Is this revival? Ten huge shifts in Britain’s spiritual temperature.
In this video from Speak Life, Glenn Scrivener begins by remembering adverts on buses which proclaimed “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life”. This confident secularism of a few years ago is now crumbling, as the decline in belief in God has not helped reduce anxiety and other mental health issues in the West. Scrivener goes on to consider anecdotal evidence, now backed up by research from the Bible Society (see below), which suggests that there is a renewal of faith in Christ, with number professing belief and attending church increasing, especially among young men. How can the church be better equipped to take advantage of this increased openness to the gospel?
Bible Society report speaks of Quiet Revival: “Gen Z leads an exciting turnaround in church attendance”. (Report is free here; requires registration).
After an extensive survey of thousands of people, the results are startling. Headlines: identification as a Christian and attendance at church (at least monthly) is up among 18-34 years olds from 4% in 2018 to 16% today. The number of people saying they read the bible for themselves outside church has doubled: up from 6% to 12% in the same time frame. Half of all young black people, and 18% of young white men now have some engagement with church (compared to 3% in 2018). If true (and making allowances for biases in results of surveys like these) this is truly amazing.
Is this growth seen in Anglican churches? Overall, numbers in the C of E, the Church in Wales and Scottish Episcopal Church continue to decline, while Roman Catholic, Pentecostal and other Evangelical churches continue to grow. Ten years ago there were more Anglicans in church on Sunday in Britain than in all other churches combined. Now, “whereas in 2018 Anglicans made up 41% of churchgoers, this has dropped to 34% in 2024, with Roman Catholics now close behind them with 31% (up from 23%) and Pentecostals up from 4% to 10% of the Church. Again we see a strong age effect here – among 18–34s, only 20% of churchgoers are Anglican (down from 30% in 2018), with 41% Catholic and 18% Pentecostal.”
[Editor’s comment: The Bible Society report does not look at different types of Anglican Church. The Alliance (churches in the C of E which have signed up to an orthodox Christian understanding of sexuality and marriage) claims that more than 50% of the C of E’s under 18’s are in its churches, but does not have statistics about the 18-34 age group. Anecdotally, it seems clear that those who self-identify as Christians in this younger age group are much more likely to attend a church which aligns with bible-based faith (such as C of E churches in the Alliance) than one which teaches a liberalised and secularised version. This would be in keeping with the collapse in nominal and social Christianity reported by the Bible Society, but growth in genuine Christian practice, Anglican churches that are not aligned to Canterbury, such as Anglican Network in Europe, report growth in numbers of congregations and numbers of young people attending.]
Two of the key recommendations from the report:
- Prioritise discipleship and growing Bible confidence
- Make space for intentional intergenerational conversation
The Times reports on the Bible Society findings:
“Anglicans have been overtaken and are now outnumbered by Catholics by more than two to one among Generation Z and younger millennial churchgoers in Britain, a report by the Bible Society has found…Catholicism could soon overtake Anglicanism to become the country’s largest denomination of worshippers for the first time since the Reformation five centuries ago.”
See also: increase in number of evangelicals in France, from Evangelical Focus:
“with 58%, evangelical Protestants have therefore become the clear majority in French Protestantism”. The authors place the growing strength of free evangelical Christians in the context of a loss of power and cultural transmission of religious institutions in general terms: “In our secularised society where the dominant norm is not to have a religion, having a religion and practising it has become a non-conformist act of personal choice”.
Church of England: Campaigns begin to remove protections for complementarians, and to change the doctrine of marriage
Women and the Church (WATCH) launches campaign to abolish the Five Guiding Principles: report from Church Times.
The Principles were part of the package that accompanied the Measure which enabled the ordination of women to the episcopate. Embodied in a House of Bishops Declaration, they include a commitment to enabling to “flourish” those who, on grounds of theological conviction, are unable to receive the ministry of women bishops or priests, and to pastoral and sacramental provision for this minority “without specifying a limit of time”.
But campaigners hope Synod will set a date for ending the provision for those opposed to the ordination of women, which they say constitutes entrenched discrimination, and even reflects “paternalistic and patriarchal perspectives”. Ending this provision would certainly make hopes for a “settlement” enabling conservatives to stay in the C of E seem very unstable.
Marriage and the Bible: It’s complicated.
Old Testament professor Johanna Siebert argues in the revisionist blog ViaMedia that the Church of England is wrong to base its teaching about marriage on the Bible, because the Bible “isn’t clear”.
Martin Davie responds to Ms Siebert’s 9 points with his customary forensic detail, and concludes:
The Church of England needs to stick with the nine theses on marriage noted in GS 1407 and this needs to involve not only the rejection of proposals for same-sex marriages but also revoking the House of Bishops’ existing commendation of prayers of blessing for those in same-sex relationships since these are incompatible with the conviction that ‘marriage is the proper context for sexual intimacy.’
CEEC’s Alternative Spiritual Oversight: a way of enabling faithful Anglicans to remain in the Church of England?
The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) has released a new film , designed to highlight its provision of Alternative Spiritual Oversight (ASO) and the benefits already being experienced by those giving and those receiving it…The CEEC hopes is that this will be a temporary provision which will support evangelicals to stay in the Church of England until a permanent and legal settlement based on structural provision is made available. The CEEC stresses that ASO does not replace the ongoing formal and legal role of bishops [and ASO is provided for the most part by church leaders who are not bishops – Ed.].
AMiE News
AMiE have now begun the process of selecting a Diocesan Bishop. Andy Lines stood down from this position at the AMiE Conference in March. Tim Davies will serve as acting Bishop until the election in June. Bishop Andy continues as Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Network in Europe, and as Diocesan Bishop of ACE.
Myanmar
Crosslinks Mission Society have shared a Facebook update from Bishop David Nyi Nyi Naing of the Diocese of Mandalay,
who mentions some key things to pray for in the wake of the recent earthquake, and ongoing government oppression and civil war. Crosslinks have been supporting the Anglican Church in Myanmar for many decades (see recent blog here), and this has contributed to it remaining bible-based and evangelistic, and participants in Gafcon.
From Tear Fund: A guide for individuals, churches and groups to pray for people affected by the devastating earthquake in Myanmar.
URGENT: DEC Myanmar Earthquake Appeal, from World Vision.
“Even before the earthquake, life in Myanmar was incredibly difficult. Millions of children and families were already in need of aid. Many didn’t have enough to eat. Now, things are even worse. But with your help, we can respond. We’ve worked in Myanmar for over 30 years. Alongside other DEC member agencies, we’re already reaching families in crisis.”
Easter resources
“To find meaning in life, we need to find an answer to death”. In this 4 minute video from Christianity Explored ministries, Rico Tice explains what happened on the first Easter Sunday and what it means for us.
In a Scrolling World, Are We Numb to the Resurrection’s Shock? By Brett McCracken, The Gospel Coalition.
“Consider how shocking it’d be as a headline if it were reported by some time-traveling newswire service to people in any BC kingdom or culture. We’re talking about the most outrageous headline of the year, and it happens every year: On Easter, a third of the planet’s population honors the day in history when Jesus Christ rose from the dead.”
More Easter articles, songs and videos from The Gospel Coalition here.
Please encourage your contacts to sign up for the Gafcon GBE newsletter here, and the Gafcon Global mailing list here.
Summary of points for prayer
- Give thanks that in the presence of many ‘enemies’, the Lord prepares a table for his faithful people at which he is present.
- Pray for all services during Holy Week; for clear preaching of the message of Jesus crucified and risen, and for response of repentance, faith and renewed commitment to Christ.
- Give thanks for apparent growth in interest in the gospel among younger people. Pray for creative and faithful ways for churches to make the best of this opportunity.
- Pray for the leaders of the Alliance and those contending for biblical faithfulness in the C of E, Church in Wales and Church of Ireland. Pray for growing appreciation of and support for the ministry of Gafcon GBE and Gafcon Global.
- Pray for processes of election for new bishops in Free Church of England and AMiE.
- Give thanks for the leaders of the Anglican Church in Myanmar, for their witness to Christ under intense pressure. Pray for the church’s involvement in ongoing relief efforts after the recent earthquake, and for successful intervention from the international community, to help the most vulnerable.