CANADA: Evangelicals are growing

As a Toronto Church we are classified as “evangelical.” This means that the Church in Toronto emphasizes: [1] the Bible as God’s inspired Word, [2] Jesus Christ’s vicarious death on the cross and his resurrection 3-days later [3] encountering Jesus Christ, experientially (being “born again”) [4] Christians’ responsibility to witness for Christ by their life, words & works. The Church of Toronto may differ from other Toronto Churches in our style of worship & ways of service, but, such minor differences don’t overshadow our common bond with other like-minded Christians & disciples of Jesus Christ. So we rejoice in the growth of evangelicals across Canada reported in the piece below. --- Nigel Tomes


There are 3 main trends among churches in Canada:

[1] Catholics are Holding Steady: Roman Catholics are holding their own in terms of numbers of members, but not in attendance. The number of Canadians declaring they’re Catholic has held steady, yet attendance at Catholic Mass has been declining.

[2] Mainline Protestants are in Freefall:  Mainline Protestant denominations—e.g. the United Church, Anglican, Methodist, & Episcopalian Churches etc—are shrinking fast. This has been attributed to the “liberal churches” drifting away from the central tenets of the Christian faith, so they lack any clear message. Put differently, mainline churches, like Canada’s United Church don’t know what they believe.  But, third & importantly:

[3] Evangelicals are growing: Evangelicals Christians are growing in terms of members & attendees. The growth of evangelicals has kept pace with Canada’s population growth. There are 2.4 million evangelical Christians in Canada today. This means that evangelicals’ proportion of Canada’s population has held steady—no small achievement in today’s society. Prof. R. Bibby estimates ~8% of Canadians are evangelical Christians, a figure that’s been stable for 140 years, since 1871. Other researchers put the figure as high as 16%. Because evangelicals are more committed church-members than their mainline contemporaries, attendance at Evangelical churches exceeds that of mainline churches by 25% on a typical Sunday.

Flying below the Radar

The first 2 trends—Catholics holding steady & the decline of “liberal” mainline Protestant churches--are well documented.  But the 3^rd trend—evangelicals’ growth--has received little attention. One reason for evangelicals’ low profile is that they gather in a myriad small denominations & nondenominational churches. There are a few high-profile evangelical mega-churches. But, many evangelical congregations are not so visible; they are “flying below the radar.”

Solid Family Ministries a Key

The fact that evangelical churches have kept pace with, & sometimes exceeded, overall population growth is a success. Prof. Bibby affirms, “That’s a success story,” adding that their success is attributable to family ministries, being open to innovation, “addressing ultimate issues” & “placing demands” on people—i.e., calling for commitment. “The message is that if it costs something, it must be worth something,” Bibby said. Yes, evangelicals have grown, but can do better--Prof. Bibby found that “solid family ministries” are a key reason why people choose one church over another.” “If you want to touch people’s lives, touch their families,” he said, pointing to programs for children & youth as “one reason why evangelical churches are growing.”

Edited input from “The State of the Canadian Church — Part V: The Growth of Evangelicalism” Jan. 10, 2008 by Jim Coggins & Prof. Reg. Bibby’s writings