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New stats reveal changing nature of the Methodist Church in Britain

The Methodist Church has released statistics which reveal thediversity of its congregations across Britain.

For the very first time, the Church's Statistics for Mission Report features data on language,ethnicity, Fresh Expressions and the number of churchgoers engagedin children and youth ministry.

The report showed that at least 89 churches ran worship orfellowship in a language other than English or Welsh in 2009. Amongthe languages spoken were Afrikaans, Akan, Cantonese, Portuguese,Lingala, Eritrean, Farsi, Fijian, French, Ga, Hindi, Korean, Ibo,Indian, Kerala, Krio, Malayalam, Mandarin, Mende, Filipino,Punjabi, Shona, Yoruba, Swahili, Tamil, Twi, Fanti, Urdu,Vietnamese and Zimbabwean languages.

Revd John Chambers, a minister at Walworth Methodist Church inLondon, said: "We have four fellowships in our church: SierraLeone, Ghanaian, Zimbabwean and Nigerian. During the year, eachfellowship will hold a service; parts of which will be given in alanguage that many people in the Church will understand.

"It's great because it acknowledges the diverse nature of ourchurch. Holding fellowships in this way has helped our church togrow. We have 500 members. People will come to our church knowingthat their ethnic tradition will be acknowledged."

The report also provided more detail on local Fresh Expressionsthan has ever been collected before, identifying 893 Methodistfresh expressions. Cafe Church, Messy Church, Third Place and cellgroup were the most popular.

A count charting Methodist participation in local ecumenicalpartnerships demonstrated the high proportions of Methodists inthese ecumenical churches. Seven per cent of all Methodists (16,500people) belong to an ecumenical congregation.

Dr Christopher Stephens, Research Officer, said: "We are collectingthese statistics each year to get an accurate picture of who andwhat we are as a Church in the 21st century. The report will enableus to support local churches in their mission needs and helpcongregations do the same. This report reveals that we are diverseand modern. We have a huge number of Fresh Expressions and a widebreadth of worshipping communities.

"I think this report will surprise some readers, includingMethodists. It demonstrates clear areas of growth and a richdiversity that may reflect a Methodist Church that is differentfrom the general preconception."

Other stats showed that the Methodist Church carried out 14 of outevery 1,000 marriages and 35 out of every 1,000 funerals conductedin Britain last year.