Our Vision
In England and Wales, Scripture Union's long-term vision, which motivates our mission, is for:
- every Christian - to engage enthusiastically with the Bible and grow in their faith
- every church - to be fully equipped to make disciples of children and young people
- every community - to have a vital Christian witness to children, young people and families
Meeting massive spiritual need
The context of our ministry is a world in great spiritual need:
- Children and young people are under growing pressure to adopt secular values, with less than 5% having any regular contact with church(1).
- Men and women are searching for a new spiritual reality and do not know where to turn. Even amongst churchgoers, only one in three reads the Bible daily - and just a half said they were fairly confident in their Bible knowledge(2).
- Families are under siege from the stress of modern ways of life. Over one-third of children no longer live with married parents(3).
- Churches are forced to focus on maintenance rather than mission: 39% of churches now have no under 11s; 49% have no 11 to 14s; 59% have no 14 to 18s in their midst(4).
In the face of this massive spiritual poverty, Scripture Union is responding to the call of Jesus' Great Commission to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20)
(1) Source: Brierley P, UKCH Religious Trends (Christian Research, 2001)
(2) Source: Taking the Pulse 2007 (Bible Society, Scripture Union, Evangelical Alliance, UCB)
(3) Source: ONS Social Trends No 40 December 2009
(4) Source: Brierley P, Quadrant (December, 2006)
