Changing World, Changing Church New Forms of Church, Out-of-the-Pew Thinking, Initiatives That Work

All the statistics make glum reading - 77% of under 18 year olds have no faith in God. During the Decade of Evangelism the rate of decline in church attendance actually doubled. It is not enough to quote parallel declines, some organizations such as Friends of the Earth have enjoyed astonishing growth over the same period. Yet it may not be a crisis of belief, though that is part of the problem. The heart of the matter seems to be that "church" just doesn't fit our consumer-orientated lifestyle these days.;Yet some churches - or at any rate, Christian groups - are adjusting their focus with unusual results. Youth churches such as Soul Survivor are making real headway. ASDA in Liverpool opens 30 minutes late one day each week so staff can attend communion. London's Docklands has a Thursday Church. Work churches are springing up. One Anglican minister has started a well-attended service for mums dropping off schoolchildren, at 9.30 in the morning. Post Alpha churches are developing, as are cell churches. The strategy behind these developments is rich in detail but clear in principle. We live in a culture where choice is king, where customers expect individual attention. To address this culture the church must adapt.