Roots and Shoots
Signs of hope for the UK church
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
“Crisis: what crisis?
Jim Callaghan, PM
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Church Attendance 2010
Church Attendees:
Regular Fringe Attendees
Dechurched
Unchurched
8%
12%
40%
40%
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Church Membership 2005-2010
2005 UK Church members 12.3% (7.8 million)
2010 UK Church members 11.2% (5.5 million)
2015 UK Church members 10.3% (4.8 million)
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Church Membership 2005-2010
Church of England down 11%
Roman Catholic down
12% (N.I. 38%)
Methodist down
20%
Church of Scotland down 18%
Welsh Independents down 20%
Evangelical down
8%
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Church Location
Rural Decline
Urban Exodus
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
Church Demographics
Children and youth leaving in droves
Absence of Young Adults (Gen Y 18-34’s)
Ageing congregations
More women than men
Absence of the “poor”
Shoots of Hope
Signs of life in the UK church
Shoots of Hope
Signs of life in the UK church
Shoots of Hope
Church Attendance/Membership
Slowing decline
Christmas
Midweek Growth
8 in 10 in church
London
Cathedral
More church members than football club members
Shoots of Hope
Church Plants/New forms of church
2700 new churches in last 5 years
Growth of New forms of Church
Growth of black Churches (RCOG)
Methodist/Baptist Planting
1500 missionaries sent to UK
Shoots of Hope
Youth Work
Youth
Youth
Youth
Youth
Youth
Youth
workers employed
attend church
connect with church
engage with church
participate in church
outreach
Shoots of Hope
Volunteerism and
Community Engagement
Churchgoers overall contribute 23.2 million hours voluntary
service each month in their local communities
72 million volunteer hours per year by churches
25% of all Christians are engaed in voluntary community
service outside their church.
If the volunteers were paid the minimum wage and rent
charged at average prices then the financial contribution
alone would be equivalent to 1 billion pounds per year
Shoots of Hope
Education and schools
Teaching in class
Weekly act of worship
Many Church schools
Link with schools
Christian schools welcome and popular
Countless points of contact: Events, Assemblies,
services, Christian teachers, chaplains etc
Shoots of Hope
Christian courses/national initiatives
Course Journey Evangelism Courses
Success of Alpha and others
Back to church Sunday
Many more
The
Bible
Shoots of Hope
Spirituality Interest
WE PRAY
BIG QUESTIONS
OF LIFE
we believe
Most declare
themselves
Christians
W
H
O
I
S
J
E
S
U
S
Shoots
There are many shoots of life in the UK church, which are
breaking through the hard and hostile terrain of an everincreasing post modern, post-Christian and secular
environment. We would be foolish to ignore the challenges
and setbacks, but equally foolish to think everything is lost,
everything is bad and everything is hopeless. There are
signs of hope in the desert place.
Shoots
“The British church is NOT on its “deathbed” but it is
changing and traditional practices are changing too.
Its future health may well depend to some extent on
flexibility and adaptability while never abandoning the
patterns of Scripture and never minimizing the work
of the Holy Spirit.“
(Church Statistics: Peter Brierley, May 2011)
ROOTS
Are there roots to the shoots?
ROOTS
Stirring up of God
ROOTS
Holy Discontent with the status quo
(in church and in society)
ROOTS
Intercessory Prayer
ROOTS
Visionary Leadership
ROOTS
Rediscovery of the
priority of Mission
ROOTS
Releasing of
Creativity
ROOTS
Room for Diversity
ROOTS
New forms and ways
of being church
ROOTS
Growth often takes place on the
margins and not at the centre
ROOTS
Longing for community (belonging)
and engagement (participation)
ROOTS
Quest for the experience and the
supernatural (mystical)
ROOTS
A deep concern for leaving
and missing generations
ROOTS
Rediscovery of lay
ministry
ROOTS
Refocus on whole
life discipleship
Isaiah 35 v 1-2
The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendour of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the LORD,
the splendour of our God.