Church attendance across the Diocese of Portsmouth increased significantly in 2025, with new figures showing growth rates well above the national average.
Data released by the diocese shows weekly adult attendance increased by 3.3% in 2025, outperforming the national growth rate of 0.7%.
Children's attendance rose by 7.4% - the third-largest increase recorded among Church of England dioceses.
The figures come as the Church of England reported a fifth consecutive year of attendance growth nationwide.
Preliminary Statistics for Mission data published recently showed that there were 1.023 million regular worshippers across Church of England congregations last year, up 1.4 per cent on 2024.
Weekly attendance went up by 0.7% to around 707,000, while Easter attendance rose by 7.8% (1.03 million) and attendance during Advent rose by 2% (4.8 million).
Against that backdrop, Portsmouth's growth was particularly pronounced.
The 2025 Easter attendance increased by 11% compared in 2024, while Advent attendance shot up by nearly 38% - the biggest rise recorded across Church of England dioceses.
The diocese said growth had been recorded across a variety of church traditions and worship styles, with encouraging trends emerging both in churches receiving strategic funding and in parishes operating without additional financial support.
One of the strongest-performing areas was Fareham deanery, where nearly every parish reported growth in both attendance and adult baptisms between 2024 and 2025.
None of the churches in the deanery are currently supported through diocesan strategic funding programmes.
Tim Pike, the diocese’s strategic projects manager, said the figures suggested that churches that actively create opportunities for worship, fellowship and discipleship are seeing positive results.
He also pointed to the importance of ministry among children and young people, as well as direct routes for people exploring the Christian faith to become active disciples.
The findings suggest that extended clergy vacancies remain one of the biggest challenges to church growth.
Pike said attendance often fell when parishes were between incumbents, adding that the diocese's efforts to reduce the length of vacancy periods appeared to be supported by the data.
Alongside growth linked to planned mission initiatives, church leaders reported a number of instances of people attending services without prior church involvement or invitation.
One such individual is Will Limburn, who said he encountered the Christian faith through platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and a Bible app before eventually joining St Faith's Church in Lee-on-the-Solent.
Similar stories have emerged elsewhere in the diocese.
At St Mary's Church in Portchester, a group of younger men with little previous church background have begun attending regularly over the last two years.
Other churches such as Locks Heath’s St John’s, Whiteley’s Hope Church and Clanfield and Catherington’s churches, reported baptising individuals who first entered church seeking answers about faith or after receiving free copies of the Bible.
The diocese has invested in a number of initiatives aimed at church growth, including new congregations in Ryde, Gosport and Paulsgrove, training programmes for lay and ordained leaders, children and youth’s ministry development and projects designed to create new worshipping communities.
However, diocesan leaders noted that growth was not limited to churches involved in these programmes, suggesting broader factors may also be contributing to renewed interest in Christianity.
The Rev Andrew Hargreaves, Director of Ministry and Discipleship for the Diocese of Portsmouth, said attendance figures were not the sole measure of successful ministry, but argued that the latest statistics provided grounds for encouragement.
He said that while much public discussion focuses on church decline, the diocesan figures pointed to signs of renewal.
He added: “God is present in the detailed work to analyse where to place resources and how our churches can grow in numbers and in depth of discipleship.
“And it also appears that he is working in other places, entirely independently of our efforts – by bringing people into church unexpectedly. All we ask is that our churches are ready and willing to react to what God’s Spirit is already doing.”
The Church of England’s full Statistics for Mission report is expected to be published later this year.
