Four years ago (January 2012) Leanne and I visited Dublin for a week to try and help us answer the question “should we come to Dublin to start a church?” It was an amazing visit and became a clinching experience as to why we decided to come, which we haven’t regretted one bit!
During that visit I think we met with 13 people (leaders and lay people) in 6 days, all doing various kinds of ministry in Dublin. We asked everyone two questions:
- Is there a need for a new church in Dublin?
- If so, what kind of church would it need to be?
In answer to Q1 everyone said yes, regardless of their denomination, age or background. With regards to Q2 everyone agreed that “it needs to be different from the way church has always been done” but there was a great variety of answers as to what that should look like.
On that trip we also learned about the recent history in Dublin and the collapse of the financial, religious and political institutions during the noughties. We learned that many people had left Ireland to find better pastures and many of those that remained were hurting and disillusioned. We also learned of a recent Irish Times Survey that said said that whilst only 17% of 18-34 year olds attend church each week, 87% said they believed in God. God and Church had become disconnected.
Once arriving in Dublin we asked Q2 to as many people who didn’t go to church as possible, through formal questionnaires and informal conversations. We wanted to understand why people had rejected church and, if they were to consider church again, what kind of church they’d like to come to. Could we help them combine belief in God with belonging to a church again?
I remember writing down a few thoughts at that time. For a church to connect with Dublin it needs to shaped and characterised by 8 things…
- Scriptures (vs tradition)
- Grace (vs legalism)
- Community (vs institution)
- Power of the Spirit (vs dead religion)
- Servant-leadership (vs hierarchy)
- Discipleship/Spiritual Renewal (vs formalism)
- Training and Mission (vs preserving the status quo)
- City Affirming (vs disconnected from and sceptical of the city).
A lot has happened in the last four years. 
Ireland has gone from 15% unemployment to under 9% unemployment and is now seen as a ‘success’ in terms of it’s recovery from the Credit Crunch (in comparison with Greece for example). There are cranes all over the city and new buildings going up. Nightlife and consumer spending are on the rise. We were the first country in history to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote. And the tech-bubble continues to expand with many companies coming into Dublin and many jobs being created. Things have moved on and there is confidence in the air once again.
But the question remains the same, is church still relevant in and to Dublin? I think the answer is yes and I still think those 8 things are still needed for the church to be relevant. However we’re only 16 months into our journey of starting the church and we’re still learning so do join in the conversation and journey, as we have always said, sceptics are welcome.
Here is our video, with the brilliant Mo O’Connell, which hopefully captures some of these thoughts…