1700 Churches Sign up for Back to Church Sunday

More than 17,000 people are expected to return to church in September as Back to Church Sunday expands to take in 1700 churches across England.

Resources to invite a friend Back to Church and to welcome them on Sunday 30 September are already delivered to more than one in 10 of the Church of England's churches.

With 19 dioceses taking part this year, the 1700 churches involved is a tenfold increase on the 160 churches that took up the venture when it began in Manchester in 2004.

Participating dioceses coordinate the delivery of resources and will be running 'welcome workshops' for local churches throughout the summer.

On past records, participating churches welcome back an average of 10 former worshippers each, meaning that 17,000 people could come back to church in one day in September - equivalent to one per cent of the total monthly attendance of the Church of England.

Recent research from Tearfund revealed nearly three million people would consider going to church with "the right invitation".

The Bishop of Manchester said: "Inviting people into church is as important as taking the Gospel out to them. With three million ready to consider a personal invitation, the growth of Back to Church Sunday could prove one of the most effective aspects of the Church's witness."

The venture is sponsored by Traidcraft, who print and pack the resources and are sending them to participating churches this week. Resources include posters, invitation, balloons and welcome team T-shirts.

The dioceses involved in Back to Church Sunday this year are Bath and Wells, Birmingham, Blackburn, Chelmsford, Chester, Coventry, Derby, Ely, Exeter, Guildford, Lichfield, Manchester, Oxford, Peterborough, Ripon and Leeds, Rochester, Southwark, Southwell and Nottingham and Wakefield.