While the trend in the rest of the country is fewer are attending church on Sunday than before, things are going the opposite way in Kristiansand. That is what nondenominational and Catholics are hoping for.
According to a survey by the newspaper The Day, published on Friday, conducted among 44 congregations and Christian organizations, the attendance in Kristiansand has increased from an average of 5,712 people every Sunday in 2008 to 7,663 in 2018. This is an increase of 16 percent in ten years.
On Friday, the fresh figures are presented to the congregations in the city during the Joint Meetings, a conference that brings together congregations and organizations in the city.
The figures show that the Norwegian church is noticeably declining in Kristiansand, as is the case in the rest of the country.
However, the other churches in the city are growing so strongly that church attendance together is increasing: Catholics had an average of 380 participants every Sunday in 2008, but as many as 900 in 2018, while the Nondenominational Church parishes have seen increases from 3,013 to 4,594 participants each Sunday during the same period.
– “Some denominations have had explosive growth. General worship service participation has been increasing,” says Sindre Olafsrud, general manager of the Nordic Navigation analysis agency, who says immigration and so-called church planting have a lot to say.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
Be the first to comment on "16 percent more attend Sunday Service in Kristiansand"