesus.co.uk
People's Choice Award - mindandsoul.info