The church in the UK is down to just one key too. The Alpha course and other introductory courses to Christianity continue to unlock people’s hearts to the gospel. Millions have attended to find out more and huge numbers have come to faith as a consequence. But Alpha doesn’t ‘do it’ for everyone. Apart from Alpha other programmes, methods and strategies have largely failed to provide a way into church.

Searching for relevance
That’s why the search for new keys – new ways to take the unchanging heart of the gospel and make it relevant and meaningful to people in 21st century Britain is so important. Believers are looking with a mixture of creativity and desperation for new keys in some surprising places.

Church in a pub, coffee shop or factory are just some of the settings for experiments in making faith more culturally relevant and accessible. Even established and traditional churches are more open to experiment with different times for worship services, with varying degrees of success. Sunday worship times have changed little in most churches for more than 100 years. Where once it made sense to meet at 10.30am and 6.30pm – churches are discovering modern lifestyles may be suited to different times and just one meeting – and even then, not necessarily on Sunday. One church experimented with a communion at 3.45pm on a Wednesday – hardly an obvious choice but scores of women with young children on their way home from school found this convenient and user-friendly.    

It’s not just service times, experiments with new styles of worship are taking off around the UK. Recent statistics produced by Gelder and Escott reveal that many thousands of churches in England hold worship services specifically aimed at young people. Niche services and congregations are becoming commonplace as churches face up to the impossibility of providing one worship experience that touches all ages and all people groups. Already many Anglican churches will attract four different congregations to four different Sunday services.

Doing something new
Experiments in what it means to be a worshipping community of believers have resulted in the use of ambient music, discussion replacing a sermon, or meditative styles of prayer instead of the typical hymn, prayer sandwich. In many of these experiments the quality of community, a shared lifestyle, and a lack of institutional hierarchy are hallmarks of their ‘churching it’ together.

Pete Ward has popularised the expression ‘liquid church’ through his book of the same name, which advocates a fluid and more flexible model for being church. This might appeal to a generation suspicious of established church and reluctant to become formal members of anything. The downside of a highly informal structure is that it may fold and die quickly leaving people feeling disappointed and let down. Its lack of visibility is another factor that might stifle its growth. However, this essentially relational approach to church will appeal to people who make connections through friendships.

Twentysomethings who are the most under represented age group in the UK church – could be expected to have the energy, drive and creativity to be at the forefront of discovering a new key to making church relevant to the wider community.

But the responsibility lies with us all. When St Paul visited Athens he looked hard for a key to communicate Christ into the local culture. When he found the altar to the unknown God – he recognised this was a gift from God – a way into the hearts and minds of the Athenians. Alpha is a God-given gift to the church – but we badly need some more keys. Despite lots of experiments it seems that we haven’t found any more so far. Searching on our knees before God and observing and listening to our culture - we need to keep looking!

John Buckeridge is Senior Editor of Christianity Magazine www.christianitymagazine.co.uk