Evangelical Alliance Ireland (EAI) has identified over 400 evangelical churches in the Republic of Ireland. Between 2003 and 2006, EAI sponsored three research projects to gather demographic data on the evangelical churches in the Republic of Ireland. Research teams conducted interviews with pastors and church leaders from 312 (or approximately 78%) of the known evangelical congregations in Ireland. This report summarizes the results of these preliminary investigations and, where possible, provides information about the evangelical community as a whole. This report will be updated as additional information becomes available.

Findings:

·     Diversity – The evangelical church community includes churches from a variety of Christian traditions. It includes groupings such as Baptist, Assemblies of God and other Pentecostal/ Charismatic churches, and independent fellowships. It also includes churches within denominations with evangelical leaders such as the Church of Ireland, Methodist and Presbyterian. In spite of differences, evangelical Christians share “a dual commitment to the final and exclusive authority of the Bible and to the saving power of the gospel as achieved in the atoning death of Jesus Christ on the cross” (Mitchel, 2004).

·     Size – The size of evangelical church congregations varies from small (15-20) to large (over 800). Average weekly attendance of all evangelical churches is 80, while the median weekly attendance is 55.

·     Growth – The number of evangelical churches in the Republic of Ireland has increased dramatically in the past 25 years. Only 35% of the approximately 400 evangelical churches in the Republic of Ireland were in existence in 1980.  65% of all evangelical churches have been started in the past 25 years, with more than 28% founded in the since 2000.  52% of churches founded since 2000 have been started by or for immigrants.  18% of all evangelical congregations are comprised primarily of immigrants.

·     Attendance – Although the number of evangelical Christians in the Irish Republic has increased 500% in the past 25 years, evangelical Christians still comprise less than 1% of the total population. Of the approximately 32,000 evangelicals, 59% are Irish with the remaining 41% comprised of other ethnic groups. Additionally, approximately 40% of those attending evangelical churches report having a Catholic background.

A description of the research methodology used in the collection of this information is available upon request from Evangelical Alliance Ireland.