A background to urban evangelism and church growth

1. A background to urban evangelism and church growth Chester Diocese 2012 The Sheffield Centre Church Army’s Research unit

2. 1 It’s harder than it used to be • Some of you said so • How do we know? • What measures might tell us? • What images might illustrate this Yet positively, our urban contexts, that can seem barren, may be the very seedbeds for finding shapes to post-Christendom mission and church

3. Most Evangelism Tough because of Church disconnected 10% ‘Regular’ at church Attend monthly or more 40%: The Non-Churched: Never have come 10% ‘Irregular’ at church Attend less than monthly 20% are open to come back 40%: The De-Churched: Used to come but don’t now. Adults in England 20% are never coming back!

4. It’s more serious than we thought – ENGLAND Church attendance and experience segmentation in 2006 Regular churchgoers(at least monthly)14% 5.9m Other religions 7% 3.0m Fringe churchgoers(less often but at least 6x yr. ) 3% 1.4m Unassigned 2% 1.0m Closednon-churched 33% 13.7m Occasionalchurchgoers(less often but at least annually)7% 2.9m Open de-churched 5% 1.9m Closedde-churched 26% 10.8m Opennon-churched 1% 0.5m Base: Adults 16+ in England (unw. 5907 w. 5774) Pop’n (000s) = 41,043

5. % ___ = % Pop Attended <15 yrs The % of people furthest away from living contact with or effective knowledge of the church is growing, as years pass Non-churched: Approx 60% De-churched: Approx 30% ____ = Attended In 1998 Attending: approx 10% Age Don’t think ‘it’ll get better’ Most existing churches are not aware of this, nor shaped to meet it 76% of ‘converts’ came from the dechurched

6. +42 +30 +85 0 -15 -15 -5 -14 -18 -10 -13 -22 -11 -16 -25 -13 -24 -34 -14 -24 -35 -17 -28 -40 -11 -46 -52 -39 -43 -65 Some C of E indicators NB In which decade is decline faster? % change 1980-90 % change 1990-2000 % change 1980 – 2000 PCC Vol’try Income Stipend Clergy The variety of fringe contacts are declining faster than the core membership indicators Contacts with those under 35 are in steepest decline Adult attend Electoral Rolls Easter HC Baptisms Xmas HC Child Attendance * Marriages Confirmations * Child = <16 Bob Jackson, Hope for the Church p. 2 – put in a different order

7. Why so tough: A newMission Context: We are in a radically new situation and cannot dream either of a Constantianian authority or of a Pre-Constantianian innocence Bishop Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, p. 224 There hasn’t been a mission field like ours before George Lings : Church Army Researcher There is no precedent for a mission to a culture that thought it had been converted when it hadn't and then publicly discarded the Christian faith. Harold Turner : Senior New Zealand Missiologist

8. An image - the going of “Come” From the 4th century in the west, the surrounding culture brought people to the door of the Church. What brought them ? Baptisms / Weddings / Funerals Questions of life / Pastoral Crises Our church we don’t go to Coming back to values or past known Church • The mission task was : • Respond well to their requests • Take them, from enquiry to commitment

9. The coming - of “Going” ? With the ending of Christendom, and onset of secularisation, the culture no longer brings people to the door of the Church. • Few churches • have experience of this profoundly different shape to mission • know how to travel out from Church in “go” mode • can envisage how to be fresh imaginings of church - at the end of the journey

10. Consequences • Evangelism changing and becoming a longer process • Mission having to start further back • Church looking more culturally distanced • Choosing different starting points from the past

11. ‘Process evangelism getting jumpy’ • How many find it starts for back enough? • How many find it conveys people all the way to commitment and joining existing church?

12. Some ‘barriers’ to church What are you finding where you are? • Are they … • Cultural • Educational • Social • Spiritual • Image • Peer pressure

13. Bridges– but how much progress really? • Fair or unfair?

14. Restorative Relational Real? 2 Some ways forward A] The draw of authentic community

15. Choices of where to start Closed De-Churched The Fringe Open De- churched The Non - churched Christen-dom Pre - Christian Anti Christian Post Christian Cold to.... Warm Cool Arctic Partnership Control Dialogue Listen ? Target Group Or Mission Cotext Starting Place Relational evangelism Community: theirs & ours Worship Apology Climate “Style”

16. Roof needs £ People fall out Ways forward cont … B] High tolerance of mess in church life

17. Luther: re the Church and Expect church mess We love it tidy and ordered, but … Luther: re the Christian : “Simul justus et peccator” In English that means “simultaneously justified and a sinner” cf Rom 7: vs 15-end What is church made of ? only these ingredients

18. Why should we expect mess ? 1 Because of Creation and Fall And • Everything is partial, incomplete, provisional • Even lots of Church doctrine has been reactive “Those in glass churches should not throw stony theology”

19. ‘Not Yet’ Churches ? “Already” churches ? Why expect the incomplete ? 2 Because of the nature of the Kingdom Already “the kingdom of God is near you” Luke 10:9 Not yet when you pray say “Your Kingdom come” Luke 11:2

20. The Now and Not Yet of the Kingdom It affects how we understand Salvation Spirituality Inner purity

21. The Now and Not Yet of the Kingdom It affects how we understand Salvation We find three tenses used in the NT I have been saved from the penalty of sin I am being saved from the power of sin I will be saved from the presence of sin

22. The Now and Not Yet of the Kingdom It affects how we understand Spirituality - starting & sustaining the God relationship I have begun that journey I am very aware of how far there is to go I will be finally fully united with Him

23. The Now and Not Yet of the Kingdom It affects how we understand Inner Purity - living out the Sermon on the Mount I have accepted these are Jesus’ values I am painfully aware of my inner thoughts I will be, one day, whole in mind

24. The Now and Not Yet … If mess, provisionality and incompleteness affect how we understand and how we experience Kingdom Salvation Spirituality Inner purity Why don’t we apply that to church life & behaviour too?

25. Life at St Leonards Norfolk Park

26. Go for life transformation not sin management Questions to ask • Don’t think “how are they doing?” Rather ask • Where did they come from? • What are the signs of transforming grace? • What is God calling them to? What’s so amazing about Grace – not what’s so dreadful about sin

27. Perhaps not this safe More risky … like this Ways forward cont… C] Expect stages – like stepping stones

28. Railway One Bridge through A57 Welcome to the Anston villages North South

29. Stepping Stones - early days

30. Stepping Stones further on …

31. Still Stepping out ….

32. Making it up as we go along ? • Of course – that’s research • Of course – that’s missionary • Of course – we’re in a new context

33. Ways forward cont … D] start something else A major limitation – pressure on leaders Can we invent what we need and preserve what we already have? Rising competition – we’ll go elsewhere Draining people Rising Standards Value for Money Rising Expectation Widening Roles Burning Out Helps: Free lay leaders Use another day Use low control with high accountability

34. Can we start something else?pt 2 Old sheep dogs and new tricks? ‘High above the crowd, Rex tried to remain focussed, still he couldn’t shake one nagging thought; He was an old dog and this was a new trick.’

35. Ways forward cont … • E] Learn from others • Livability • Urban Expression • Faithworks • Effective Church Presence and Enterprise Project 2008 • Eden Projects

36. Planning to succeed?The building blocks of a great community project • 360 Practice Jon Kuhrt, Adam Bonner David Arscott, Livability

37. Equipping Christians to transform communities • Direct work with churches: talks, workshops, evaluations and consultancy • Website: www.communitymission.org.uk • Training events • Resources and booklets

38. Urban Expression… … is an urban mission agency that recruits, equips, deploys and networks self-financing teams pioneering creative and relevant expressions of the Christian church in under-churched areas of the inner city.

39. Inner-city church planting • What is different? • What can be learnt? • What methods are needed? • What does this teach us about future church?

40. Ways forward cont.. • The basis of our hope • Not our strategies • Not even loving service and good community • Encounter with Christ which transforms people • The work of the Spirit leading to fruit • changed lives • gifts and ministries discovered • further Christians • more Christian communities

41. Do not despise the day of small things • Zechariah 4:10 a word in relation to only foundations being laid In the NT • The widow’s mite • The five loaves and two fish • Become like a child …

42. Jesus different pictures of his people … • Salt • Yeast • The city set on a hill • The lamp on the stand Values: Gathered Visible Attracting Values: Dispersed Invisible Subverting We are free to use all of them – which suit best after Christendom?