Two years of consecuative growth have led to a rebound in Sydney Anglican attendance figures since bottoming out in 2022. Overall growth in attendance of 4.5% between 2023 and 2024 followed a post-Covid bounce back of 11% in 2023 consecutive growth. The latest graph of Sydney Anglican attendance, included in a Attendance, Mission & Youth report for next month’s Synod (church parliament), reveals a steep bounce back.
Using a 2013 baseline an earlier report to 2023 found an alarming decline of 6.7% overall. Using the same baseline, the 2013 to 2024 figure is a 3 per cent decline. There is still ground to make up, despite the steep bounce back. Another year like last year would bring attendance close to the earlier peak.
More detailed stats are in the report , down to the “mission Area” level – clusters of several churches. Here are some exmples – the Lower and Upper Nortrh Shore mission areas both show a 12% decline over 2013 despite a recent bounce back in the Northern region. By contrast theOuter Inner West, had a 37% increase over 1013, amd the Hills 31%.
The detail of this report and the earlier one gives a high level of transparency, meaning growth and decline down to local areas are very apparent.
A challenging target
The Sydney Anglican Attendance, Mission & Youth report does not simply want the Anglican numbers to recover – they want there to be many more people in church – not transfer growth but people becoming Christians. They plan to adopt a challenging target of growth.
“We note that Resolution 47/24 [from last year’s Sydney Synod] lamented that we have collectively fallen short in not giving sufficient priority, attention, reflection and resources to seeing the lost throughout the Diocese of Sydney saved by Jesus.
“This will be best addressed by us adopting a galvanising target for the next five years. We propose that we collectively and prayerfully aim to glorify God by seeking to grow the attendance of Sydney Anglican Churches by five percent each year, through conversion growth (adults and children).”
The practical effect for a local church is outlined: “This means that a parish with 50 regular members would prayerfully aim for two or three new believers per year; a parish with 500 regular members would prayerfully aim for 25 people per year to come to Christ for the first time.”
If the target of 5 per cent conversion growth in attendance each year is met the Sydney Anglican attendence would double in 14.4 years years. This matches the target recently set at The Gospel Coalition Australia’s (TGCA) mini summit of movement leaders.
A list of changes to bring about change
The Standing Committee – a body that leads the Sydney Anglicans between synods – has produced recommendations in response to the earlier report that outlined significant decline.
These include:
• Support for churches using specialist supporting networks for help identifying potential areas for strengthening and improving in effectiveness; for example, EMP, Reach Australia, Centre for Ministry Development, City to City. Churches that
have engaged in such consultations have reported and increase in new believers.
• Ways to address clergy stress and burnout, a higher rate of senior ministers dropping out of their roles, and conflict: a proposal for a Church Health Support Team to particularly assist the centres (approximately 30) that have declined over the last decade and haven’t bounced back since Covid.
• Reduced admin complaxity in running a church.
• Supporting larger churches have seen decline, the report suggests support in running a team :HR, conflict resolution, strategic and visionary leadership, etc)
• Aiming for a number of flourishing strategic centres of ministry in every region of the Diocese (600+ average Sunday attendance adults + kids)
• Raising up a new generation of church planters (and with them teams) to plant new fellowships in strategic greenfields and brownfields sites
• Promoting multiciltural ministry
• Everyday evangelism: “All Christians are equipped to declare their faith and promote relational evangelism and evidence
of a transformed life which we hope will attract the outsider.”