© Strategy and Development Unit, Church of England Church Growth Research Programme: Where are we at and where are we going? Kevin Norris Resource Strategy & Development Unit

A robust, in-depth, study of the causes of church growth within the Church of England Inform resource allocation decisions / provide tools for diocesan & parishes leaders to support growth Church Growth The Church Growth Research Programme

The research project contains three strands… Data analysis Church profiling Cathedrals, Fresh Expressions, Church Planting & Benefice Structure

 Survey has been sent to 3,700 incumbents – though most of it could also be completed by a lay person.  Collecting church level data on a range of factors which the annual returns do not cover.  Data will be linked to other data sets.  Web based. Followed up with qualitative interviews.  Over 1,700 responses, 46% response rate.  Survey closed at the beginning of July, analysis will be undertaken over the summer. © Strategy and Development Unit, Church of England Church profiling survey…

Cathedrals…  Growth, though not across the board. Mid-week attendance seems significant…  2001 – 4,900  2010 – 11,600  Worshipper survey 4 cathedrals: some early headlines  49% of attendees over the age of 65  Highest proportion of worshippers had been attending for over 10 years  46% identified the cathedral as their home church  53% attended most weeks (7% once a month, 11% once a year) © Strategy and Development Unit, Church of England

Team ministries & amalgamation of benefices

Fresh Expressions…  An in-depth study of the sum and dynamics of Fresh Expressions of Church in 12 dioceses.  6 dioceses (Liverpool, Leicester, Canterbury, Derby, Chelmsford & Norwich) already researched.  For these dioceses, FX attendance accounts for 4.4% to 14.4% of diocesan attendance (average 9.5%).  Increase in attendance brought about by FX is greater than the prior AWA decline in each of these 6 dioceses in the period © Strategy and Development Unit, Church of England

Further findings from the Fresh Expressions strand…  Who comes to the fxC: 23% Christian, 35% de- churched and 42% are non-churched.  The investment ratio: sent to newcomers is for every 1 person sent, another 2.5 are now present.  Size of the starting team small: 75% of cases 3 to 12  Size of congregation: At least 1/3 rd quickly grow to a size (37 -50) and then plateau  Who leads them? 53% are lay lead, 41% are laity with no formal designation or training. © Strategy and Development Unit, Church of England

Church Planting…  In-depth study of 30 ‘Church Plants’ of various type.  Researchers spending 1-3 days which each plant.  Also interviews with experts in church planting and senior leaders (e.g. bishops, archdeacons, diocesan officers).  Will provide some in-depth reflection to complement the data collected by the church army team. © Strategy and Development Unit, Church of England

Outputs and outcomes... Findings from the various strands integrated. In depth report with academic integrity. Practical guides and tools to help people on the ground. Stimulate the church growth research field. Not definitive answers to all the questions – though some rich evidence to inform thinking. Widely disseminated.

© Strategy and Development Unit, Church of England

Discussion pointers…  Any questions about the research?  Key questions that you would like to see it attempt to answer?  How might this research be particularly useful for you?  What levers of change could this help you to push?  What sort of forms of dissemination are most useful for you? © Strategy and Development Unit, Church of England