Why I came back: factors in church membership

This is the third in a series of posts examining my own experiences of leaving church and later returning to Christian faith and practice as a sort of case study, to see what can be learned about why people leave churches and why they come back. I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but some of it is triggered by recent comments about church growth. The previous post is about what kept me...

What kept me away: Factors in church membership

This is the second in a series of posts examining my own experiences of leaving church and later returning to Christian faith and practice as a sort of case study, to see what can be learned about why people leave churches and why they come back. I've been thinking about this for a while, but some of it is triggered by recent comments about church growth. The previous post is about why I left...

Why I Left Church: Factors in church membership

This is the first in a series of posts examining my own experiences of leaving church and later returning to Christian faith and practice as a sort of case study, to see what can be learned about why people leave churches and why they come back. I've been stewing over this idea for a while, but it has been triggered by comments about church growth earlier this week. We are told people are leaving...

Reality Check

"The reality is that where you have a good vicar, you will find growing churches." --@ABCJustin earlier Today. All other factors being equal, this may be true. A "good" vicar or minister in a situation where a growth in church membership is possible is probably more likely, on the whole, to see that growth happen than a "bad" or mediocre one. Assuming growth in church membership is a good thing...

Recession and Evangelism

This morning a Twitter friend linked to a Telegraph article about the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, on a visit to Trent Vineyard church. I haven't watched the video of the interview with Caroline and Justin Welby, as it's private at the moment. I'm aware that the Telegraph may have presented a certain viewpoint, which may lead readers to a slightly different impression of what...