A new report released by Alpha Canada together with the Flourishing Congregations Institute reveals significant shifts towards evangelism among Canadian churches.
The ‘Reigniting Hope: Sharing the Good News in Canada in 2024 Report’ acknowledged that large parts of Canadian society no longer have any religious affiliation, moving Canada towards a post-Christian society. But it also highlights signs of new openness towards faith among non-believers.
An initial report was produced in 2021, exploring how Canadian church leaders engaged in evangelism. This year's updated survey looked at the latest “attitudes, behaviors and experiences in sharing the message of Jesus across Canada.”
Prayer affects aspects of all ministries, emphasized Shaila Visser, national director for Alpha Canada, writing in a foreword to the report that it fostered a “deep reliance on God.”
“The power of invitation reminds us all that a personal invitation to explore faith can be life-changing, breaking down barriers and opening hearts to Jesus,” said Visser. “And… celebrating the transformative work of Jesus as we witness lives and communities being renewed gives our mission its purpose.
“We’re excited to journey together, reigniting hope for what it could look like to share the love of Jesus in Canada.”
The report has been produced after survey invites were sent to thousands of church leaders in Canada, via email and social media channels. The survey was supported by a wide range of Christian groups, including the Canadian Church Leaders Network, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, as well as some from non-evangelical traditions. Altogether 823 surveys were completed.
The report noted that 35 percent of church leaders “identified a perceived antagonism towards Christian values as a key barrier to sharing the gospel” with a third of the Canadian population (12.6 million) having no affiliation with religion but indifferent to secularism beliefs too, such as agnosticism or atheism. “This portion has more than doubled in the past 20 years, reflecting a shift towards a post-Christian society,” the report stated.
However, despite this negative aspect, the survey noted two “unexpectedly hope-filled majority” themes for church leaders.
“Firstly, church leaders in Canada are perceiving an inexplicable spiritual openness and curiosity in their communities. Secondly, church leaders across Canada are prioritizing sharing the gospel, with an increased clarity and commitment to the mission.”
These themes represent a “pivotal moment” for the wider church to act now and bring the hope of Jesus to communities struggling “to make sense of a shifting cultural landscape.”
This “spiritual openness” included a remarkable 70 percent of respondents who have found lapsed Christians, or those with no faith, becoming more spiritually curious in the past three years. Nearly 60 percent hailed more openness to the message that Jesus saves and more than half (56 percent) saw a “higher likelihood” of those people actually entering church buildings.
“These perceived trends reflect a broader social context where spiritual exploration is becoming more prevalent, creating fertile ground for sharing the love of Jesus.”
Evangelism has also encouragingly become more of a priority in Canadian churches, according to the report. The survey proved that 58 percent of church leaders mark a rise in evangelistic efforts and a heartening 92 percent of leaders themselves agree that evangelism is important in their ministry – a rise of 30 percent compared to 2021.
The report interpreted this as a “renewed commitment to evangelism and adapting to cultural changes.”
Some 62 percent of leaders concurred their church fellowship equips members for evangelism through weekly teachings and encouragement in evangelistic events, an upsurge from the 44 percent giving the same response in 2021.
Another encouraging change has also seen a drop from 31 percent to five percent of church leaders who felt uncomfortable sharing their beliefs with those of different or no religious backgrounds.
Three most popular methods of evangelism noted in the report are inviting people to church events (56 percent), showing one’s faith through actions (55 %) and inviting someone to, or hosting, an introductory course to the Christian faith, such as Alpha or Christianity Explored.
Leaders were also asked to select the three most common ministry areas where people have the opportunity to explicitly hear the gospel shared within their church ministry: 71 percent said via worship or a main service, 41 percent through an Alpha course and 22 percent as a result of an invite during a sermon or homily.
The data also indicated a sharper focus on the reasons for evangelism in the first place. Some two-thirds of the respondents (65%) said the main aim of evangelism is helping people to know and follow Jesus - a far larger result than the 28 percent who said the same in 2021.
“This consensus underscores a unified and focused vision across diverse theological traditions, pointing to a shared understanding of the ultimate purpose of these efforts—to make the work of Jesus known,” noted the report.
“The data suggests a shift towards more active forms of sharing faith, such as inviting people to church events and verbally sharing the gospel, compared to the 2021 survey which took a more moderate approach.”
Prayer is seen as a key tenet to “unlocking hearts” for evangelism and 84 percent of leaders agree it is a centrally important part of their church’s approach to evangelism – up from 55 percent in 2021.
Similarly 64 percent saw prayer is central to their evangelism approach within 61 percent of leaders who have run Alpha in the past three years.
The report added that the 42 percent of leaders who marked “strongly agree” within the 84 percent figure above, also “see a strong relationship in the priority and practice of evangelism, including missional clarity, how members are equipped and how it is linked to discipleship.”
“We also see a relationship with positive engagement indicators such as perceived openness in lapsed/non-Christians and church attendance growth.”
Notably, nearly half of leaders who strongly agree that prayer is central to their evangelism approach also strongly agree that evangelism is tied to discipleship, representing a 21% increase on the overall sample, according to the report.
“The centrality of prayer also has strong relationships with perceived spiritual openness and church growth, illustrating a dynamic interplay between spiritual disciplines and outreach efforts.”
Meanwhile the Alpha course has been run by 61 percent of leaders in churches within the past three years “indicating a structured and intentional method of introducing individuals to the Christian faith.”
“Such programs not only facilitate clear messaging but also provide consistent frameworks for exploring faith, thereby aligning congregations with their evangelistic motives,” said the report. “This clarity in mission is fostering a more vibrant and proactive faith-sharing culture within Canadian churches, contributing to a broader more unified movement of sharing the Christian faith.”
A greater need to celebrate new believers, or lapsed believers returning to the faith has also been highlighted in the report. Some 52 percent said congregations do record and celebrate new believers but 48 percent don’t do so and 39 percent are not publicly acknowledging or celebrating “new or returning people to the Christian faith.”
“Celebration can remind members in the congregation of the importance of evangelism, recalling one’s own experience, involvement in sharing their faith with others and possibly spurring people to consider the impact of sharing their faith with others moving forward,” noted the report.
“We see this as a unique opportunity to put more focus and attention on recognizing the impact of Jesus’ transformation within lives and communities —and to take the time and create space to celebrate.”
