If turning around a declining church were easy, more declining churches would be reversing course.<\/p>\n
And if Christians in the United States think turning around a church is difficult, think of trying it in the Church of England, where tradition reaches back hundreds of years and hierarchical structure often hamstrings changes local congregations want to make.<\/p>\n
But Bob and Mary Hopkins believe fresh expressions\u201d\u201da term they prefer over \u201crevitalizing a congregation\u201d\u009d\u201d\u201dcan come even to Anglican churches in the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n
Although they began\u201d\u201dand continue\u201d\u201das church planters in urban settings with Anglican Church Planting Initiatives, from 1998 to 2005, the Hopkins served on the leadership team of St. Thomas\u2019 Church in Sheffield, which grew to 1,500 in attendance, primarily reaching young adults with emerging culture interests.<\/p>\n
They acknowledge cultural differences between the United Kingdom and the United States, but they emphasize that differences favor American churches. According to the Hopkins, culture in the United Kingdom is more influenced by secular atheism and is further into an era being called post-Christendom. The Brits have fewer megachurches and a greater percentage of smaller congregations. In addition, their congregations are attended by older people\u201d\u201daverage age 61\u201d\u201dwith fewer financial resources.<\/p>\n