The Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Rev Jonathan Gledhill, is set to launch an advertising campaign to invite people back to church.

The campaign will feature both radio and road-side poster advertising and is timed to coincide with Back to Church Sunday on 30 September.

Back to Church Sunday began as an initiative in the Diocese of Manchester with 160 churches in 2004. This year more than 1,700 churches across 19 dioceses are involved - with the largest contingent coming from the Diocese of Lichfield where more then 360 churches are taking part.

The Diocese of Lichfield launched its 'Going for Growth' strategy three years ago to ensure everyone in the diocese - parishes, deaneries, support staff administrators and bishops - focuses their attention on mission and evangelism.

The diocese is now reporting that the strategy is bearing fruit with increasing attendances across the diocesan area.

The Diocese of Lichfield serves around 1,981,000 people across 1,744 square-miles of Staffordshire, the northern half of Shropshire and most of the Black Country. It also includes three parishes across the Welsh border.

Around 40,000 people attend Church of England services in the Diocese of Lichfield each week. Results elsewhere from previous Back to Church Sundays suggest that around 3,600 people could go 'Back to Church' in the Lichfield Diocese on 30 September.