ANAlYSIS OF TRENDS IN UCANZ CHURCHES

Professor Peter Lineham, one of the speakers at the recent UCANZ Biennial Forum in Alexandra, provided long-term and in-depth analysis of the state of uniting congregations. You can view his presentation here.

Given dramatic downward trends in all major denominations (Catholics are a partial exception due to immigration) the resilience of union churches is remarkable. Are we part of the elusive rising trend of “Christian – no further definition”, which accounts for 307,926 people in the last census – almost as many as there are Anglicans in New Zealand.

Rather than being a “failed experiment”, might cooperative ventures freed of denominational strictures and property ties be the idea whose time has come?