A VICAR who has seen his congregation swell from 50 to more than 300 is to preach to his contemporaries on the secret of his success.

The Rev Ken Howles inherited a church low in numbers when he took over at St Bartholomew's Church, in the shadow of Blackburn Rovers' Ewood Park ground, in 1997. But in less than five years he has changed the fortunes of the church, bucking a trend experienced by churches of all denominations.

Now he has been invited by the vicar at St James Church, Darwen, the Rev John Faraday, to give a seminar outlining how other places of worship could follow suit.

Mr Howles, who is also the vicar in charge at the Church of the Saviour, in Sunnybank Road, Blackburn, said: "The church has to radically look at itself and needs to change, which is something it doesn't like talking about. I want to explain the principals I have used to bring about the growth, and I hope those principles can be used elsewhere."

One of the first initiatives employed by Mr Howles was to lengthen his sermons when no football matches were being played, which led to figures rising from 40 to 140. Less then five years later, those figures have rocketed to the point where every pew is full - with people banging at the door to come in.

Last Christmas, more than 1,000 people tried to cram into the church, leaving some out in the cold.

All Church of England clergy in the Blackburn Diocese, as well as other church leaders, have been invited to the seminar, on Thursday where they will hear Mr Howles spell out how the church needs to be more accommodating without actually compromising on its beliefs.

He said: "I always try and make this church available to what the people want. Rather than them conforming to us, I try to conform to them while keeping the teachings of the Bible very clear.

"We need to find ways to make the never-changing Gospel more relevant in an ever-changing society."