The Growing Good report details 6 features of churches exhibiting healthy growth. In this final extract from the report, the focus is on Participation. Churches that are good at inviting people to participate in a variety of ways (including social action, but not exclusively so) create a culture in which outliers to the Christian faith can ‘belong without believing’ and find themselves naturally drawn into a faith community where relationships develop and faith can take root.

The Growing Good report details 6 features of churches exhibiting healthy growth. In this fourth extract from the report, the focus is on Adaptability. Adaptability is the ability of churches to acknowledge and work with layers of unpredictability and sometimes dysfunction in the lives of the communities and individuals they serve. Where the church is growing and flourishing through involvement in social action, the congregation’s capacity to adapt and embrace complexity is critical.

In a five part series for the Living Theology Forum we explore the 6 features identified in the report that characterise churches exhibiting healthy growth. In this second extract from the report, the focus is on Hospitality. Thinking theologically about hospitality will move churches beyond a paternalistic, transactional, ‘provider’ model towards something far more radical and challenging (and counter cultural). If this radical form of hospitality gets into the bloodstream of a church, the effects are profound – as the report says: When a church has a strong culture of hospitality and welcome as the norm, its approach to social action is necessarily changed and the church is able to flourish.

In a five part series for the Living Theology Forum we explore the 6 features identified in the report that characterise churches exhibiting healthy growth. In this second extract from the report, the focus is on Perseverance. This is not to be confused solely with longevity, it is to do with sustaining a visible and effective presence within a community over the long term. The relationship between longevity and perseverance is both passive and active.

In a five part series for the Living Theology Forum we explore the 6 features identified in the report that characterise churches exhibiting healthy growth. In this first extract from the report, the focus is on Presence – in other words, the way in which churches are present and visible within their local communities. The report finds that a church grows in number and depth when it is present in and connected to its local community, which may be manifested through its social action.

Peter Rouch explores the relationship between human and divine agency in evangelism, especially with those on the margins of society.