Norfolk church mission to ask 'what's missing?'
A nationwide gospel mission called Life 26 will start in March, and Norfolk churches are prepared to get involved, with the goal of seeing people commit their lives to Jesus for the first time.
Helen Baldry reports
The key question of the mission is “do you ever feel like something’s missing?” and this question arose out of research conducted by Passion for Life, who is spearheading the mission, plus research from other sources including the Bible Society, the Evangelical Alliance and Youth for Christ data.
Nick McQuaker, Director of Passion for Life, spoke at a Norfolk Gospel Partnership event in January about the mission. Part of Nick's role is to promote the mission and help church leaders think through what's happening in the culture around evangelism.
Nick showed that the research data corroborates the fact that there is a ‘quiet revival’ happening in the UK. This has been explained as an increased spiritual interest in our culture at the moment.
Nick’s take on the ‘quiet revival’ is as a turning of the tide. He said, “We have been ministering throughout 100 years of decline. Evangelism has often felt like banging your head against a brick wall; hard work, rather painful and not a lot to show for it. The tide is a long way out, and has been going out for a long time.”
However, there are lots of stories of people without church backgrounds who have suddenly been convicted and want to read the Bible and attend church to find out more. The research shows a significant change in attitude, most dramatically for people aged 18 – 24, and particularly amongst men. Atheism is no longer the dominant cultural narrative. Nick said “It's a great opportunity...we should respond with thankfulness and a cautious optimism and make the most of this season.” This is where Life 26 comes in; Norfolk churches will join others around the country by running missions under the brand identity of Life 26. There is a wealth of marketing resources, mission toolkits, videos and other evangelistic resources to give churches confidence to share the good news of Jesus with people in their community.
An understanding of the cultural climate will help shape each church’s mission, and Nick shared the findings of a Passion for Life poll in 2025. When people were asked what is missing from their lives, the top three things were purpose, freedom and security; not necessarily a search for God (only 4% said that God is missing from their lives.) Nick said, “There is a search for answers. People are searching everywhere from paganism to Catholicism.” 'Belief in me' is the current dominant cultural narrative – there is a relentless focus on the self - how many social media posts urge you to ‘believe in yourself’? Yet, people do not find this satisfying; it doesn’t promote a sense of community, which is evident in the loneliness epidemic we see in the UK.
Whilst attending church doesn’t necessarily mean repentance and faith, it is a good start. 59% of people said what helped them explore the Christian faith was attending church in person. Nick said, “Be confident in the gospel resources the Lord has given us. We need to restore our Sunday gatherings to the centre of our evangelism strategy. People need to encounter the word of God and also encounter the people of God.”
A significant proportion of people report that they would go to a church service if a friend or colleague invited them. Churches are urged to nurture a culture of invitation, to look out for opportunities and be prepared with the next step.
300 churches throughout the UK have signed up to the Life 26 mission so far. Norfolk churches are urged to get involved – it's not too late!
Click here to view the Passion for Life resources
Over the coming weeks, Network Norfolk will highlight local churches who are doing a Passion for Life mission so readers can get involved through invitation and prayer.