Going for Growth

Some years ago, Bishop Ken Clarke, the retired Bishop of Kilmore, wrote a cracking little book called “Going for Growth.”

It looked at the idea of coming to faith, learning what it looks like to follow Jesus in our daily life, and then how to pass the faith on to family, friends and the next generation.

There is quite a strong narrative around the idea that the church has essentially had its day, that all we can do is expect decline because modern people have no time for Jesus or faith and these things are unimportant to them.

Last weekend, I went to an interesting conference with 3 other delegates from the parish about the topic of Church Growth. The keynote speaker, Canon Alistair Graham, in his address, sought to dispel this narrative that has gained quite a bit of traction in recent years. He had done quite a bit of research into growing churches and the so called ‘quiet revival,’ which has seen a significant increase in things like church attendance among young men, the growth in sales of the Bible, which continues to be the world’s best selling book, year on year. He looked at some of the key ingredients in church growth, like investing in bible teaching, building community and engaging worship. It was noted that many non denominational churches and communities are excelling at meeting people where they are at, creating new and meaningful expressions of community and offering worship and faith as a viable choice in people’s lives in ways that are engaging and relevant.

Throughout the day, we heard stories from parishes and pioneering ministries that seek to offer a fresh experience of church and worship in areas where the church doesn’t have much by means of a visible presence in the community.

There’s no magic bullet, no ‘one size fits all,’ but it was really inspiring to hear the different things that people are trying, and wondering if we could give some of these things a go in our own context.

I liked the simple idea of a mobile coffee van that serves high quality coffee and sets up a couple of times a week to offer free coffee and tea and the opportunity to chat and have someone pray with you, established by a church in South Co. Dublin.

Another church in South Co. Dublin was using a graphic design programme to create posters and clues for children and family trails to retell stories like the events of the first Christmas and the first Easter. Congregations were dressing up and making these events live, and offering hospitality and a way back to church for those who had got disconnected or never been before.

Another pioneer in the diocese of Cashel, Ferns and Ossory, was using his skills as a chef to go into urban estates in Co. Waterford and East Cork to pray, cook, serve and repeat. He and his team were building connections with people the church and society seemed to have forgotten, and these folks were hungry for Bible studies, prayer, community and worship.

They were inspiring stories, but underpinned by lots of hard graft, disappointments and needing to constantly reevaluate what they were doing. There was a lot of prayer, acceptance that not everyone will buy into the traditional model of church, and learning about new ways to do things.

Throughout the day, there were seminars on evangelism, stewardship, prayer, worship and church music, community engagement, the Bible and using our buildings in a creative way to draw people in.

There was worship and conversations and Eurovision winner, Dana, sang a song in the closing service about lighting a fire within us through the Holy Spirit.

Bishop David McClay, our diocesan Bishop, chairs the Commission for Ministry which put together the programme, and I found it to be a very real and positive event. There was honesty from all the contributors that growth is neither linear or straightforward. There was a recognition that God’s Holy Spirit needed to be at work to bring growth and blessing, that it did not hinge on our own efforts. There was also an important corrective in these stories that everywhere is experiencing decline.

There are green shoots of new life and growth in our churches and it’s important that we take encouragement from that.

Can we pray and work together and have the courage to believe in and seek after growth?

Look forward to speaking again soon,

Much love to everyone.

Jono.

Listen to the latest episode of ‘Bitesize Chunks of Faith’