Church Army's Chief Secretary, Philip Johanson OBE, has warned the church against waiting in vain for young people to return to the fold.

In his keynote address to the Christian Resources Exhibition in Sandown Park - the largest event of its kind in Europe, Johanson introduced the theme of future church and pleaded that the church needed to recognise the need for fresh expressions of church in a modern context.

Johanson claimed that "Emerging church must be shaped by the mission content of today and not as churchgoers might prefer it to be. We must listen to the people - the 60% who consider themselves as not connected with the church."

The address provided an honest and frank assessment of why traditional Sunday worship is seen by many as outdated and irrelevant and yet the interest in spirituality, new-age faith and the occult has never been greater.

Church Army is engaged in pioneering ministries that provide young people with the opportunity to express themselves spiritually without the need to engage with traditional church. Johanson highlighted the work of Kidz Klub in inner city Liverpool; the 3:16 bus project in West Grimsby and Streetreach - a project engaging young people in Northern Ireland as examples of Church Army's pioneering new ministries that are making a difference on the cutting edge.

For more information on the work of Church Army http://www.churcharmy.org.uk