|PIC1|A startling research paper is to be released at a forthcoming conference which shows that new churches are spreading across the UK faster than Starbucks.

With the purpose to further consider God’s magnificent movement at this time, the Mission 21 conference will be held Wednesday 8th March, 2006 until Friday 10th March, 2006 at the new Philadelphia Campus of St Thomas’ Church, Sheffield.

Sponsored by the Group for Evangelisation, Together in Mission and Wycliffe Bible Translators, around 800 leaders – both activists and strategists - are expected to gather at the Mission 21 conference.

One of the startling research studies that will be released at the conference include the topic regarding church-planting versus the establishment of a world-wide popular coffee shop. Amazingly, more new churches are being established in the UK than Starbucks shops.

|TOP|While 481 UK Starbucks branches have started since 1998, more than 500 churches have been established during the same time, based on only 18 of the more than 400 denominations in the UK, which indicates that there may actually be more churches that have opened.

“This is exciting news for the UK church!” declares Graham Cray, Bishop of Maidstone. “It seems that everywhere I look today there is a new Starbucks full of people. It is great to think that the same thing is happening with churches. Jesus has so much more to offer to people’s lives than just a caffeine buzz!”

This full research will be formally released during the Mission 21 conference.

Speakers at the event will include Bishop Graham Cray, founder of the Pioneer church movement Gerald Coates and the former vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton Sandy Millar.

For more information on booking for the conference, go to www.stream247.com