AS far as league tables go, there's one group who have become used to hearing that public interest in their product is declining year on year.

Experience has taught bishops in the Church of England every trick in the book to explain and give reasons for falling church attendance.

For the past 20 years, church-going in England has been in steady decline.

Churches have closed, vicars go unreplaced when one moves on, and media headlines have shouted out the "inevitable future".

But this week the Church of England presented news that took sceptical journalists, churchgoers and even some bishops by surprise - church attendances rose by one per cent from 2002 to 2003 - the first rise many of today's bishops have experienced in their entire ministry.

Provisional figures for 2003 from the Church of England show that more than 1.7 million people attend church and cathedral worship each month, while 1.2 million attend each week, and one million each Sunday.

In the Winchester area, churches saw their Sunday congregations boosted by a staggering 1,000 people from 2002 to 2003, rising from 29,900 to 30,900, and an additional 700 people

officially joined up with parish churches by becoming a part of parish electoral rolls.

Church leaders in the Portsmouth Diocese, which also covers the Isle of Wight, will also be pleased with an increase in the average Sunday attendance from 13,500 to 13,900.

However, the Salisbury Diocese, which is struggling financially, was dealt another blow - its average

weekly church attendance dropped from 35,000 to 33,800.

Growth has largely been experienced by the evangelical wing of the Church, but the new figures also show some increase in attednance among liberal and Catholic sectors.

The Rev David Snuggs, vicar of St Thomas's Church in Fair Oak, Eastleigh, says he is "not at all surprised" by the new figures.

"It reflects what we've seen here over the past nine years I've been

the vicar."

St Thomas's is an evangelical, charismatic church, and, as such, believes that the Bible is God's word and direction for living.

The vicar explained: "In nine years our electoral roll has quadrupled to 400, as has church attendance.

"We hold four services most Sundays, but only one of those takes place in the parish church, which only seats 150.

"Since 1997 we've been meeting at Wyvern Technical College as we realised that our church building would have been a cork in a bottle when it came to growth. We had to

be flexible.

"Now most of our children's and youth work is based at the college, where we have three Sunday morning congregations of different ages which come together at the end of their individual worship time."

Mr Snuggs says that there have been many factors in the staggering growth the church has experienced.

"First, we have been rigorous in our development of lay leadership," he said. "I'm incredibly fortunate to have an excellent curate, three lay leaders, a retired priest and about 20 people who can occasionally give talks.

"Another key has been employing staff as the church has grown."

For churches to see growth there also has to be heavy community involvement, believes the vicar, who is also a parish councillor.

"What we have realised most of all," says Mr Snuggs, "is that there needs to be many doors through which people can get involved in the life of the church.

"For some it may be a traditional Sunday service, but it is more likely to be through the Alpha course, the superb ladies' group we run, the elderly tea club, the children's or youth work, or mid-week services or community events."

Not everyone can make it to church on Sundays, and so St Thomas's runs Cell Groups: home churches where people meet during the week.

Mr Snuggs said: "In 2002 we started with eight groups with six people in each. Today we have 34 groups and growing."

People living in Southampton city centre have a choice of Anglican styles of worship.

Team rector, the Rev Ian Johnson, said: "For many years we've had some attendance rise, but these past two years the increase has been noticeable, particularly with younger people coming to church, partly as a result of the new housing developments.

"In this parish we have the joy of offering everything from the charismatic evangelical style at St Matthew's through to catholic St Michael's, or liberal St Mary's.

"I think the increase for us has particularly been that when

people see the Church engaged with the serious social and political issues of our time, they wish to engage with it as an expression of their concern for such causes."

St Paul's Church stands at the heart of Winchester life and

rector Peter Seal has also experienced congregation growth.

He said: "We've experienced a numerical increase in all ages in recent years, particularly in the number of under-16s where we consistently see 40 attending morning worship.

"The church has a central churchmanship with Holy Communion playing a major focus in our worship. However, I'd like to think we are what I describe as 'soft at the edges', warm and welcoming to people, and allowing them to come and explore faith with us.

"Churches that have allowed people to explore and develop their belief in their own time have seen growth."

Members of St Paul's are active within the voluntary sector, something the rector believes gives them opportunities to share faith with non-Christians.

He added: "But I also believe the Anglican church is in a unique position. It is still to the CofE that people turn in times of disaster or celebration. It also has a special place in family life at times of baptism, marriage and death.

"Child baptism visits provide incredible opportunities to

discuss spiritual matters, and, at the other end, helping families through bereavement and coming alongside people at times of need often opens up the door to the Church/faith relationship again."