Canadian Church Research Gathering 2025 at Wycliffe College

Across North America, leaders are watching a shift unfold: younger generations returning to church, congregations adapting, new growth in unexpected places. We’ve been talking with historians, listening to ministry leaders, and digging into the data to understand what’s happening here in Canada.

This week, we’re exploring Gen Z’s quiet resurgence in church attendance. But if you’re someone who loves graphs, spreadsheets, and data that tells a story—you’ll want to go deeper… so mark your calendar! Coming up Thursday, December 11, 2025, is the Canadian Church Research Gathering at Wycliffe College, University of Toronto. Hosted by the Canadian Institute for Empirical Church Research, it’s a full day of learning, conversations, and insights into the realities facing the Canadian Church.

The program includes keynote presentations, breakout sessions, and networking opportunities, offering participants the chance to connect with peers and share ideas that support the church’s engagement in a changing Canadian context.

Learn More & Register Here.

And if you can’t make it to the event this year, check out some of their recent and upcoming reports on the state of the church in canada.

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“Greatness” in Canadian Congregations (Published June 2025)

This study examines church “greatness” through the lens of Jim Collins' "good to great" principles as outlined in his book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t. A total of 31 semi-structured interviews were conducted with pastoral leaders across Canada, representing various community sizes and Christian faith traditions. The primary objective of the study is to determine if and how Collins’ framework can identify principles of “greatness” that may lead to church growth. Full research report available at the download link to the right.

Download the Report Here

Shaping the Future: Denominational Organizational Cultures Shifting Towards Multiplication Movements (Published June 2025)

When considering the future, some denominational organizations are imagining how new congregations can be formed given the religious and cultural shifts taking place in Canada. By asking leaders focused on this direction what actions they have taken, it is possible to identify some of the organizational developmental steps which move towards mobilizing new church development. The intent of this report is to offer perspective from the experience of Canadian leaders to suggest important principles and practices which can offer ways forward.

Download the Report Here

New Congregations in the Canadian Kaleidoscope (Published December 2024)

"New Congregations in the Canadian Kaleidoscope" examines new congregations in the Waterloo region through an autoethnographic study of thirty distinct churches. This project is part of the broader "Birth Plan" project, which explores the dynamics of church planting across Canada, offering valuable insights into the experiences, challenges, and opportunities faced by new worship communities as they establish themselves in diverse and evolving contexts. This project was funded by a generous grant from the Lilly Endowment.

Download the Report Here

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New Research Expected: May 23, 2025

Bending the Curve: How churches move from “Good to Great”
In period of uncertainty in the church, what sets apart a church that is experiencing mild and, even better, significant growth? This mixed method survey considers Canadian churches who are positive outliers and what conditions and choices that set them apart.

#influencing_faith_study
The #influencing_faith_study (IFS) is a research partnership that is actively investigating how social media engagement affects the faith of Canadian youth participating in Canadian evangelical youth ministries and how Canadian evangelical youth ministry workers working with Canadian youth use social media in their ministries. Youth for this study are those aged 12 to 18 and in grades 7 to 12.

The Pandemic Turn: Loss and transformation in the post-pandemic church
How has the Canadian church recovered, renovated, and retrenched in response to the once-in-a century Covid crisis? This survey of churches will reflect on patterns of attendance, giving, and leadership before, during, and post-peak pandemic and consider the evidence for multiple trajectories that have emerged

Birth Plan: Canadian church planting in a fragmented moment
There is a long and mixed history of church planting in Canada, but lack of solid data gathering and analysis have complicated our ability to read past and future trends. We examine patterns of growth and decline, evangelism, and socio-economic influences as factors of success and failure.

The Failure Curve: An investigation of death and recovery in Canadian church
What does terminal decline look like in a Canadian church and how do some congregations escape collapse? We comb through patterns of decline and interview reemergent church leaders and congregants about how they have successfully escaped and revitalized.