Quiet Revival: A Call to Action

As we prepare for the start of a new church year, our Rector, Rev. Tom Sander, considers the future call of the church and the role we all have to play in its flourishing.

There is something exciting happening in the religious landscape of England at the moment and I want you to know about it. Many churches are experiencing a ‘quiet revival’, evidenced in more people engaged in worship and learning about Christian faith and life. 12% of the population are now churchgoing Christians, up from 8% in 2019, church attendance has increased from 3.7 million in 2018 to 5.8 million in 2024. What is of particular note within this rise is that many of these new Christians are younger, 16% of adults aged 18-24 are churchgoers in 2024 compared with only 4% in 2018.

These are exciting and encouraging statistics. We have certainly experienced some of this growth at St. Giles and it has been good to see a steady rise in attendance at most of our services. Other Church of England parishes in London have experienced similar trends and seen steady growth. The Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal and other Evangelical Free Churches have also all seen growth. It is however interesting to note that the Church of England as a whole is not benefiting as much from this new reality. Churches which are distinctive and at least give the appearance of uniformity and clarity of belief tend to be the ones doing well; sadly, churches with less defined identities are firmly in decline.

For many decades the Church of England has sought to attract into the fold those who have either wandered away or who have never come in a number of unsuccessful ways. They have tried to modernize the services with a ditheringly incoherent series of alternative forms of service. Changing the Lord’s Prayer (about the only thing people still know off by heart) into an insipid modern version is the most obvious example, but there are many more; and behind them all is the numbing rumble of naïve group think: ‘If only we can get the liturgy to be more appealing, then people will come’. Guess what reader: it does not work!

Too often what remains of the parochial faithful are nourished according to the whim of the local clergy, who often have very little theological training and who end up choosing prayers from Common Worship with about as much thought as you would put together a Boots meal deal. Public worship in either a modern or traditional form needs to be predictable, reverent and be conducted firmly in the sight of God.

The Church of England has also sought to stem the tide of decline by a wholesale adoption of secular branding practices. Every over-staffed Diocesan office has produced a slogan which is meant to inspire and mould clergy and laity into mission. They’re all pretty terrible, but the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham took the biscuit with ‘Growing Disciples; wider, younger, deeper’ (it has now been dropped). The problem with using secular management models to advance the Christian Gospel is the obvious contradiction of using worldly means to advance something which is essentially not of the world. We need to be professional and accountable in terms of our finances and safeguarding, but other than that, let the Spirit do the heavy lifting.

There is much more to be said on this matter and I am aware that I am making vast oversimplifications of a very interesting and complicated sociological reality. You will forgive me for my zealous thoughts on this matter, but I am convinced that the Church of England has the lead role to play in God’s mission to the people of this land.

I am also determined that we at St. Giles take part fully with what God is already doing in turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just (Luke 1.17). We have a bright future ahead of us if we draw deeply from the wells of holy scripture, the traditions of the church and utilisation of our public and private prayers in the service of the Gospel. It is time to dig in and dig deep.

We all have a role to play in this. Bringing people to a deeper faith in Christ is the calling of the whole people of God. In family life and among colleges and friends, every Christian should feel able to talk about faith gently and appealingly. You will be surprised how many of your acquaintances are waiting for a simple invitation to ‘come and see’ (John 1.39).

On Saturday 6th December we will be having a study day themed on ‘The Quiet Revival’, with the aim of understanding more of these trends and thinking prayerfully about how we can all play our part in filling God’s church with those who seek the Lord in the land of the living. The day is designed to help you think about how you might play your part in what is already happening. There is more information about how to take part available in church.