There is an opinion that the global church in Western Europe is in crisis. Massive numbers of congregations are closing, with former churches turning into clubs, restaurants, cultural institutions, or even mosques. Sociological data shows a decrease in the number of believers. But this is not always the case everywhere.
Pastor Tim Diaper heads a congregation in Flitwick (Bedfordshire, UK), which looks very lively and active in comparison to its neighbors. While the neighboring churches close down, his church is full of people. How does he manage this in a secularized English society?
Moreover, this community has been hosting refugees from the war in Ukraine for three years now, who have found a hospitable home and a community of fellow believers.
We talked to Pastor Tim about what makes this community a living church, the source of its strength, and the reaction of British society to the war in Ukraine.
"Reverend, how did you come to become a pastor? What role did your family and environment have in your decision? Tell us a little about yourself, your spiritual growth and education."
"I’ve been married to Beth since 2007, and we have 3 children (aged 15, 12, 7). I was brought up in a Christian home with godly parents and grandparents. Although I asked Jesus to be my Saviour when I was around 5, it wasn’t until I was in my late teens that I really had to get serious about following him.
I first sensed God calling me to pastoral ministry while I was a history undergrad at university. After university, I had a good job in leadership at a Christian charity, and I assumed that the route into pastoral ministry would be later on in life. But I was wrong, and God opened the door very clearly in 2010 for me to begin training. I studied at London Seminary and worked part-time as a trainee pastor at my home church, where my father was (and still is) the pastor.
We began looking for a church to serve, but as I finished my theological studies in 2014, our church called me to become co-pastor with my father. In 2019, we sensed the Lord leading us to move on into a new area of service, and we moved to take up the pastorate here in Flitwick, Bedfordshire, in January 2020.
"Why did you choose the pastoral ministry? How is this role perceived in today's British society?"
"I would say that I didn’t exactly choose the ministry of being a pastor but had an unshakable sense of God calling me to do it. That call was confirmed by my wife and my church family. So, really, I can’t do anything else! But I still think I’ve got the best job in the world - opening the Bible and telling people about Jesus.
In the UK today, there is still a fairly widespread respect for the church and for pastors/ministers, even if people don’t follow Jesus themselves. Clergy often play a significant role in society, but the majority of people in the UK associate Christianity simply with the state church, the Church of England. Sadly, that denomination is very mixed - there are some evangelicals, but also many liberals.
In my own context, I’ve worked hard to have a positive impact in our community, and so I like to think that I’m seen as someone who has a part to play in our town’s life."
"In Bedford, which is not far from you, there is a former Christian church owned by the Muslim community. Do you know how this came to pass? Is this an isolated phenomenon?"
"That particular church was an old Church of England building and was bought by the local Muslim community. Bedford is a very multicultural and multiracial place, and like a number of British towns/cities, there are pockets where other religions outnumber Christians.
First, it just reflects the fact that the UK was, for a long time, a culturally Christian country, not a genuinely Christian country. So, there were (and still are) plenty of church buildings where Jesus is not truly worshipped, and God’s word is not taught. And so it’s not necessarily a bad thing if those churches close down!
Second, as society changes, people are more willing to travel. And so small village churches often struggle because Christians living in the village will travel to a nearby town/city to a bigger, livelier church. And so, gradually, many of those chapels are closing down.
In a way, that is sad because those are no longer places of worship. But it doesn’t mean that Christianity is dying in the UK, just that habits are changing."
"And yet, your community is alive and dynamic. What is your 'secret'? What factors do you consider strategic for church growth in the modern world?"
"By God’s grace, we are seeing a wonderful season of encouragement and growth. Our church is becoming more diverse and we feel a real sense of excitement at what God is doing.
When we speak with newcomers, they say they join us for two reasons: the church feels like a community, a family, and because there’s serious, truthful Bible teaching.
I don’t have a secret - it is all God’s doing. My part is really very simple: I preach the Bible. Every week, I just open the Bible and say, ‘This is what God says.’ Sadly, there are many churches where that just doesn’t happen - and those are the ones that are struggling and closing.
"In the UK, like in Ukraine, people in cities and towns choose to go to places they find interesting, places with a community that will accept them, or places where they can get answers to their questions. Doesn't this competition create conflicts between churches?"
"It can do, but it doesn’t have to. Many larger churches in towns/cities realise the responsibility to plant or revitalise small, struggling or dying churches. For example, I am involved with the Gospel Partnership movement, which encourages partnership in the gospel between evangelical churches in different denominations, to train people for ministry and lead to thriving gospel churches in every community. It may be the case that small, struggling churches need to close if they’ve ceased to honour Christ, but we can always work together to plant new churches!"
"What is your view on the current state of the church in Britain?"
"I think there are many reasons to be encouraged. Although there is a narrative that says Christianity in the West is declining, I’m not sure that is true. Cultural Christianity certainly is declining, but I think that’s a good thing - fewer people think they’re Christian just because they were born in the UK and christened in the Church of England!
But genuine Christianity is growing. Many church leaders I know are experiencing similar things to us: a growing church, young people coming to faith in Christ and being baptised, people eager to hear Biblical preaching. Like many churches, in the past few years, we’ve had people coming to us who are returning to church after decades away because they realised their life is empty and they need Jesus.
There is a spiritual hunger in many parts of the UK that hasn’t been there before. People are asking deep, meaningful questions and are beginning to wonder whether culture has all the answers. Many are more willing to explore Christianity than I’ve ever experienced.
So, although there are denominations that are in decline (like the Church of England, Methodist etc), Bible-believing, Bible-teaching churches are growing. There is wonderful spiritual life and vibrancy among many Independent churches (Baptists, Pentecostals) and evangelical Anglicans. We’re encouraged and hopeful for the future."
"You are talking about cultural religiosity, which, as I understand it, is dying out. Does this mean that the ancient Christian culture of old England, with certain family and local traditions, is also dying out? Do you still go carolling on Christmas? Do you send greeting cards? Do people congratulate each other on the birth of Jesus or on the winter holidays?"
"One of the interesting things about the UK is that it is extraordinarily based on Christian principles, and Christian culture runs deep even if people don’t realise it. However, for most people, it is devoid of real spirituality. Christmas is a huge festival in the UK, but it’s more about presents and feasting and traditions. People send Christmas cards, but they’re greetings rather than about Jesus. However, many people will still go to church at Christmas. For some, it’s because it’s seen as a nice, traditional thing to do. However, it’s still a brilliant opportunity for churches as non-Christians are still willing to come to Carol Services, for example. We had around 200 visitors to our Christmas services, at which they heard a clear gospel message. Similarly, Easter is a popular holiday with a long weekend break, but most associate it with chocolate eggs more than the resurrection of Jesus. But there are still some who will come to Easter services and hear the good news."
"Personally, I’ve not had contact with the Russian Orthodox Church in Britain, though I have in the past had some contact with Greek Orthodox. There are, of course, many Roman Catholics in Britain as well. But these are not the churches that are growing - in fact, they are shrinking. It’s evangelical churches that believe and preach the Bible that are growing and flourishing!
I can understand why some observers look at the West and see it as spiritually dark and unhealthy. Our wider culture is spiritually dark. We have governments that make laws that go against God. We have celebrities who lead worldly lives, and people follow them. Our culture is a fairly godless environment. But because of that backdrop, the true church of Jesus Christ is shining brighter than ever.
In the Book of Acts, it was against a similar kind of godless culture that the gospel exploded onto the scene, and the church grew rapidly as people came to see the beauty of Jesus and the better hope that He offers. We’re hopeful that the same can, and will, happen!"
"Over the past few years, many Ukrainians have come to the UK, some of them being believers of different denominations. New purely Ukrainian communities are emerging, such as the Orthodox. Catholics are joining local Catholic communities. How do evangelical Christians from Ukraine find parishes of their fellow believers and get engaged in your country? Are there any difficulties, challenges, or positive aspects to this?"
"For churches like ours, receiving Ukrainian Christians has been a huge encouragement, as well as an opportunity to serve them and love them as Jesus does during what has been an unimaginably traumatic time. For us, it’s been a privilege to serve our wonderful Ukrainian families, as well as to keep in touch with you, a member of Ukraine's armed forces.
There are a great many churches in the UK - even in a small town like ours, there are multiple churches to choose from. That means that sometimes visitors from other countries can struggle to find a good church that will suit them."
"Did you see anything in your Ukrainian co-religionists that comforted, excited, inspired, or upset you?"
"To meet families who had to leave everything behind has been a really humbling experience. It has been encouraging to see their trust in the Lord through an experience that most of us could never imagine."
"How do churches in the UK respond to the war in Ukraine? We know that there have been words of support for Ukrainians. However, some church leaders have reiterated Russian propaganda about the situation in our country. What is generally known about religious life in Ukraine in the context of the war? Are believers interested in it?"
"Thankfully, I’ve not personally heard church leaders repeating Russian propaganda, so it’s sad if it is happening. My experience is that church leaders and church members are rightfully horrified by the Russian aggression and regularly pray for peace in Ukraine and for the Russians to retreat. We do also pray for Christian brothers and sisters in Russia that they might know God’s strength and the freedom to serve Him.
Many British people have, for many years, had an interest in the gospel progressing in eastern Europe."
"Your fellow believers from Russia are probably also coming to England. Do you have any now? Have you had any experience communicating with them, and what has that been like? I ask because the majority of Ukrainian evangelical Christians have completely severed connections with their co-religionists in Russia because of the latter’s massive support for Putin's terrorist regime."
"We don’t have any Russians in our congregation. I understand that many have been influenced by propaganda, and so even Russian Christians believe what they’re told by Putin’s government, so I can understand why Ukrainian believers have broken off relations with them. However, we also know that Jesus came to destroy barriers and bring us blood-bought unity, so my prayer is that Christian fellowship between believers of every nation, tribe and tongue can be a shining light in a dark world, showing how beautiful the Saviour is."
"British churches, as well as British society, have joined the Homes for Ukraine programme initiated by the UK government. Could you explain what prompted your community to help Ukrainian refugees? What have you learned from this experience?"
"When the Russian invasion of Ukraine was launched, there was a wide outpouring of shock, horror and grief throughout the UK’s society, and many rushed to respond in whatever way they could. Christians were also at the forefront of that desire to do something to help. We were concerned to take the time to understand exactly what the needs were, and as a result coordinated a huge programme of collecting supplies for Ukrainians in refugee camps across the border in Hungary. We were helped by a Hungarian lady in our church who had contacts in her home church in Hungary, and we partnered with them. This lady’s husband hired a lorry and drove the supplies over.
In addition, several families in the church signed up to offer housing to Ukrainian refugees. We were, very simply, moved by compassion to serve those who all of a sudden had nothing. To be Christlike in our world demands that we act as Jesus’ hands and feet, ministering to others as he would have done. And that means giving, sacrificing, and opening our homes.
It has been a learning curve for some people. Welcoming refugees who are deeply scarred by the horror of war has not always been easy, but as we’ve come close to those suffering that anguish, we have learnt first-hand of the need for unquestioning and sacrificial love."
"I thank you for that."