The Revd John Walker is currently engaged in investigating the extent to which Fresh Expressions are adding to our understanding of factors which underlie church growth. In the Resourcing Mission Bulletin he writes of  his findings that:

• Adult church attendance correlates closely with a childhood experience of church.
• Christian belonging tends to precede Christian believing.
• Beliefs and values encountered through Christian belonging as a child tend to shape adult beliefs and moral values, irrespective of adult churchgoing.

There seems little doubt, then, that traditional approaches to evangelism depend, in the main, upon a childhood experience of Christian belonging, in which Christian beliefs and values shape one's sense of personal identity. Child attendance, however, has been in acute decline.

The link on the right will take you to the rest of his article with its findings and challenges.