The Church of England is “one generation away from extinction”, the former Archbishop of Canterbury has warned.
Lord Carey, 78, said churchgoers should be “ashamed” of themselves for failing to invest more in young people and called for urgent action before its too late.
The outspoken Lord said that unless more was done to attract new worshipers then every one of the 43 CofE dioceses across the world could be wiped out within 25 years.
Well, Lord Carey is right and his is wrong. Every Christian movement is a generation away from extinction. God has no grandchildren.
Yet Christianity is far from extinction in Britain. I’ve been training in London, Bristol, Leicester, and Nottingham and I’m excited about the future of the Christian movement in Britain. Hundreds of people have shown up to be trained in the essentials of disciple making movements — connecting with people, sharing the gospel, training disciples, gathering communities and multiplying workers.
I’ve been impressed with the leaders I’ve met from the New Wine Network.
This weekend I’m training at the Newforms National Gathering in Nottingham. There’s seventy people in the room from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales who are already out sharing the gospel, making disciples and forming new groups and churches.
The future of the church in Britain is as bright as the promises of God and the liberating power of the gospel. All that is needed are people who obey Jesus’ command to follow him, and trust his promise that he will teach them to fish for people — faith and obedience.
So let’s have no more talk about “extinction”. It isn’t about us. If we remain silent God can make these stones cry out.
