Executive summary
The Diocese of Oxford developed Come and See in 2021 during the Covid pandemic as a free online experience to explore spirituality and help people find out more about the Christian faith during Lent. It has run every year since with a different theme but similar format.
Come and See 2026 took place over 48 days, starting in February 2026. The theme for 2026 was ‘The Eucharist’. Those who registered as individuals received short daily emails to reflect on and a weekly short film. It was also possible to register as a group leader and receive weekly resources in advance to share with their group(s).
We undertook an evaluation to understand a little more from those who registered to receive Come and See emails, and from those who ran small groups.
“It gave us an opportunity to have an informal Agape meal/Eucharist.”
The clearest message from the many comments was that respondents strongly value a diocesan Lent course and want it to continue in some form, with many participants describing it as an important part of their Lenten discipline and spiritual growth. The overwhelming majority felt that Lent is the ideal season for such a course as they valued the discipline of engaging with faith each day during Lent and felt that Lent naturally encourages reflection and spiritual discipline. The six-week structure works well. It provides motivation to commit to regular prayer and Bible reading.
We received responses from 504 people who had engaged with Come and See during Lent 2026 receiving daily emails. This is more than double the number of responses we received to our evaluation survey for Come and See 2025. This represents a survey response rate of 24% of those who had opened the emails, and 16% of all subscribers. This means that our responses are likely to be more representative of all the participants, but, irrespective of the response rate, it is important to hear the voices of those who chose to give their views.
The participants of Come and See are largely loyal to the brand, with over 60% having taken part in previous years. However, these participants are mostly female, and two thirds were aged 70 or over. If these respondents were representative of all Come and See participants, then Come and See reached very few people aged under 40. Come and See is delivered to individuals using daily emails. Younger people tend not to use email as part of their social media which may explain in part why the participants are on average older than our usual congregations and the population in general. It could also be due to the way the campaign was advertised, or that fewer younger people responded to the consultation. Nevertheless, reels shared on Facebook and Instagram had high view rates and are likely to have been received by a younger audience.
“I feel this is a great opportunity to encourage people to meet as small groups, to discuss and grow together in discipleship.”
Those responding were asked where they were in their faith journey. The majority (70%) were regular churchgoers, 21% were church leaders, and 9% were occasional churchgoers, exploring faith or new to faith. Almost one half of church leaders (48%) were aged 40-69 and half were aged 70 and over. For those exploring faith the largest age group were those aged 40-69 (50%), whereas for those new to faith (albeit based on small numbers) one half were aged 18-39.
Thinking about Come and See 2026 (the Eucharist), the majority (76%) of respondents took part at home alone, with just over 20% taking part in a group. 91% engaged with the daily emails and 38% engaged with the YouTube videos (with or without the emails).
Respondents joined Come and See 2026 because many had enjoyed the previous year’s Come and See courses. Others were looking for a Lent course, and some heard about it in an email or newsletter and were interested.
Almost three quarters did the majority or all the course. Respondents said this was because they enjoyed the content, felt the content was relevant and completed the course as part of their Lenten practice. Only a few of those who did not do most of the course gave reasons for stopping; reasons included the emails being too frequent, it took too much time and for some the content was not relevant to them.
“I would love to participate in an ongoing course. I really miss Come and See when Lent is over and have to wait another year, although of course this is the last”
Respondents were asked what they particularly liked in Come and See 2026. Over 70% liked the content, and almost 70% enjoyed Bishop Steven’s reflections. The convenience of different modes to participate and the time of year being a Lenten discipline were both liked by over half of respondents.
When asked about what went less well with Come and See 2026, almost two thirds of respondents did not offer anything that went less well. Just 6% felt the content was less good, and 5% felt the length of videos and emails was not good for them. Others offered thoughts in the comments box – several people could not use Spotify so missed the audios. A few respondents had been affected by the issue with emails not being sent which meant they missed some days. One incumbent had not included the subtitles so some in the congregation could not hear the video.
Of the 212 people who had signed up as group leaders, 41 respondents to this survey had led a small group; a response rate of 19%. 37 people ran one group with an average of 9 people attending, 4 respondents ran an average of 1.75 groups with an average of 8 people attending each group. Except for one group, all the groups met weekly. Almost three quarters of the groups were a church group set up specifically for this Lent course. A further one fifth were regular home groups, and 15% were regular church small groups.
Group leaders mainly aimed their Come and See material at regular churchgoers. One third aimed the material at those exploring faith, and a further quarter aimed the material at occasional churchgoers.
Most leaders of a Come and See group (90%) used Bishop Steven’s videos and 80% used the guidebook for their own use. Over half (54%) used the daily emails, and just under half (46%) used the guidebook for their group to use. Over one quarter used the postcards but very few used the Canva template or print at home posters.
Thinking about the resources we provided before the course began, most group leaders felt the timing of the initial webinar (September) was about right, with one quarter (26%) feeling it was too early. Receiving posters and postcards before Christmas, was felt about right by 84% of group leaders but too early by 10%. Receiving resources and videos in January was felt about right by 94% of group leaders with just one person feeling it was too early and one feeling it was too late.
“I am sorry that Come and See won’t be run again in future. I know that Bishop Steven is retiring, but he has a genuine and gentle way of presenting. Having a course in Lent has been a good way to include people who wouldn’t attend any study groups.”
Over 80% of group leaders reported good conversation in their groups, and over three quarters (78%) received good feedback. Over one third of group leaders felt the course had provided a next step in someone’s faith journey, and some small groups had resulted in someone volunteering or being moved to do something.
Respondents were reminded that we have a Diocesan Hub where we hold all the various Come and See courses we have offered. They were asked whether they were aware of the Hub. Almost one half of respondents were not aware of it but thought it sounded interesting, 35% were aware of it but had not used the courses, 13% were not aware of it and felt it did not appeal to them, and just 5% had engaged with one or more of the courses on the Learning Hub.
Respondents were told this was the final Come and See course and asked open questions about what they would like to see next and whether there was a topic or theme they would like to find out more about and whether there was another time of year they felt a course would be helpful. A number of themes were suggested for future courses, with the most popular themes centred on prayer and spiritual practices, Bible study (especially Psalms, Parables, individual Gospels, Acts, and the Old Testament), Jesus, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost and the Creed, discipleship and living faith in today's world, women in the Bible and church history, and exploring the role of the Church today including issues on mission, social justice and the environment.
There was also significant enthusiasm for developing an additional Advent course and for creating courses for discipleship and learning beyond Lent. Other suggestions on timing were for occasional courses during: Summer, Autumn, New Year, August (when other church activities pause). Several respondents suggested offering discipleship courses throughout the year rather than limiting them to Lent. Only a small proportion of respondents had taken part in courses on the Learning Hub so the majority were probably unaware there were already courses they could access.
Some respondents made suggestions about accessibility and the use of resources, for example, providing written as well as audio/video materials, and offering opportunities for discussion and small groups.
Come and See 2026 has built on firm foundations laid since 2021. Come and See is valued and established as part of the diocesan calendar. It is important, however, when considering future content, to be aware of the likely audience. To reach a younger demographic it will be important to explore other forms of media more appropriate for their ages.
“It was lovely to receive the email in the morning. It was a real connection and very helpful to my own wellbeing too.”