In October 2024, CTC will publish a report: Organising for Growth: Growing inner-city churches in number, depth and impact. This report tells the story of a growing number of churches which have harnessed the power of community organising to grow in number and spiritual depth as well as social impact.

At the heart of the report are the stories of churches that were part of a a successful pilot project ‘Organising for Growth’ in the Barking and Stepney Episcopal Areas of Chelmsford and London Dioceses. This has helped six parishes to develop “growth pathways” for discipleship and leadership, growing in number by over 200 with 40% of new worshippers aged under 18.

The report is written by people directly involved in the work, with semi-structured interviews with clergy and lay leaders from 15 churches. Alongside this qualitative evidence, we have included quantitative data on the way community organising has helped these churches grow in number (average weekly attendance) and also in financial resilience.

Below are some of the key themes emerging from the research:

1. A plentiful harvest

Many of the churches that have grown had been at risk of cuts or even closure. Community organising did not offer an additional set of initiatives for an overstretched church to undertake – but rather a set of practices to help churches discover the gifts God had already given them. This approach has revealed that the harvest is more plentiful than we realise (Matthew 9.35), as it has identified and developed leaders whose energy and gifts had previously been untapped.

2. Prayer, practice and patience

Prayer has been central to this process of renewal – not just as an “add on” but as an essential part of the Organising Cycle, which involves listening, lamenting and discerning before acting.

3. Learning communities

The Community Organising method is only effective if it involves a focus on culture change, not just on activities

Almost every church that has grown significantly has taken part in a year-long Learning Community. Their teaching and mentoring, and the building of a community of practice, has been vital to ensuring this culture change happens

4. Investment in lay leadership

CTC’s Wagstaff Programme has been key to the development of lay leaders who in turn have been at the heart of the actions that have grown the churches

5. Intentionality without anxiety

This work requires an intentionality about both leadership development and numerical growth – but this must be done without anxiety or hurry

This has involved thinking about how to become more “porous”, so that those who want to explore faith and deepen engagement find a safe, welcoming and supportive environment for that journey.

6. Challenging the myths

Both this report and CTC’s previous research challenge two persistent myths about church growth:

• Churches do not need to be in a particular tradition in order to grow. The method has proved fruitful in congregations of a wide range of sizes and traditions.
• Social action need not compete with numerical growth. These go together, so long as internal and external action is used to develop new leaders, not adding to the workload of existing ones.

The report will officially launch on 11th October, and will be made available on this webpage.