In November this year Anglican churches across Australia will take part in the national Church Life Survey (NCLS).

The NCLS has been conducted every five years since 1991. It brings together many different denominations in a bid to better understand what is happening in Australian church life.

“We will ask questions to help map the Australian church landscape, and as previously, will ask local churches questions to help them reflect on their own health and vitality,” said Dr Ruth Powell, national director of NCLS Research (pictured). “We also want to find the lighthouse churches, those that are being innovative.”

According to Dr Powell, the survey, which will be conducted over three months from September, will bring together results from 500,000 church attenders in 7,000 local churches from 25 denominations.

The Bishop of north Sydney, Glenn Davies, believes this collaboration between different denominations is important to further the gospel in Australia. “For the past 20 years the national Church Life Survey has been an outstanding example of co-operation across denominations for the sake of furthering God’s mission,” he said.

This year the NCLS will be even more comprehensive, with churches being given the opportunity to add modules to their surveys such as youth ministry, mission activities and community involvement, to give a more complete picture of church life.

The survey will also seek to highlight innovative churches, whose ideas could help other organisations.

“We hope to meet the needs of many parts of the church, including schools and agencies by gathering information that is helpful for their mission objectives,” Dr Powell said.

Churches that participate in the survey will be given a personalised Church Life Profile, which will help each one identify its strengths and weaknesses. The profile will also include resources to help churches plan for the future.