STATE OF THE CHURCH Part -1-

Church attendance in Britain is declining so fast that the number of regular churchgoers will be fewer than those attending mosques within a generation, research published suggests. The number of actively religious Muslims will DOUBLE to 1.96 million by 2035. A comprehensive statistical analysis of religious practice in Britain, published by Christian Research, reports that Hindus will come close to outnumbering churchgoers within a generation. The forecast to 2050 shows churchgoing in Britain declining to 899,000 while the active Hindu population, now at nearly 400,000, will have more than doubled, And by 2050 there will be 2,660,000 active Muslims in Britain - nearly three times the number of Sunday churchgoers.

Forty two years ago John W.R. Stott reminded the church: “We are under orders. The risen Lord has commanded it to "go," to "preach," to "make disciples"; and that is enough. THE CHURCH ARMY engages in evangelism today, not because it wants to or because it chooses to or because it likes to, but because it has been told to. Evangelistic inactivity is disobedience. It is right, therefore, to go back to the very beginning and re-examine the Church's marching orders."

These were the introductory words of a sermon that Dr. Stott presented at the 1968 World Congress on Evangelism. At the time John W.R. Stott was chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II. The modern royals however, see it differently; many faiths have a home in Britain, a fact supported by the Prince of Wales who, on his Coronation, hopes to become Defender of Faith rather than Defender of the Faith.

The crisis is particularly acute for Methodists and Presbyterians, as many worshippers are aged over 65. The report predicts that by 2050 there will be just 3,600 churchgoing Methodists left in Britain. The report predicts that by 2030 there could be just 350,000 people attending just 10,000 Anglican churches, with an average of 35 worshippers each, and halved again by 2040.

And what about The SA in Scotland, our mission field ?













































Sven Ljungholm
Soldier, Hamilton Corps Scotland