It is wonderful to be part of a growing church with people of all ages growing as disciples. However, we know that statistics tell us this isn’t reflective of the rest of the Church of England.

For some time, the number of young people attending the Church of England has been declining. As such, the Church of England’s Education Office is embarking on a major project which will help them better understand the factors that contribute towards children and young people developing long lasting relationships with the Church. This issue is of profound importance to the future of the church institution.

We have been selected as part of a small representative sample of churches to participate – covering different parts of the country and demographics.

The Church of England Education Office describe how they are undertaking quantitative surveys with two distinct groups of people:

Young people aged 16-30 who still attend church regularly or no longer attend church. We want to learn about what makes you an active member of your congregation, what you love (and don’t love) about your church, how rooted you feel in your faith and where you feel you are going as a young Christian. If you don’t attend very often these days, we would still love to hear your views!

Parents who have children aged 11-30 years old (regardless of whether their children still attend church or not). We would like to know about the ways in which their children have connected with churches and the factors which determine this relationship.

A member of the Research by Design team will visit our 11 am service to ask you some questions on Sunday 7th February. As a thank you, everyone who gives their views will get the chance to win an iPad mini!

If you are unable to be in church then you can still complete the survey online by clicking the link below.

Church of England Rooted in the Church Survey