Bishop James urges churches to join Back to Church Sunday, September 26th, 2010

Church of England churches welcomed back 53,000 people on Back to Church Sunday last September, a 71 per cent increase on 2008.

More churches took part in Ripon and Leeds last year with several reporting significant increases in numbers, This year many more are taking part and a warm welcome awaits you.

This year, Back to Church Sunday is  on September 26th.

Like last year the theme is ‘Come As You Are’- find out more at the Back to Church website www.backtochurch.co.uk

Pictured here in the streets of Harrogate last year during the Back to Church Sunday campaign at St Peter's Harrogate, James Bell, the Bishop of Knaresborough, is encouraging churches to get involved

“Surely we want to give as many people as possible the chance to encounter Christ? Then please think about taking part this year in this opportunity to invite people to church with the backing of national publicity... Many churches tell me that they want to grow – well here’s a ready-made opportunity to go for growth!”

Where is my nearest church?

If you are thinking of accepting the invitation Back to Church on September 26th, find out the location of your nearest church using the Postcode search on the right hand side of the website  ------>

STOP PRESS: Back to Church Powerpoint for churches on preparing for this year's event, shown at the preparation morning, September 11th. .

Back to Church Sunday News

Broadcasting a warm Back to Church welcome to 1.3 million people – radio adverts on Classic FM and Heart FM

The Church of England is advertising Back to Church Sunday 2010 (September 26th) on the radio stations Classic FM and Heart FM, to deliver a message of welcome over the airwaves straight into the homes of 1.3 million people.

The adverts will support 400,000 personal invitations that members of over 4,000 churches will send to their friends, when the friend-inviting-a-friend initiative enters its seventh successful year of giving people returning to, rediscovering and exploring churchgoing, a very warm welcome.

Back to Church Sunday began in Manchester in 2004, spread to Wakefield Diocese in 2005, nine dioceses in 2006, 20 in 2007, 38 in 2008, and all 44 in 2009, when an estimated 82,000 people came back to church across the UK.

The radio advert can be previewed at www.audiopot.org/back2church, and will be heard by 1.3 million people an average of three times. It will be broadcast in the week running up to Back to Church Sunday on Classic FM and Heart FM.

Every year thousands of people are inspired to return to church by a simple invitation from a friend and the ‘VIP reception’ they receive when they give it a try – but now the power of radio is being used to make use of the close relationship listeners have with their favourite stations.

Produced by Bradford-based Whistling Frog Productions with support from the Jerusalem Trust, the advert comprises a montage of ‘vox pops’ from real churchgoers around the country: ”It’s like a big family… There’s always someone to talk to... It makes me feel good about myself... Quite often I go there and I just cry because I’m so overwhelmed with the whole love I feel... It’s a shared experience... It’s a place where if I’ve had a rough week, I can just leave it all behind… To me it’s the greatest thing on earth… Friends, family, fun, I just love it…”