The actuaries calculated that even if the number of adults under 35 increased by three per cent a year there would still be losses in total attendance until 2041. That rate of increase is currently not being seen, so the expected upturn will be later unless numbers increase.
Not all children who come to church when they are small continue to attend when they are older, but at present the number of children in church represents only five per cent of all births.
In Scotland, six per cent of all children born start attending church. Reaching children and especially teenage young adults would therefore seem pivotal if forecast figures are not to become realities.
This, however, is only a partial picture of the future of Church life in Britain.For example, by 2030, the number of Pentecostals attending church on a Sunday could exceed the number of Anglicans! May Anglicans, in their privileged position nationwide, continue to play a vital role, an expanding role, in the growth of God’s Kingdom in this country.
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