Emerging Spirit @ The United Church of Canada Emerging Spirit @ The United Church of Canada

This originally appeared on Faith & Leadership, an offering of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity. To go to the original article, click here.

As the Christian landscape changes, Faith & Leadership says leaders must ask and answer a new question: What's the future of denominations? This is part of an occasional series that offers the thoughts of people across Christianity on this vital issue. To see the entire series, including the video interviews, click here.

Denominations are important because they embody an ethos, provide connection and are able "to see and solve problems," said Brian D. McLaren,  an author, pastor and public speaker.

But denominations must turn from a "problem focus to a goal focus" if they are to remain relevant, especially to young people, he said.

 In "The Fence-sitters: How real is the hope?" (Observer, Nov. 2009), author Richard Wright questions the role of research numbers in church growth efforts, including The United Church of Canada's Emerging Spirit initiative. Since data formed part of the Emerging Spirit research we had to make some decisions about their use and authority.

Wright raises the question of whether the 77% identified by Environics as "Potentials" is a valid statistic. We believe it is. In addition to Bibby, a 2006 Ipsos-Reid survey collaborates what many church leaders know - a significant interest in spiritually and faith exists "out there."  The Potentials identified in the Environics quantitative research are just that-those with a potential interest in a church with the attributes of The United Church of Canada. There was never any guarantee that these people would become members of the United Church according to the definition of the last century.

WonderCafe's "There's Probably a God" ad campaign has won Silver in the Public Service and Advocacy category at the 2009 Extra Awards for the best in Canadian newspaper advertising! 

Created by WonderCafe's ad agency, Smith Roberts Creative Communications, the "There's probably a God" ad was a response to an campaign run in Canada and the U.K. by atheists which claimed, "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life." 

WonderCafe's ad ran in the Globe and Mail, and a French-version was published in several Quebec newspapers. The ad and subsequent media coverage brought a landslide of new visitors to WonderCafe, where more than 13,000 votes were cast in a poll on the two perspectives.