AngelWings Ltd

Running a small research (not for loss) organisation requires all sorts of skills. This week included completing proof of identity and anti-money laundering administration!

As a research project wrapped up, research participants needed to be thanked. Prezzy cards offered a virtual option, which made sense given the 99 participants were scattered from Northland to Otago and even across the Tasman.

Prezzy required me to apply for a corporate account to send a virtual thanks. Which then required processes including administration forms like digital proof of identity. Thankfully 48 hours later, AngelWings Ltd was approved and we could get in and get on with sending out thankyou Prezzy cards!

Such are the challenges of running a business today and the joys of wanting to say thanks.

A new resourcing adventure for us here at Ltd, working with Roots to prepare an intergenerational resource for a World Ocean Day.

Roots is a UK based organisation that provides weekly lectionary resources for denominations in UK and Australia.

Previous AngelWings work researching digital climate justice and developing Advent "Give Climate Hope" resources for CWS has been valuable in scoping this new resourcing project. Plus a side project that has included theological reviews of movies like Finding Nemo, The Shape of Water, Flow and Ocean have got our creative juices flowing.

Grateful to spend a day in Auckland presenting some commissioned AngelWings Ltd research to a Christian Trust. The research task was to gather experiences of formation into ministry. This involved interviewing 99 people at various stages of the journey - thinking about starting, studying and in ministry. The results were presented in writing a few weeks ago, followed by a visual report and discussion.

Hence the photo, of a corridor waiting to be called in. The trustees were so grateful for the findings and the insights that emerged that can then guide their future decision making.

A moment to breathe after sending off another commissioned piece of AngelWings Ltd research. 99 conversations in single and group settings to explore barriers to ministry study and test resource solutions. Listening across at least 13 denominations. A wonderful three months of listening to stories of call and courage, service and vulnerability. The 13 page report is with the funders, who have committed to make parts of it available more widely once they have workshopped the findings. So there may yet be an infographic or two!

So Director Dr Lynne Taylor worked with St Marys-By-The-Sea as they considered this initiative, providing their 2023 community demographics and spending an evening with their leadership team considering the opportunities and needs the demographics highlighted. Dr Lynne Taylor comments that it is sad to hear what seem to be loud echoes of "not-in-my-backyard" attitudes and othering reported in the opposition to this initiative (and rather heartening to read some of the Facebook comments in response). (Contact us if you'd like community demographics on your own area!)
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/194dA8cWwr/

Multiple people discussing it on the community page were concerned about the type of people the "free food" would attract.

Great to have Director Dr Lynne Taylor talking on radio about her research on people coming to faith and the implications for the church.

Reversal on Church Revival, Keep Moving Forward Reversal on Church Revival, Keep Moving Forward

A happy moment in the AngelWings Ltd office today! Director Steve Taylor opened a second research journal to keep pace with a rapidly developing research project. 44 interviews in the last 3 weeks, listening across 10 church denominations, connecting with folk across the country to learn about ministry journeys.

So many rich and interesting stories. So many notes. Hence a second research journal.

Sometimes research is a sprint. Someone contacts us at AngelWings Ltd with a question and a deadline. It feels an important piece of work and we value being flexible. There's a quick reshuffle and "bang" away we go.

Sometime research is a marathon. There's a research question that can only be answered with time.

This week involved delivery of a "marathon" report. Work commenced in 2024, designing two surveys to assess the impact of a church revitalisation programme in a Presbytery.

Data gathering began in 2025, working with local congregations to establish a baseline across the two surveys. This resulted in an initial report, delivered in May of 2025.

More data gathering occurred in 2026. We worked again with local congregations, encouraging responses to the two surveys. This meant we could compare changes over 12 months. How was the revitalisation programme received? How was the revitalisation programme impacting local congregations? This resulted in a second report, delivered on Thursday.

But the marathon is not yet over. More data gathering will occur at the end of 2027. This will allow us to compare changes over 33 months.

Running research marathons involves a different type of pace and produces a different type of data. Technically it's called longitudinal research. It's a research design that involves repeated observations of the same variables. For those serious about church health and vitality, it's the gold standard of research.

It was a great feeling to deliver a report this week. But a greater feeling to know that there is further to go and to have the privilege of working with a group of churches who are deeply committed.

Another round of congratulations to Director Dr Lynne Taylor, who provided some comments for a NZ Herald article published over Easter. She gave comments first as the article author, Matt prepared to pitch it to the NZ Herald, second as Matt formally interviewed Lynne for the article, and thirdly as Lynne alerted Matt that The Quiet Revival report had been retracted.

It’s great seeing how careful research can inform public writing. This link (in the comments) should take you to a non-paywalled version of the article.

I've been thinking (again) about the Quiet Revival... as the 2025 Quiet Revival report was retracted overnight.

The Bible Society was informed by YouGov that the survey sample that the data was based on was faulty, as a result of errors at the YouGov end. Essentially, usual data quality control was not implemented (excluding people not resident in the UK, preventing multiple submissions, or excluding participants who gave inattentive/random responses). The Bible Society has rightly responded by retracting the original report, and they released a second report, that both outlines the issues with the first report and (based on other data) reiterates core themes and messages relating to openness to Christianity in England and Wales.

I am unsurprised by the retraction. While their analysis of the dataset had been rigorous, the change reported in The Quiet Revival was considerably more extensive than seemed reasonable. However, like the Quiet Revival team, I do think that there has been change in the social and religious climate. There IS something happening that it is right to pay attention to.

The Bible Society’s new report makes five main points. I am adapting these points here, based on (and on the blog post in the comments) linking to some of my own research:
1. The culture is changing.
2. Religious identity is changing.
3. Young people are open to spirituality
4. People are exploring the bible (and doing so can lead to embracing Christianity).
5. People are converting to Christianity.

Cultural change is occurring, including increased openness to spirituality. In Aotearoa, the 2023 Faith and Belief Study reported that only 18% of the population is negatively disposed towards Christianity. Younger generations are more likely to be “warm” towards Christianity. This cultural change includes a desire for spiritual connections, and my PhD demonstrated that such yearning is among things that can certainly motivate faith exploration.

Less people today call themselves Christians by (cultural) default, meaning that less nominal Christians are counted in surveys and this is one reason behind declines in recorded (Christian) religious affiliations in Census data. We’re seeing this in NZ as well as in the UK, Australia, Canada and more widely. (See here for more.) As a result, those who do call themselves Christian are more likely to be actively involved in Christianity.

The Bible Society reports that bible sales are increasing and google searches related to the bible are also on the rise. My own research shows that people engage in various spiritual practices, including reading the bible, as an important step on their journey to embrace the Christian faith.

People are converting to Christianity. However, people are also leaving the church. There is a gender shift which is both interesting as concerning, as more young men come in and more young women leave. I hope and pray that the faith we share and way we share it lead towards the flourishing of all.

Finally, being aware of increased openness to Christianity can change us. As I wrote elsewhere, “what you expect determines what you see and how you act. Data certainly suggests there is an openness to spirituality in Aotearoa today and churches are invited to anticipate, notice, resource and support such interest. It is not necessarily that this is new.”
Such openness may make us attentive to the possibility of newcomers in our churches, and to helping create a place of welcome and connection for them. It might encourage us to talk about our faith and our spiritual practices with friends. Such attentiveness and our own openness to discuss spirituality might just help us notice and participant in what God is doing today.

Bible Society. The Quiet Revival One Year On: What's the Story? Bible Society UK, 2026. https://bible-society.directus.app/assets/4e08929c-6148-49f6-9269-757f6ba3d87d.
Taylor, Lynne. "Learning from a More Secular Future: Insights from Aotearoa New Zealand." Post-Christendom Studies 8 (2024): 62–73. https://mcmasterdivinity.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/8.PCS_.62-73.Taylor.pdf.
Taylor, Lynne. "Our Doing Becomes Us: Performativity, Spiritual Practices and Becoming Christian." Practical Theology 12, no. 3 (2019): 332–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/1756073X.2019.1595317.

The events of Easter Friday include human moments of betrayal and state power acting badly. The events also include solidarity and care across cultures, as Simon of Cyrene carries the cross of a person (Jesus of Nazareth) ruled “criminal” by the state.

These events has inspired artists and creatives through the centuries, including this painting of Simon of Cyrene carrying the cross, in a manuscript.

These events of Easter Friday continue to inspire us at AngelWings Ltd. They shape our commitments to listen and learn across cultures, pay attention to “edge-walkers” (like Simon of Cyrene) and be in solidarity with victims of state sanctioned violence.