Church life in Wales has changed very significantly in the last 150 years. On 1851 census Sunday it is thought that about 57% of Welsh people attended church or chapel. In 2002 church attendance is more like 7%. We would be kidding ourselves, though, if we thought that all of the changes of the last 150 years were negative. In interpreting the above statistics one must remember two important facts:
1) Bucking the trend: growth in decline
First, whilst the church has declined overall this is not true of all churches. Indeed one of the most striking features of the last 80 years has been the advent and rapid growth of a significant number of ‘Pentecostal churches’: Elim and Assemblies of God, and ‘New Churches’: Pioneer Churches, Covenant Ministries International and, within this tradition a significant number of vibrant independent congregations.
The new denominations differ from their traditional forefathers in many ways. Firstly they don't normally meet in historic buildings with spires but in old converted factories, warehouses or purpose built facilities. They have a far more modern style of worship and (especially in the new churches) a younger age profile. Perhaps it is because of their more contemporary approach that these new churches have proved remarkably successfully at bucking the overall trend of decline.
Rev. Ken Dancer, the head of the Assemblies of God denomination in South Wales, which now has 60 churches in the south cannot identify with decline at all. 'When I started in my own church in Hirwaun ten years ago we had 30 people, today we have 200'. Rev Denis Phillips the head of the Elim denomination in Wales with 30 churches in the nation, one with between 4-500 in regular attendance, similarly cannot identify with decline.
Cornerstone Church Swansea, meanwhile, which is part of the new church Pioneer denomination, began life in 1991 with just 6 people. Today it has a membership of approximately 100 and has become a major hub in a deprived community providing all manner of services, including its award winning youth exclusion initiative, the GAP project.
All of the new churches of the 20th century rest within the Evangelical tradition. There are, however, also significant numbers of evangelical churches within the older denominations. Of great significance for Welsh evangelicalism, where these churches have been flexible but uncompromising, evangelical congregations within the established denominations have also avoided decline. The Church in Wales for instance has an Evangelical Fellowship whose Chair Rev Brian Parfitt observes that they have seen steady growth in their membership over the years.
Evangelical Anglican Vicar Rev Stuart Bell of St Michael's Aberystwyth, moreover, certainly has not seen decline in his church. 'In fourteen years we have seen our congregation grow from 200 to 400 and I have great hopes and expectations for the future.' His evangelical colleague vicar Philip Rees similarly observes, 'wherever I have been in Wales I have seen the Evangelical Anglican Church experiencing growth.'
Similarly Evangelical Baptist churches in Wales have faired well. Baptist Minister Rev Rob James observes, 'some of the negative statistics about church decline conceal an untold story of growth. In my experience where churches are prepared to adapt without compromising they do grow. My congregation has grown from 18 to approximately 150-175 in the last twenty years.' Rev Andy Hughes of Woodville Rd Baptist Church Cardiff has actually had to demolish his church and is in the process of rebuilding because the old facility was too small. 'We had people sitting on the floor, he explained'. That would have been completely unsustainable in some churches but as Andy explains 'the average age of our congregation is 25!'
A poignant demonstration of the vibrant nature of the Welsh evangelical churches came on November 4th 2001 in the form of a service held at the Cardiff International Arena. The 4000 seats for the Sunday evening gathering were all booked well in advance. Reflecting on the event Rev. Elfed Godding, General Secretary of the Evangelical Alliance Wales observes that 'the interest that we had expressed in the service and the extensive waiting list of 600 stand as a powerful testimony to the fact that Welsh Evangelical Churches, in all their rich diversity, are a growing part of Welsh civil society that cannot be overlooked’.
2) Asignificant force to be reckoned with
The other thing that one must appreciate when characterising the church with decline is that even whilst many of the older denominations as a whole have lost members, together with the new churches, they continue to represent a very significant constituency in absolute terms. What one must never forget is that when you fall from a very great height you can lose a lot of ground in relative terms whilst nonetheless remaining a very significant force in absolute terms! 7% of Wales may be a lot less than 80% but when you consider it in terms of the kind of percentages other groupings within civil society can claim, it remains a very significant constituency. If you compare this figure with the numbers of members of political parties or attendance at football matches on a given Saturday or Sunday, one can appreciate that the church remains a very significant constituency in Welsh civic life.
The Evangelical Alliance Wales
Recent changes in church growth as the Western Mail recognised in its article ‘Evangelicals Buck the Trend’, has been very much to the advantage of Welsh Evangelicalism. Whilst evangelical churches appear to be in generally better health than other churches, as a whole, though, the evangelical constituency remains smaller than the rest of the church. Projecting current growth into the future, however, evangelical denominations and evangelical churches within broader denominations are likely to become relatively more significant.
