The countdown has begun to the Building a Prodigal-friendly Church event, and organisers have expressed their excitement at what they expect to be a “landmark conference”.

|TOP|The event is due to be held at Butlins in Minehead from February 27th till March 1st, with Jeff Lucas set to be the keynote speaker.

Lucas expressed his hope for the conference to be a significant event in marking a change in the way the Church in the UK relates to those who no longer attend.

Commenting on the need for a change in contemporary church, Lucas said, “We’ve got to look seriously at the way we operate – and see how we can improve.”

At Building a Prodigal-friendly Church, Spring Harvest and Care for the Family, with Reaching the Unchurched Network, will present a programme to encourage those in church leadership to not only create churches that prodigals will want to return to – but also, more easily spot those who could potentially become prodigals.

|AD|The Chief Executive at Spring Harvest, Alan Johnson said, “We believe that the Church is the means by which God engages with society. It is the vehicle for taking good news into a world in need. The big issue is how we build communities of believers who are focussed on issues that matter to God. That’s why this conference is happening.”

Three cores themes will be promoted by the Building a Prodigal-friendly Church. They will be:

1) To Reach those who have already left,
2) To help people Return to church,
3) To Retain the people currently attending church, with an emphasis on encouraging younger churchgoers to stay.

In the summer of 2005, the organisers of Building a Prodigal-friendly Church surveyed over 450 people in preparation for the conference. 61% of respondents said that most people who have left the church have “just drifted away”, while just over half (52%) said that the format of church meetings contributed to people leaving.

Other key findings include 96% of respondents believing that the church should be welcoming to anyone, regardless of lifestyle or status; with 60% adding that their church could be more welcoming than it is at present. Only 31% said that they had heard a sermon on the importance of welcoming the prodigals home, while almost three quarters (74%) cited internal church disagreements as a main reason behind people leaving. 98% said they attended a church regularly.

Rob Parsons, author of ‘Bringing Home the Prodigals’, and another of the keynote speakers at the event said, “People often tell me they don’t feel the need to attend church any more – and I can understand why they may feel that way. But I believe that at this conference we will see church leaders across the denominations begin to address some of the ways in which churches have made it easier for people to become prodigals, and harder for them to return to church.”

The event will see speakers such as Jeff Lucas, Rob Parsons, Nicky Gumbel, Marion White and Dary Northrop, with materials provided from ‘Word on the Street’ by author Rob Lacey, music from Mal Pope and worship by Geraldine Latty.

Building a Prodigal-friendly Church is being run by Spring Harvest and Care for the Family, with Reaching the Unchurched Network (RUN). More information about these organisations can be found at www.springharvest.org; www.careforthefamily.org.uk and www.run.org.uk

There are still places available and booking can be made online at www.springharvest.org.uk/prodigals