|PIC1|Churches in the UK have been growing rapidly, with more than 1,000 new Christian churches being created over the last seven years, according to new research.

While 481 UK Starbucks branches have been established since 1998, twice as many churches have been established during the same period.

“This is exciting news for the UK church!” declares Graham Cray, Bishop of Maidstone. “It seems that everywhere I look today there is a new Starbucks full of people. It is great to think that the same thing is happening with churches. Jesus has so much more to offer to people’s lives than just a caffeine buzz!”

The black Pentecostal churches revealed the biggest growth, creating half of the new congregations. New initiatives such as "Fresh Expressions", alternative worship services aimed at young people, accounted for a fifth of new congregations.

|AD|Since 1998, the Pentecostal Churches started nearly 500 churches, largely drawing African communities in London.

The Redeemed Christian Church of God, a Nigerian-based group, is one of the fastest growing black churches with 210 "parishes" across London.

The Jesus House for all the Nations, based in London, attracts 2,000 worshippers every Sunday. Chairman and leader of the church, Pastor Agu Irukwu, said the secret of church growth was lively worship and meeting the needs of the community.

Meanwhile, research revealed that more churches had closed than had opened, with the Methodists shutting the most. The Methodist Church suffered a net loss of about 300 churches, and the Church of England fell by more than 100.

Peter Brierley, the executive director of Christian Research, said the findings [of new churches] were encouraging "but the losses in the older denominations are faster than the gains in the newer ones".