FAITH IN THE COMMUNITY: Exciting to see lives changed as new people join churches

WE’RE really excited to announce that church attendance in this area is increasing – more people are now coming to our church services each week.

The number of adults in CofE churches in south-east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight was 3.3 per cent higher in 2025 than it was in 2024. And the number of children attending was up by 7.4 per cent – one of the highest rates in the Church of England.

I’m excited not just because it’s my job, and not just because it’s great to celebrate some success. I’m excited because each one of the people in these statistics is an individual who is engaging with God. I believe their lives will be fundamentally better because they have found faith in Jesus Christ.

And the great news is that it’s not just in places where we were investing funds and trying something new which has shown a great increase. It turns out that God has also been working in places where there was no national CofE funding available. So many of our churches have reported people just walking into church to find out more.

There are fantastic examples of people who have studied the Bible, read theology online, or even engaged with Christian social media outlets – all by themselves. They’ve concluded that the Christian faith makes sense before they’ve even set foot in a church. Some places have arranged extra small Bible study groups and the Alpha Course to cope with the numbers of new people they are welcoming.

The most amazing news comes from the Fareham area – which also includes Titchfield, Warsash, Locks Heath, Portchester, Whiteley, Stubbington and Sarisbury Green. Every single one of our 10 churches there is growing. Attendance in that area is up by a whopping 20 per cent overall.

Some wonder if this is because of people coming back to church after Covid. The stories I’ve heard are not about worshippers returning after five years away. They are often about people who never previously believed anything about Christianity.

Of course, the number of people attending is only part of the story. But when most people across the country assume the Church is declining, it’s worth celebrating statistics that seem to show a turning-point here.

God is present in the detailed work that the Church does to analyse where to place its resources, and help churches to grow in numbers and in depth of discipleship.

And it also appears that God is working in other places, entirely independently of our efforts – by bringing people into church unexpectedly. Why not turn up this Sunday to your local church and join in?