Posted by By Julian Mann
The new Anglican Mission in England (AMiE) will not fulfill its promise to work for the conversion of England if it does not face square on a major ministry challenge that is already inherent in English evangelicalism. It is the southernisation of evangelicalism.
The evangelist Roger Carswell highlighted this very problem in an important front-page article in June’s Evangelicals Now.
Mr Carswell wrote: “It seems to me that, in the UK, the parts which need the most attention as far as the gospel is concerned are receiving least. Frankly, I am burdened that there is an evangelical elitism which steers us away from less appealing corners of the harvest fields.”
He then described an attempt to recruit helpers for a mission at Bradford University compared with a similar effort at Oxford: “A few years ago I was asked to speak at a week-long mission at Bradford University. They appealed for helpers — CU guests as they are called — but had no responses. Bradford University is extremely multi-cultural, dominated by Islam. A tiny group of Christians worked hard to reach the thousands in the university, but we were very limited in what we could do. The week after the mission in Bradford I moved on to Oxford University for their tri-annual mission, where there were 64 college guests for the week. Praise God for them and their willingness to help, but why were there none in Bradford?”
The reason for the southernisation of evangelicalism since World War II has been a top-down ministry strategy by evangelical para-church organisations that has concentrated on the influential southern universities, particularly Oxbridge. Their graduates inevitably gravitate towards large evangelical churches in London and the Home Counties.
Last month’s Evangelical Ministry Assembly hosted by St Helen’s, Bishopsgate, in the City of London was clearly an appropriate occasion for the announcement of a development of AMiE’s significance. But the EMA’s location is itself a reflection of English evangelicalism’s southern bias.
Finding ways of deploying Christ’s gospel ministers in both established churches and new churches in the north of England and ensuring that they have the necessary support is a nettle AMiE must grasp. Otherwise it will just be a movement for the large evangelical flagships and their church plants in affluent areas.
And that doesn’t spell the conversion of England or the renewal of English Anglicanism.
Julian Mann is vicar of the Parish Church of the Ascension, Oughtibridge, South Yorkshire – www.oughtibridgechurch.org.uk
I fully agree Julian. The concentration of missionary efforts in the south does little to advance the gospel in England. I, as one who has benefited from so much from the historically sound Church of England, I have found it sad to see the country/village and the northern church left largely under developed in terms of gospel maturity and gospel propagation. London/the south has so much going for it, and from there the church reaches the world. But if one wants England for the Lord, to England we must go. I am a South African with a burning heart for the people of England to hear the full truth of the gospel and turn to Christ as Lord over all…
Julian
This is a really pertinent article and the first time I have heard someone who is in strongly in favour of the creation of AMiE have the courage to start asking the right questions and challenge the Southern bias of AMiE.
I am from Liverpool Diocese and, unlike yourself, am not at all impressed with the formation of AMiE, nor with the manner in which they have gone about things.
This “organisation” formed at a “meeting” is primarily about church plants by conservative evangelical churches in affluent areas, or in the case of Co-Mission in London, in one or two urban areas as well.
If you walk through any inner city area in the North of England, you will see conservative evangelical churches of Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, FIEC, Brethren, Salvation Army, as well as more open/evangelical/charismatic Anglican, house church/new streams who have been serving their communities faithfully and effectively for decades…the one type of church you will be very hard pressed to find, and which is conspicuous by it’s veru absence is a conservative evangelical Anglican church because they have largely abandoned the urban areas of the North of England in droves in recent years favour of more comfortable, wealthier, and dare I say it, more easier Southerly environs.
For AMiE to have the temerity and audacity to claim that it is into “biblical” church planting is almost breathtaking. It may be so in some areas, but it needs to first of all persuade many of us in the North of any authentic desire and committment to planting long term, sustainable missional congregations within the urban contexts of the North of England.
You are right and courageous to point out this challenge in the Church of England newspaper. I will be interested to hear the response. I am not so sure that the number of churches supporting AMiE in the North will be that substantial. The fact that the only anywhere near Northern representation amongst the “steering committee of English Bishops” willing to providing alternative episcopal oversight is a retired Assitant Bishop in the Diocese of Chester says it all really.
I for one very much doubt that AMiE has either the will, the resources, the desire, the wherewithal or the ability to “reconvert” the whole of England…once it gets north of Oxford, despite all it’s grand and verbose claims, I think it will soon be struggling badly.
Roger Carswell’s comments on attampts to get students to help out in Bradford speaks volumes for the challenges AMiE must address if it is to be taken seriously.
I’m rather glad that AMiE have little or no representation north of Oxford, and I hope they never do have! If their defining message is to separate themselves from those who don’t reach their self righteous (non biblical) ideals, then they have no gospel do they? We do need more missioners to travel north, but only those who have an open, warm, inviting message of the love of God to proclaim. Self satisfied bigotry is a turn off and we can well do without any more of it thanks!
Julian,
If you think AMiE, in the less than 30 days of its existence, has been neglecting the north then isn’t this the answer:
Make the effort to talk to them. That is, if you want something from them. If you don’t want anything from them, then why does it matter?
Phil Green wrote,
“This “organisation” formed at a “meeting” is primarily about church plants by conservative evangelical churches in affluent areas, or in the case of Co-Mission in London, in one or two urban areas as well.”
Has anyone connected with AMiE said this?
“the one type of church you will be very hard pressed to find, and which is conspicuous by it’s veru absence is a conservative evangelical Anglican church because they have largely abandoned the urban areas of the North of England in droves in recent years favour of more comfortable, wealthier, and dare I say it, more easier Southerly environs.”
Hmmm, like Jesmond Parish Church, St Oswalds Walkergate, Christ Church Durham, Claypath Durham, St Andrews Leyland, St Stephen’s Preston, St Mary’s Cheadle, Christ Church Chadderton, the Plant in Manchester, Holy Trinity Platt, Christ Church Blackburn, etc etc…? Surely you can concede that there are at least a couple of “conservative, evangelical Anglican churches” in the north? ;o)
“For AMiE to have the temerity and audacity to claim that it is into “biblical” church planting is almost breathtaking.”
If they said that they were the only group doing this, then I would agree with you, but that doesn’t seem to be what they are saying. Perhaps I am wrong.
But there does seem to be plenty of room for everyone on the mission field in the north, as there is everywhere. A friend of mine tells me there are 90,000 students in Manchester alone, and less than 3% of them are involved in any kind of church.
Surely the more groups involved in church planting the better? I understood that this was Julian’s point – he wants AMiE and every other church group to devote significant resources to church planting and mission in tne North of England, and not just concentrate on the south.
Phil,
Whilst I am also not a fan of AMIE, and it is definitely true that evangelicalism (of all sorts) in strong in the affluent south-east, I’m not sure that your claim that conservative evangelical anglicans have abandoned the north is quite right.
I just looked at the church directory on the Reform web site (which helpfully is a map) and it certainly seems that they have a good number of affiliated churches in the north. It didn’t seem that disproportionate when considered against relative population densities.
But does it matter? What matters is the gospel, and unless you take an elitist view (which conservative evangelicals sometimes do), all the other types of church you list do preach the gospel and reach out to their communities.
One point is that the church planting that AMIE hopes to promote is an methodology that really began with charismatic “house church” movement and was then picked up by charismatic anglicans. It’s somewhat ironic that a non-charismatic group is using the methods of the charismatics!
It’s also interesting to note that the area where co-mission operates (south London/Surrey) is already well-served by numerous evangelical churches from many denominations. So it’s highly questionable that there is a shortage of gospel ministry there. If they were really concerned for outreach, they would focus on areas that were genuinely unreached. This suggests their strategy is at least partly political.