Crunching the numbers

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, as of 5.27pm, December 12, 2006 there were 20,713,873 Australians.

Every two minutes the number goes up with a new baby born. Every four minutes it goes down with a death. With migration factored in, that's a net gain of one person every two minutes.

Despite the steady increase in the number of Aussies, church attendance continues to decline and so does the number of churches.

No surprises that declining weekly attendance and numbers of congregations are related. No surprises that the denominations that are planting churches are growing and the denominations in decline are shutting them down.

To find out more about the challenge and what to do about it, visit next1000.

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