Church of England & Evangelicals Explore Spiritual Age Evangelism

England, which was once part of the most influential force in Christianity, has become more and more awaken to see the desperate need to reform its evangelism approach in order to save the declining numbers in the pews.

A new report named "Evangelism in a Spiritual Age" published by the Church of England, has shown a research carried out by a group of leading evangelicals and the conclusion drawn after analysis.

The foreword of the book written by the Rt Revd Graham Cray, Bishop of Maidstone, outlined the challenges faced by churches in the UK today. Despite 72 percent of the total population describing themselves as Christian, the figure does not translate into the equivalent church attendance. The Church is worried that not only are congregations in decline but its research has found 60 percent of adults and children are already "culturally beyond the reach" of traditionally evangelical approaches.

Rev Cray, said, "This remarkable increase in reported spiritual experiences among adults has to be taken very seriously...spiritual experience of various kinds is clearly a key element in contemporary adult evangelism, especially with those who have had little or no connection with the Church."

"It is a situation requiring not just fresh expressions of Church but fresh expressions of evangelism," he added.

Rev Cray, as the chairman of the working group that produced the best-selling "Mission-shaped Church" report and stimulated UK churches to look for "a fresh expression", has now moved on further step and called for a reform of the evangelism approach.

The book "Evangelism in a Spiritual Age" is written by six evangelicals - Yvonne Richmond, Chaplain for Evangelism at Coventry Cathedral; Nick Spencer, researcher for the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity; Rob Frost, Director of Share Jesus International; Anne Richards, Mission Theology Adviser to the Mission and Public Affairs Division of the Archbishops' Council Theological Advisory Group; Mark Ireland, Diocesan Missioner for the Diocese of Lichfield and Steven Croft, Archbishops' Missioner and Team Leader of Fresh Expressions.

Even though full pews are missing from the church, more and more people have turned to other religions, green philosophy, New Age groups, witches and pagan beliefs in an attempt to quench their thirst in this era of spiritual famine.

However, based on the research carried out by the Diocese of Coventry in their 2003 ‘Beyond the Fringe’ project, the "six questions that won’t go away" for those who are searching for spirituality but not looking to the church for answers are pin-pointed:

- Why are we here?
- What happens after we die?
- The universe: accident or design?
- Is there a God?
- What about the supernatural?
- Why is there so much suffering in the world

The evangelicals suggested that the shared interests in some fundamental questions about the human experience can be a channel to direct people to Christian teachings. They encourage the traditional parishes to look at this common place and target evangelising these unchurched with atheist or pagan beliefs yet desperately pursing deeper spirituality.

In one of the chapters of the book, Evangelism Beyond the Fringes, Rob Frost, director of Share Jesus International, said, "Millions of people are caught up in the social trends of existentialism, fatalism, the nightclub culture, the quest for meaning and the personal development movement. They are searching for a spirituality that works. These trends give us a wonderful opportunity for presenting the Christian message."

He added, "We can empower them to find something far more profound and fulfilling than anything which the New Age has to offer...the living Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God."

According to the report, the Church has recognised that many people are hostile to become Christians because of the old-fashioned image.

"Many of these evangelistic formats seem singularly inappropriate today," the study said. "The culture has moved on, and what worked yesterday is no longer effective in the ceaseless task of sharing the Good News about Jesus Christ."

Mark Ireland, Diocesan Missioner, Lichfield, takes all the insights and seeks to apply them to the ongoing life of the churches to see what are the practical outcomes and implications of all of these ideas. The ideas collected are supplemented by a workbook for church leaders. Equipping Your Church in a Spiritual Age, a supporting web site and evangelistic contact cards, posters and follow-up resources are all attached to the Appendix of the book.

In a final chapter, Steven Croft, Archbishops' Missioner concluded that evangelism required by this era is characterised by deep listening and respectful dialogue; by both humility and confidence in its private and public discourse; and an evangelism which comes from community, is by communities and leads to new communities: fresh expressions of church life.