Churches have been amazing at getting online during the last year in response to the Covid-19 crisis. Research by HOPE Together, the Church of England and the Methodist Church in February 2021 showed that 23% of adults in England were still connected to church online in some form a year after the pandemic began. Nearly 4% were those who had not previously been attending church and many of these were under 35. Being online helped the church to connect with a digital generation who were also searching for spiritual answers at a difficult time. Let’s stay online as lockdown eases to help that generation find hope in Jesus. We’ll be working with some of our partners to help equip churches in post-lockdown hybrid church.
The research was one of the ways that HOPE Together has served local churches across the spectrum of denominations; we are always looking for ways to help churches make Jesus known.
Another timely project has been The Wellbeing Journey created to help churches and communities survive and thrive in every area of life. This 8-part video series is based on the book God’s Plan for Your Wellbeing by KingsGate’s lead pastor Dr Dave Smith. The videos are presented by Simon Thomas (Prime Video Sport, Sky Sports, Blue Peter) and Joanna Adeyinka-Burford (BBC, Channel 5, Nickelodeon), with contributions from leading experts in different fields on the subjects of physical, emotional, spiritual, relational, f inancial and vocational wellbeing. There is also a Youth Wellbeing Journey by young people for young people. Find out more at www.wellbeingjourney.org.
