BIG INTERVIEW: More listening, less praying - Constantia Pennie, youth trainer, African and Caribbean Evangelical Alliance

"Young people make up around 60 per cent of our congregations in some cases, and it's constantly growing," says Pennie, who is a trustee of the alliance's Children and Young People Commission, also known as CandY.

"Young people are attracted to Black churches mainly because the music makes it seem exciting and there are a lot of activities aimed at them. Many mainstream churches don't put on activities for young people simply because they don't have the congregations attending."

However, church attendance for young people from the African and Caribbean community has not always been so healthy. Until a few years ago, young people were turning away from Black churches in droves because of a lack of "relevance", prompting the churches to ask why. "Young people told us they didn't open up for fear of getting condemned by the Church for their actions. It's easy to forgive the little things but the greater challenge is to go against the grain of what we believe in and try to understand the kind of pressures facing young people today," says Pennie.