The situation is serious

“Mind the gap!” It comes over the speakers at every station; often it’s painted on the platform. They want you to get the message and take note of the warning - there is danger here!

It’s a warning that we in the church would be wise to heed. A gap has opened up between the church and those who live in the community around us. A gap that every year seems to get wider; a gap we often feel ill-equipped and at a loss to do anything about.

People are leaving the church at the rate of 1,000 a week.

Does that sound fictitious? Read on …

In 1931, 31% of the UK population claimed to be church members. By 2005 that number had declined to just 9.4%. This is stark enough - but it’s made worse when you realise that the population of the UK has exploded in the same period.

Christian Research (CR) has done some projections based on the present rate of decline and they suggest that…

Between 2000-2020

• A further 1.4 million people will leave church; that equals a further 23% drop.

• This amounts to 1,350 people a week leaving the church over the next 15 years.

A recent publication by CR - Pulling out of the Nosedive - suggested that the decline had halted. But it turned out that was due to the arrival of around 100,000 Christians from what used to be called Eastern Bloc countries.

There’s not just one gap, there are several. There is the gap between:

• Belief and Behaviour
  - How often do they match up in the church or in our lives?
• Creed and Credibility
  - It’s amazing how quickly doctrine can turn to dead dogma.
• Relevancy and Irrelevancy
  - Most people see church as irrelevant because they can’t see and haven’t had it explained how faith and life connect.

The challenge is bridging the gap. The question is: how?

This website is intended to play a part in providing the answer.

Last Updated 30 November 2010