Churches Together in England hosted the fifth Learning to be Missionary Disciples Conference at High Leigh from 24 to 25 March with the theme of Re-orientation, Renewal and Reality of Discipleship. The conference gathered participants from over 20 different denominations and 25 charities and other agencies.
Abi Jarvis, the Discipleship and Faith Formation Officer for the Methodist Church reflects,
With the Quiet Revival still all over the Christian zeitgeist, the idea for this conference was to dig into the reality for churches in the UK, one year on from the research. Are churches really seeing people walk through the doors with no church background? Are young people really reading the Bible, cover to cover? What differences and similarities are there between denominations?
Reflecting on the conference is partly overshadowed by the announcement the day after that the survey sample on which our report The Quiet Revival was based was faulty. But this doesn’t detract from the stories we heard throughout the conference – from Pentecostalism, Greek Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Church of England and more – nor from other data, such as a dramatic rise in Bible sales. We also heard from Justin Brierley about the changing attitude to Christian faith, which he has heard from his podcast guests. Whatever the numbers might be, and whether it’s technically a revival or not, God is at work in people’s lives, and we celebrate every person who gives their life to Jesus. At the Methodist Church, we’re encouraging ‘newcomer friendly churches’, so that every person who walks through our doors for the first time is lovingly invited to be part of the community.
In one roundtable discussion we considered the influence of the political right, and what most of us view as the co-opting of Christian faith, in bringing young, white men into churches. I was struck by a challenge that we shouldn’t be surprised at what’s happening; it’s the natural conclusion of the church’s silence over the past several decades on issues of racial injustice, such as Windrush. We debated how to welcome someone into our churches when they hold views that run contrary to what many believe central to the Gospel message. Is there a line where different opinions become unacceptable, and how do we deal with that?
An evening session reminded us of the importance of laughter for physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. I’ve been practising making myself laugh since then, and it really does make a difference!
One of the best parts of the conference is the informal chats between sessions. What I love most is the opportunity to get beyond my particular Christian bubble and hear from those in very different parts of the church. I’m aware that most Christians do not have this privilege, and I believe our churches are poorer for it.