The Church of England has didn’t return to pre-pandemic levels of attendance, latest figures show.
Average weekly attendance at services rose by nearly five per cent to 685,000 in 2023, recent data published by the Church on Monday reveals.Â
It marks a 3rd yr of consecutive growth for the Church of England but figures still remain far below the 845,000 – or around 1.45% of the population – who were attending in 2019 before the pandemic struck.Â
It can also be beow the 747,000 people the Church of England predicted would have attended weekly services in 2023 if there had been no pandemic.
However, the info further shows that while in 2021 all-age Sunday attendance was 22.3 per cent below the projected pre-pandemic trend, by last yr the gap had narrowed to six.7 per cent.
The statistics are based on a snapshot of knowledge returned from over 11,000 churches.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, remained optimistic, saying, “This may be very welcome news and I hope it encourages churches across the country. I would like to thank our clergy and congregations who’ve shown such faith, hope and confidence over recent years to share the gospel with their communities.
“I’m especially heartened to listen to that more children are coming along to church and I’m grateful to everyone involved in that ministry.
“These are only one set of figures, but they show no doubt that folks are coming to faith in Jesus Christ here and now – and realising it’s the perfect decision they might ever make.
“Renewing and growing the Church is at all times the work of God, and it’s our role to hitch in with what God is doing.
“As we gather in churches this weekend to rejoice Pentecost, let’s keep praying and dealing to ask more people to find the love of Jesus Christ.”
