Monday 30 May 2016

The Invisible Church


We’re all used to seeing statistics of church decline. The recent Scottish Church Census is likely to show fewer people attending than when the last survey took place in 2002. People will have joined churches since then, but that will be outweighed by the numbers who have died or left. This might sound all ‘gloom and doom’, but a new book by Steve Aisthorpe tells a more hopeful story. It’s called The Invisible Church: Learning from the experiences of churchless Christians.  
     
Steve returned to his church in the Scottish Highlands after working in Nepal for 15 years. He soon became aware that a few people had left the church over the years. And as he began meeting some of them he realised that, although they had left church, most of them claimed to have kept their faith. This prompted Steve to begin researching the experiences of church-leavers in Scotland. Previous research in England and Wales had asked churchgoers why other people had left. Steve’s research was done among church-leavers themselves. It confirmed that most people who stop going to church do not stop believing – in fact, many of them find a new lease of spiritual life and growth! They continue to pursue their faith, either alone or in small groups of like-minded friends. Many of them even find that they can be more missionally effective this way.

Although the book is based on academic research it is extremely readable and practical. It helps us understand the reasons why people leave churches, what their experiences are once they’ve left, and how churches might respond to this. It shows that decline in church attendance does not necessarily mean there’s a decline in Christianity. That’s where the title of the book comes from. If the visible church is in decline, it seems there is a big invisible church out there that we need to understand and to learn from.

Steve’s research offers a number of interesting and helpful insights. He outlines a number of phases that people typically go through in the process of leaving a church and describes how churches create a culture that might be ‘helpful and comfortable for some people, but challenging for others.’  He says that 3 out of 10 ‘churchless Christians’ would return if their church changed the way it did things, but that the majority would not return and are ‘contentedly non-congregational’. He also suggests where the Church may be heading and how it might be reshaped as institutional churches decline and informal or organic expressions of Church grow. Each chapter concludes with a page of questions and activities for further reflection.

This book is for anyone who is concerned about decline (aren’t we all!) and who wants to see signs of hope and glimpses of the possible future shape of the Church. It's a helpful and hopeful read – but also a challenging one. I highly recommend it. 

Incidentally, the early Salvation Army gets a mention, but you’ll need to buy the book to see what it says. (It is positive!)

The book is available from

Lieut-Colonel Jonathan Roberts


 PS If you searching for it elsewhere online don't confuse it with The Invisible Church: Finding Spirituality Where You Are by McGehee and Thomas

Thursday 28 April 2016

Week 5: Scottish Election 'Video Manifesto' Project




The final video in our series is out today. It shows
Maggie Chapman (Scottish Greens Co-Convenor) visiting our Debt Advice Centre and Food Bank at Edinburgh Gorgie Salvation Army.

Major Kathy Betteridge asks her what can be done to restrict high-cost credit and to support lower cost borrowing, and Beverley Johnston asks her what should be done to ensure that people do not need to resort to food banks.

The webpage has links to the previous four videos showing:
·         Kezia Dugdale (Scottish Labour Leader) at The Pleasance Lifehouse in Edinburgh
·         Willie Rennie (Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader) at Eagle Lodge Older People's Care Home in Leith
·         Stuart McMillan (SNP) at Greenock Drug & Alcohol Floating Support Service
·         Margaret Mitchell (Scottish Conservatives) at the New Future Employability and Training Centre in Falkirk


Follow the conversation on #AskingQuestionsThatMatter.

Friday 22 April 2016

Week 4: Scottish Election 'Video Manifesto' Project




The fourth video in our series is out today. It shows Margaret Mitchell (Scottish Conservatives) visiting the New Future Employability and Training Centre in Falkirk.

With employment support services being devolved to Scotland from next year we ask her how these services can be designed to give the best support for those who face the greatest barriers to employment. We also ask what measures need to be taken to lower unemployment and provide worthwhile jobs. You can watch the video at  http://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/asking-questions-matter-scottish-election-2016
The webpage has links to the previous three videos, which show the Scottish Labour Leader at The Pleasance Lifehouse in Edinburgh, the Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader at Eagle Lodge Older People's Care Home in Leith, and an SNP candidate at Greenock Drug & Alcohol Floating Support Service. There's also a brief overview of all the parties' views and a downloadable Salvation Army policy briefing.

The final video will be released next Friday showing Maggie Chapman (Scottish Greens Co-Convenor) at the Edinburgh Gorgie Debt Advice Centre and Food Bank.

Follow the conversation on #AskingQuestionsThatMatter. And don't forget to vote on 5 May!


Tuesday 19 April 2016

Growing Churches


Image result for growing churches

The Scottish Church Census takes place on Sunday 8 May. Every one of the 4,000 local churches in Scotland will be invited to take part. If you are a corps leader, hopefully you’ll have had the forms by now.

This is the fourth such census, and like those in 1984, 1994 and 2002 it is a comprehensive survey of all denominations and every local church in Scotland. It will measure trends in churchgoing, and also explore certain factors which are thought to lie behind some of the recent changes in churchgoing patterns.

With this in mind you may be interested in a recent article from FutureFirst – a bulletin produced by Brierley Consultancy, which is also administering the church census. The article is based on UK church statistics and has been adapted for this blog. 

Churches are Growing (from FutureFirst, April 2016)

Although church decline is a common experience, some churches are growing. Which kind of churches are these? There are three broad types, and they mostly involve people under the age of 40.

The first type is Fresh Expressions (including Messy Church). These tend to be groups of people meeting informally, not always on a Sunday and not always in a church building. They may meet in a school or village hall, and often include parents and children. They are usually very friendly and give families in particular a sense of belonging. A warm welcome is part of what they are about as well as a time of worship.

For 41% who attend, it is the only church they have ever attended. Such groups have been initiated by churches of various denominations, including The Salvation Army. Resources are being published by the Bible Reading Fellowship especially for Messy Churches (http://www.brf.org.uk/messychurch).

Then there are church plants. Some churches are starting new congregations that tend to be more formal than fresh expressions or messy church. These church plants will often meet in a hall or school or in a church, usually at a different time from the main services, and thus can be more convenient for those who have jobs or other responsibilities on a Sunday morning.

Some of these infant churches have quite robust congregations, while others are fairly small. Size doesn't seem to matter, but the age of the person leading the new congregation generally is under 50. It is very hard work starting a church like this, and it requires much dedicated effort, support and determination to keep on going.

The third area of growth is growing Sunday congregations. Larger churches seem better able to grow in this way than smaller churches. The main reason for their growth is the quality of the preaching (so say 91% of newcomers to larger churches), which is frequently relevant to their life and very helpful in explaining what the Bible means on various topics. Worship and welcome are especially important here also — some churches have two coffee queues after the service, free for newcomers, donation please from existing attendees!

Has there been a corresponding increase in church membership? Some denominations are definitely growing such as the Orthodox, Independent, New and Pentecostal churches, all of which have seen a membership increase since 2011.


The population generally continues to increase, some of whom would indicate as being ‘Christian’ in a poll. Does all this mean that the church overall is growing? Sadly no, it doesn't, because the number of people dying with a church background in an ageing population is very large. Some 7,000 church people die every week, across all denominations, and the number of new people joining a church by any of the ways given above is collectively probably only a fifth of that number, so numbers continue to decrease. But that doesn't stop your church doing something new!

Friday 15 April 2016

Week3: Scottish Election 'Video Manifesto' Project



The latest video is our series has been released today. It features SNP candidate Stuart McMillan visiting our Greenock Drug & Alcohol Floating Support Service. Two of the service users, Shaun and Glen ask him about alcohol advertising and about support services for people in recovery. You can watch the video at  http://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/asking-questions-matter-scottish-election-2016

The webpage has links to the previous two videos, which show Scottish Labour Leader Kezia Dugdale visiting The Pleasance Lifehouse in Edinburgh and Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader Willie Rennie visiting Eagle Lodge Older People's Care Home in Leith. 

There's also a brief overview of all the parties' views and a downloadable Salvation Army policy briefing.

The remaining videos will be released on the next two Fridays and show the Scottish Conservative Justice Spokesperson, Margaret Mitchell, at the Employability and Training Centre in Falkirk, and the Scottish Green Party Co-Convenor, Maggie Chapman, at the Edinburgh Gorgie Debt Advice Centre and Foodbank.

Follow the conversation on #AskingQuestionsThatMatter


Friday 8 April 2016

Week 2: Scottish Election 'Video Manifesto' Project


We launched our 'Video Manifesto' Project last week featuring Scottish Labour Leader Kezia Dugdale visiting The Pleasance Lifehouse in Edinburgh. This week we feature Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader Willie Rennie visiting Eagle Lodge Older People's Care Home in Leith.

Eilidh (one of the residents) and Ian (the home manager) ask Willie about the needs of an aging population and the cost of staying in a care home. You can watch the video at  http://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/asking-questions-matter-scottish-election-2016

The webpage also gives a brief overview of all the parties' views and has a downloadable Salvation Army policy briefing. There's also a link to last week's video in case you missed it!

On the next three Fridays we'll release videos showing other party leaders or representatives visiting centres that offer drug & alcohol support, employability support, and debt advice.

We also have worship materials linked with the five themes, downloadable from https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/49905299/Scottish%20Election%202016/Scottish%20Election%202016%20Resources%20Pack.pdf

Follow the conversation on #AskingQuestionsThatMatter


Friday 1 April 2016

Scottish Election 'Video Manifesto' Project

The Scottish Election is on Thursday 5 May, and in connection with that The Salvation Army Scotland Office has launched the Scottish Election 'Video Manifesto' project. You can see all the details at  http://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/asking-questions-matter-scottish-election-2016

The webpage features a 5-minute video in which Scottish Labour Leader Kezia Dugdale visits The Pleasance Lifehouse in Edinburgh, and Iain Wilson, the Service Manager, asks her questions about homelessness policy. The page also gives a brief overview of all the parties' views and has a downloadable Salvation Army policy briefing.

On the next four Fridays we'll release films showing the other party leaders or representatives visiting centres that offer older people's care, drug & alcohol support, employability support, and debt advice.

We also have worship materials linked with the five themes, downloadable from https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/49905299/Scottish%20Election%202016/Scottish%20Election%202016%20Resources%20Pack.pdf

Follow the conversation on #AskingQuestionsThatMatter