In Australia, Christian belief may be showing a steady decline, according to research data, but evangelicals there are ramping up plans to advance the Gospel by planting new churches across the continent.
Polling by Statista Research confirms other data showing a decrease among Australians who identify with the Christian faith. The most recent national census, in 2021, showed 44% identified themselves as Christians—an 8% decline from only five years earlier. The most recent statistics available also showed around 40% who didn’t identify with any religion.
“The younger age groups of people in Australia are more likely to have no religious affiliation or hold other spiritual or secular beliefs,” Statista said in its report. “This move away from religion is also highlighted by the rise in civil celebrant marriages instead of religious ceremonies, with the vast majority of marriages performed by a civil celebrant.”
Among those aged 0-14, 15-24 and 25-34, the category of “Secular Beliefs and Other Spiritual Beliefs and No Religious Affiliation” outpaced the numbers of those identifying as Christians by a few percentage points—with the highest percentage of such nonbelievers in the 25-34 age group.
The study also notes that while Christianity has declined, a rise in migrant groups has brought about growth in other world religions, most notably growth in Islam among all ages. The highest numbers of self-identifying Christians were in the 0-14 age group (1.7 million) and those aged 65 or older (2.8 million).
Reach Australia, a network of more than 260 churches working together to plant more Gospel-centered churches with the goal of spreading the Gospel, says this shift away from the Christian faith presents a window of opportunity. The ministry is launching an ambitious initiative with an “Australia-wide vision” to bring the Good News to every people group Down Under.
“By 2030, we want to see 200 more churches evangelized into existence, along with 750 local church leaders equipped for this urgent task so that local churches like yours can thrive,” Reach Australia says in a promotional video.
“Churches aren’t growing in Australia. The average church size is less than 70. … Reach Australia longs to see our nation won for Jesus through healthy, evangelistic and multiplying churches.”
According to Reach Australia, only one in five churches there offer any type of evangelistic training. Over the last 12 years, Reach Australia has planted over 120 local churches across Australia and helped train churches in evangelism, “but we have only scratched the surface,” the group says.
Statista’s data show that even though historically Australia has been a Christian majority country, more than 120 different faith traditions are practiced among a diverse migrant population and as well as growing secularism.
Derek Hanna, a church planting advocate with a group called Plant, told a gathering of the Reach Australia network that his own group’s goal is to plant 155 churches in Australia in the next six years.
“You might be thinking that’s impossible, but we are sitting in a room where every one of us believes God raised Jesus from the dead,” said Hanna, according to ChristianDaily.com..
“Look across this room. There are 1,300 people here this week across denominations with a shared Gospel conviction about reaching Australia. That is the work of God.”
Screenshot via ReachAustralia.com.au