What is everyday church?
Everyday church is about the way that churches (that is to say, worshipping communities, chaplaincies, Fresh Expressions and many others) can enable everyone to think about how our faith impacts us in all parts of our lives, and to live our lives accordingly.
Everyday church journey
Easy questions for a hard step
We have heard from church leaders and congregations across dioceses and across the country that one of the biggest barriers to faith in everyday life is confidence.
Many of us have a strong internal faith but lack the confidence to talk about it, even with other Christians. And this isn't unique to 'ordinary' people in congregations: clergy can feel this way too, and churchwardens and people who are otherwise devoted to God.
Stage One seeks to address this with two sets of questions.
The first of these is Canterbury's Changing Lives Conversations, two questions to use in small groups, with committees (including PCCs), and even with congregations as confidence grows. These two questions are designed to encourage people to think about where God is working in their lives and what difference it makes to them. Find out more.
The other recommended resource for churches starting on this journey is Bath & Wells's Everyday Questions. These 40 questions address topics from belief to science. They work well with groups who may be earlier on their faith journey, or less confident in speaking about their faith. The questions give people the opportunity to think about ordinary issues that all of us face on a daily basis, and they can be explored to think about how our faith might shape our responses. These have been popular with children and young people as well as adults. Download the questions.
Stage Two is about the small changes we can make in the life of the church to help people think about their faith beyond the church building. It's about including everyday life in our prayers, celebrating the work and service that our congregations do on a daily basis, equipping people through sermons and liturgy to think about how our faith can and does impact others for the best in all parts of our lives.
There are eight shifts that we as churches can try. Each shift has a key question, a key practice, a story from someone who has tried the shift, and a link to Faith at Home to support young people in their everyday faith: Eight Shifts for Churches. Each shift is complementary, so we can do more than one at a time.
As well as making some of these small shifts, the Church Development Tool is now available to measure a starting point for discipleship. This is currently only available via email; for a copy, please contact the Everyday Church team. From January 2022, this will also be available via A Church Near You. Further details will be published later this year.
Coming soon
