A new DVD has been issued, featuring the Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch, to inspire churches and their members to welcome people into the church as part of Back to Church Sunday.

Back to Church Sunday will be held on 25 September and is a new initiative in which churches will offer a special welcome to all who have lost contact with church.

Churchgoers will welcome back fellow members by sending them a postcard with the message ‘wish you were here’.

Bishop Nigel has called on the church to make the most of the 72 per cent of the British population that described themselves as Christian.

He said on the DVD: “I think there are loads of people out there who are longing for an invitation to come back to church but are really rather nervous about doing so.

“And of course they’ve got an idea of what church is like, and they think it’s going to be dead and boring and they won’t be welcome and they won’t know what to do.”

He continued: “That really isn’t the case. We know that from people’s experience of last year’s Back to Church Sunday.”

The initiative had its first trial run last year in Greater Manchester across 160 parishes, with more than 880 people returning to the church. University research conducted during last year’s Back to Church Sunday also showed that nine out of 10 would come again.

Owing to the success of the initiative, most Manchester clergy asked for the event to be held again this year.

The Greater Manchester churches will be joined by the Wakefield Diocese, as well as individual churches around the country.

Back to Church Sunday packs are due to be sent out next week packed full of useful resources for churchgoers to lure back lost members, including posters, invitations, and ‘goody bags’.

Bishop Nigel speaks on the DVD on how to invite a friend to church and how best to ‘sell’ the church and its message. It also includes suggested sermons for the church to hold during the event.