CHURCH membership in Dunfermline Presbytery is shrinking faster than the national kirk"s, a census undertaken in March has shown.

The census, which recorded the attendance across the presbytery"s 25 congregations on 15th March, showed that only 3002 people went to worship.

This was out of a total membership of 7803, which in turn represented just 5.9 per cent of a revised projected population of 132,339 in the presbytery area.

A tentative comparison, based on the assumption that Dunfermline"s results would be typical of Fife as a whole, also showed that the percentage of the population attending services had dropped from six percent in 1984 to 4.7 percent in 1994, tumbling further to 3.7 per cent in 2002 and 2.3 percent in 2009.

Of the 3002 who attended, there were 1390 over-65s, 843 aged 45-64, 293 aged 30-44 and 249 under-11s. Just 89 aged 20-29 attended, with 90 aged 12-14 and 48 aged 15-19.

The census report also said that the decline was occurring at a faster rate than across Scotland, shrinking by almost 45 per cent between 1987 and 2007, compared to just under 42 per cent nationally.

Presbytery mission development officer, the Rev Allan Vint, who carried out the survey, said, 'Like many institutions, we have seen a decline in our membership numbers.

'We just wanted to know the numbers so we had a launchpad to know how to move forward.

'It is a matter of concern to the presbytery and we are taking it very seriously - my appointment as the only mission development officer at presbytery level in Scotland is a very bold step and shows that we are leading the way in trying to arrest the decline.' He said there was 'no simple answer' to why membership was dwindling but underlined the importance of focusing on the church"s mission.

He said, 'Historically the church has been about giving a message of hope and good news. We"ve been a bit quiet about that and we want to start that again.

'The church is always noted for what it"s against and I want to put it back on a different footing.

'I want to put it back on spreading the good news - the attendance and membership figures are testimony that we really need to get back to basics.' It is hoped programmes like 'Future Focus', a "toolbox" for developing church mission activities, 'Healthy Church', which helps build leadership and a vision for the church, and 'Contagious Christian', which helps Christians tell others about what they believe, will help grow the membership again.

The Rev Vint added, 'I think people want love, a real community where they are accepted and hope in the midst of everything that they are dealing with.

'I think the church has not sometimes spoken the language of the community and we"ve been seen as distant and irrelevant - sometimes we don"t scratch where people itch.

'We need to become much more focused again about what we are at the core, which is to speak about the love of God and this is what people are happy to engage with.

'What they are not happy with is the negative stereotype that has been generated over the years that the church is dull and boring and we don"t want to continue with that.'