Church renewal is a term widely used by clergy

Clergy

Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....

, Christian sociologists, and theologians to express concern over the decline or decay of the church, as well as the hope of church reform and revitalization. It can also be used to denote concern over the current state of Christianity in the West and the hope for a reform or revitalization in Christianity. Many scholars believe the West has now entered a Post-Christian age. Thinkers have posited various philosophical, theological, sociological, and practical reasons for church decline and the overall decline of Christianity, as well as proposing a range of solutions. This had led to a number of church renewal movements, such as the emerging church movement, New Calvinism

New Calvinism

The New Calvinism is a growing perspective within conservative Evangelicalism that embraces the fundamentals of 16th century Calvinism while also trying to be relevant in the present day world. In March 2009, TIME magazine ranked it as one of the "10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now." Some of...

, New Monasticism

New Monasticism

New Monasticism, or Neomonasticism, can refer either to a modern movement within Evangelical Protestant Christianity modelled on a monastic way of life in a contemporary context or a movement within Roman Catholicism to expand the way of life of traditional monastic communities to lay...

, the simple church

Simple church

The Simple Church movement is an Evangelical Christian movement that seeks to redefine the nature and practice of church.The movement claims to be "a Christ-centered community established primarily on relationship both to God and to the other members of the group." In doing so it discards many...

 movement, and the missional church movement, among others.

History

While the church has experienced trials throughout church history, the modern church renewal movements have arisen in response to the decline of the church in recent history. For example, between 1948 and 2008 the perecentage of Americans who identified themselves with some form of Christianity has dropped from 91% to 77%. Even more troubling for church attendance, ministries and mission is that of the 59% of American's who are not affiliated with a church, six out of ten still consider themselves Christians and do not feel a need to be associated with a church congregation.

Cognate Terms

Other phrases that may be synonymous with church renewal include congregational transformation, congregtional renewal, revitalization, and restoration. An older term that tends to focus on the renewal of spiritual or sacramental vitality is revival. While some advocates for church renewal spend a great deal of time discussing etymological differences between these terms, the terms are highly similar at the conceptual level. People use these terms to indicate that something has gone wrong and that things therefore need to be set right. Alternatively, they use these terms because they believe the church is in decline or decay in one way or another and that action must be taken so that the church will flourish once again.

Church Renewal and Christianity in the Modern West

Theologians and other scholars often deploy the concept of church renewal in close connection with a wider concern about the state of Christianity in the modern West. Generally speaking, there is widespread concern that Christianity in the modern West is in serious trouble. Among other factors, low church attendance in Western Europe and the decline of mainline Protestantism in North America often motivate this concern. In both Western Europe and North America, a wide range of church renewal movements have sprung up with the primary objective of determining the causes of the decline of Christianity in the modern West and to develop strategies for reversing that trend. For example, dozens of renewal movements have emerged within mainline Protestant denominations in the United States.

Church Renewal and Christianity in the Global South

Many theologians and scholars of religion have begun to look to Christianity in the Global South for hints and suggestions concerning the renewal of the church in the modern West. There is a growing awareness that Christianity is flourishing in many countries in the Southern Hemisphere. Thus clergy and scholars alike are increasingly looking to churches in places like Africa and South America for advice about the renewal of Christianity in the Northern hemisphere, most notably in the North Atlantic.

Church Renewal and Pentecostalism

While many clergy and scholars are turning to the Global South for assistance and ideas, some clergy and scholars have begun to take seriously the worldwide Pentecostal movement. At this stage, it is difficult to determine the extent to which leaders of mainline Protestant churches are prepared to turn to the Pentecostal and Charismatic movement

Charismatic movement

The term charismatic movement is used in varying senses to describe 20th century developments in various Christian denominations. It describes an ongoing international, cross-denominational/non-denominational Christian movement in which individual, historically mainstream congregations adopt...

s for help. By contrast, the Charismatic movement has already made significant inroads

Catholic Charismatic Renewal

The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is a movement within the Catholic Church. Worship is characterized by vibrant Masses, as well as prayer meetings featuring prophecy, healing and "praying in tongues." This movement is based on the belief that certain charismata , bestowed by the Holy Spirit, such as...

 within the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

.

Notable Missiologists

• Alan Hirsch
  Alan Hirsch
  Alan Hirsch is a South African-born missiologist and a leading voice in the missional movement of the Christian West. He is an internationally recognized author of five books on missional living. Additionally, Hirsch founded one and co-founded two organizations devoted to equipping people for...
  
  
• Michael Frost
• Ed Stetzer
  Ed Stetzer
  Ed Stetzer is an author, speaker, researcher, pastor, church planter, and Christian missiologist. Stetzer is a contributor to the North American discussion on missional church and church planting.- Background :...
  
  
• Lesslie Newbigin
  Lesslie Newbigin
  Bishop James Edward Lesslie Newbigin was a Church of Scotland missionary serving in the former Madras State , India, who became a Christian theologian and bishop involved in missiology, ecumenism, and the Gospel and Our Culture Movement.-Biography:Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Newbigin's schooling...
  
  
• Duncan B. Forrester
  Duncan B. Forrester
  Duncan B. Forrester is a Scottish theologian and the founder of the Centre for Theology and Public Issues at New College, University of Edinburgh. He is currently Honorary Fellow and Professor Emeritus at New College....