Displaying items by tag: Church growth

Despite a decline in UK church attendance, the Church of England's recent report reveals signs of growth, particularly in Blackburn, where innovative initiatives are drawing in more children and young people. At St Leonard’s church and school in Balderstone, around sixty people of all ages participated in a creative worship service, collecting natural items to represent the Easter story. This inclusive approach mirrors efforts across the diocese to engage with new worshippers, resulting in a 17% increase in children attending weekly services compared to 2021. The local synod has identified successful strategies for church outreach, including schools ministry and online worship. Over the past five years, more than a hundred new local congregations have emerged, ranging from forest churches to café gatherings, indicating a promising trend of community expansion within the CofE.

In the turbulent period of the Cultural Revolution in China, Bibles were confiscated, and churches forcibly closed. However, the Bible's journey has now evolved from being an underground rarity to becoming a cherished bestseller. Since 1987, the presence of the Bible Society's Amity Press in Nanjing has been nothing short of remarkable. This facility, the largest Bible factory in the world, has produced an astounding 90 million Bibles for dissemination within China, and 140 million copies in various languages for global distribution. The open availability of the Bible through authorised channels has played a pivotal role in the astonishing growth of the Chinese Church. Lay leaders and devoted volunteers often step forward to bridge the leadership gap, particularly in less affluent regions where a single ordained pastor may serve more than six thousand Christians. The Chinese Church's ongoing growth reflects the abundant harvest that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 9:37, where the workers are indeed few but filled with boundless devotion.

Migrant communities from West Africa and India are renewing and revitalising Manchester churches. As many of them work at hospitals, Fr Paul Hutchins has added a mid-week service to make attendance easier for people working at weekends. He also encourages members to shape the worship, bringing hymns and prayers from their churches of origin, helping them feel as at home as possible. He says, ‘Five years ago we had sparks of promise as a multicultural congregation, but in a short space of time we have seen huge increases in new worshippers from Ghana, Nigeria, and South India.’ Three churches in the diocese have seen huge boosts to their congregations, mostly thanks to the families which have migrated to the area.

A research study found church growth requires active small groups, focused evangelism, and the integration of new believers. After the COVID-19 pandemic churches are finding it increasingly difficult to grow their small groups. The authority of scripture is foundational to churches’ discipleship strategies. 9 out of 10 U.S. pastors say scripture is the authority for their church and their lives. Even though pastors hold on to the authority of scripture, it is still increasingly difficult for them to move worship attendees into small groups where they’ll study Scripture. On average only 44% of churches current weekend worship attendees are involved in a small group, Sunday School, or a similar group that provides the relational glue that enables a local congregation to be a place where people love one another.

‘History is made by the people of God, and as we move into this new season may they walk in divine dominion, ruling over their emotions, thoughts and words, so that in every circumstance they will flourish, under every pressure; they will be courageous, and in every victory they will honour God. We can pray for Him to birth a people who will move, not by might nor by power but by His Spirit - irrespective of age, irrespective of colour, irrespective of ethnicity. As they reconnect with the covenant call given to Abraham, ‘all the peoples of the earth will be blessed through them.’ Pray for the gospel of Jesus to be spoken with clarity, and that the demonstration of Kingdom power which is revealed will turn many to Jesus. May more people experience the power of God’s transforming love that releases God-given purposes for their lives.’

85 million people, 98.6% of Iran’s population, are Muslim; only 0.2% are Christian. Massive numbers of Iranians have come to Jesus in recent years. From only 500 Muslim-background believers in 1979, many estimates suggest the number is even greater than one million. Large numbers of Persian people have also encountered the risen Christ outside of Iran. The Church has not grown this fast since the seventh century. In Iran, a person can receive a death sentence for abandoning their religious faith. This growth is a remarkable move of the Holy Spirit, with many signs and wonders, dreams and visions. But we still need to pray for a mighty move of God across the nation; for the Iranian believers to be protected as they share their faith; and for those who are translating the Bible into the many different dialects spoken in Iran to reach every lost tribe.

After a decade of civil war, Syria has at last begun to reconnect with its neighbouring countries, including Lebanon, Jordan, and the UAE. President Assad’s grip on the country is tenuous as areas near the Turkish and Iraqi borders are controlled by rebel groups. Fighting has left Syria in economic ruins; families which used to have more than enough income to provide for themselves are now in poverty because of hyperinflation. A man with cancer did not continue with expensive treatment; it was better that one dies rather than all of them dying. Families without enough food for all their children give lunch to some children lunch and dinner to the others. But God is working. The story of Jesus is reaching new populations; there is a budding movement of the Holy Spirit and churches are forming among the Druze in the south and the Kurds in the north.

Brazil has one of the largest Christian populations in the world; 91% say they are a ‘Christian’ of some form. The Kingdom of God has exploded in Brazil since 1960 as the nation has been saturated with truth in and through Jesus Christ. Jesus said (Luke 12:48), ‘To whom much is given, from them much is required’, and Brazil has certainly been given much from God. The Church has become a strong mission-sending organisation in one generation. Today, God desires it to go to a new level of seeing mission mobilisation emphasised in every local ministry so that every believer contributes to the fulfillment of the Great Commission. The Brazilian Church is known as a praying Church; pray for a massive prayer movement across the churches and denominations emphasising intercession for an explosion of church-planting, leading towards communal movements to Christ among all unreached people groups.

A church that was formed from a WhatsApp group during lockdown now meets every fortnight. Lay pioneer minister Venessa Pinto distributed postcards during lockdown to her neighbours, inviting them to join the group as a way of staying in touch during the restrictions. ‘Within a couple of days we received many messages, mostly from young adults.’ Venessa said. ‘We started engaging on questions of spirituality and faith and out of that we began meeting on Zoom for social activities and to talk about faith. Gradually that transformed into something more formal and into an intercultural worshipping community that we call Roots.’

Technology is a powerful tool for light and life in this pandemic. A surge in Google searches around the theme of hope and faith plus a phenomenal increase of people searching Christian websites means that more are hearing the Gospel. Global Media Outreach registered a 170% increase in clicks on search engine advertisements about finding hope. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and Campus Crusade (Cru) created special internet tools for ministry in the pandemic. Cru’s student page is expected to receive 20 million more visitors than last year, and BGEA’s outreach had 191,000+ online visitors and 11,000 decisions to accept Jesus as Saviour. See also Intercessor Focus: praying for the local church.