There has been substantial church growth in Britain between 1980 and 2010. This is the controversial conclusion from the international team of scholars, who have drawn on interdisciplinary studies and the latest research from across the UK. Such church growth is seen to be on a large scale, is multi-ethnic and can be found across a wide range of social and geographical contexts. It is happening inside mainline denominations but especially in specific regions such as London, in newer churches and amongst ethnic minorities. "Church Growth in Britain" provides a forceful critique of the notion of secularisation which dominates much of academia and the media - and which conditions the thinking of many churches and church leaders. This book demonstrates that, whilst decline is happening in some parts of the church, this needs to be balanced by recognition of the vitality of large swathes of the Christian church in Britain. Rebalancing the debate in this way requires wholesale change in our understanding of contemporary British Christianity.

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According to the BBC, CofE, CofS, RC, etc. Christianity is in terminal decline in the UK. The problem we all have with this thesis is that it is not experientially true for, I suspect, most Christians. In my 30 years of faith from atheism I have seen strong, deep and wise churches which attract new people, build faith and grow. This is an edited Sociological book of strong academic credence. It outlines the glocalisation reasons why church growth is hidden in the UK, and where and why it is happening. This is not a how-to-do book. It is a this-is-how-WE-did-it book. It looks at growth in such as London, York and Edinburgh. It also looks a bit at the down-side, but forget this as we know that certain kinds of church are on death row. (But, a touch of Christ and this can change!) Today, as I write, I hear that the UK population has grown recently by 7%. Is this good or bad for the church? A: very, very, very good! Really? Yes. The church grows in areas of high immigration and high economic growth: hence the A1 from London to Edinburgh shows a booming church, but much of N England, Wales and Scotland does not. As I said, this is not a how-to-do book, for there are exceptions: N Ireland and some Liberal churches also buck the trend. The facts are intriguing, impressive and stimulating. Want to grow a church from 1 to 1000 in 10 years? Target those who others are ignoring: unemployed, singles, E Europeans, etc. The aim of Destiny Church to have 1% of Edinburgh in membership is uplifting. It is, as I said, a heavily academic book in being strongly underpinned by citations and references. But it is not a difficult book to read. Honestly, it is not. Do you want your church to grow? Are you a church leader. Then YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK This is how it is working in the UK today.

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