Growing Good

Hannah Rich, author of the GRA:CE Report, reflects on the theology of relationship at the heart of the Church's social action.

Over the last three years, CUF and Theos have been partnering on the GRA:CE Project, exploring the connections between church growth, social action and discipleship in the Church of England. Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative research, blending stories and statistics, we identified six characteristics that are seen in churches that are growing and flourishing through their engagement in social action. Crucially, we found that churches grow when they build relationships with those with whom they were not previously in contact, and that social action can increase this.

On one hand, this might seem a fairly obvious practical point: growth arises from new relationships and connections. On the other hand, it is a profoundly theological point: relationship is at the heart of the gospel, as well as key to the growth of the church in spiritual and numerical terms.

Both hospitality and generosity – two of our characteristics – express the church’s desire to seek the common good of the whole community. In demonstrating hospitality, particularly through its social action, the church makes a powerful statement about who is welcome. We know this was intrinsic to Jesus’ ministry too, with food central to many of his miracles, as well as fundamental to the early church in the New Testament. In this way, social action can very literally mirror the worship of the church, at the heart of which is the communion table.

In our research, we heard countless examples of relationships built and communities grown around shared meal tables, whether in lunch clubs, night shelters or community meals. One church has developed a ‘Sunday Lunch Church’, a new expression of church that grew out of sharing a roast dinner with the estate community. Another congregation told us how their worshipping community had grown through opening up the post-service coffee after the midweek communion to the whole community, beginning a Place of Welcome.

This generous and radical hospitality also requires something of us; to be responsive and extend a welcome to those in the community whose lives are complicated and ‘messier’ than some quarters of the church might be used to. In the research, we describe this in the characteristic of adaptability. In one memorable example, an individual described how since they had been involved with the local church, they no longer found themselves in a position of running away from the police. This is not a measure we might typically use in our discussion of discipleship. However, it encapsulated the transformative impact of the church in their life.

To quote Bishop Adrian, this necessitates ‘a fundamental review of the way we understand our relationships’ within wider society but also within the church. This might mean holding less tightly to some of the practices of church life in order that those with more complex living circumstances are able to join in. For example, in a congregation where the majority of lay leaders are shift workers or on zero hours contracts, we heard about the adaptability this had required in planning rotas whilst being mindful that people’s schedules were not necessarily their own to control.

This also requires the congregation to be equipped to handle loss and lament. In numerous case studies, people spoke about the challenges of seeing people become a valued part of the church then leave again because of their circumstances, whether addiction, health problems or living arrangements. This means the congregation need to be resilient enough to continue investing time and energy in relationships like this in the future.

Another congregation told us how a core part of their social action was holding funerals for rough sleepers they had encountered through their homeless support work, allowing other members of the street community to grieve together. In this way, they held together the importance of material support with the recognition that offering space for mourning is also a valuable way of serving.

Two further characteristics in our findings were presence and perseverance. Again, this matters both practically and theologically. It points to the long-term commitment of the church in social action, through which meaningful relationships develop. In discussing these, several participants also drew on how one of the fruits of the spirit is patience. The Greek word for this is makrothumia, which includes the sense of ‘long-suffering’ and endurance that the church demonstrates in staying in communities over the long haul, in a way that other agencies do not always. For example, one vicar spoke about how in five years in the parish, they had worked with four different head teachers in the local primary school, and this is not an uncommon story, particularly in more deprived areas.

Visible presence is also important in demonstrating to the community that the church is there. Several case study parishes illustrated how growth had begun from communicating to the local community that the church was still present and active, when they had assumed it was closed. While the pandemic and associated church closures have posed challenges in this regard, this could be as simple as opening the church doors so that passers-by are aware of what is going on.

Finally, we found that the invitation to participate which the church extends through its social action is important. This links to the notion of the common good, whereby seeking the good of the wider community is a collective activity, best done together. We heard examples of individuals whose first encounter with the church was through their desire to volunteer. For the most part, these individuals had not articulated their interest in faith but were drawn to the community because they recognised the goodness of its social action and wanted to be involved.

We found that social action is a key way that people outside the church community are able to join, and often discover faith in the process. In that sense, it truly is a living embodiment of theology, and also of the gospel.