It was encouraging to gather over 90 people from around the diocese for a Bishop’s Study Day on 28 September at St Peter’s Church, Boyatt Wood. The theme for the day was ‘Growing Younger’, as we discussed the ways we can encourage children and young people to become active disciples and join our church community, facilitated by Emma Buchan, the Archbishop`s Evangelism Task Group Project Leader and Pam MacNaughton, the Churches and Networks Advisor on Vision and Strategy.
The day was roughly separated into three sections – where we are now, what resources are available, and what we can do in future. The PowerPoint slides used on the day can be downloaded below:
Where We Are Now?
In the initial section of the day, we discussed where we are now as a diocese, looking at the statistics of the number of young people in attendance in our churches. We also looked at where the gaps are, especially in light of population numbers. The idea was to set the scene, and be open about the daunting task posed by the Church of England’s target to double the number of children and young people as active disciples by 2030 which feels to many nearly impossible.
In this section, we also discussed the fact that this goal of bringing more children and young people into church shouldn’t involve lots more work, but can be achieved through simple tweaks to current practices. These include putting children and young people on the agenda at every PCC meeting, praying for God to open the hearts of young people, and encouraging them to join a local church community. Overall, this section set the scene for our ‘next steps’ rather than focusing on mountains more work!
What Resources Are Available?
In the second section, various resources were shared and we watched a number of videos of best practise from churches across the country who are bringing more children and young people into their community. The main thing discussed, which we took some time on, was the PRAY acronym: Prioritise, Resource, Adapt and You. The booklet we looked at can be downloaded below, and you can also watch a short film on YouTube about this resource.
A list of the various resources shared on the day can be found here:
- PRAY Acronym Film and Key Learning From Research
- Growing Younger: Weymouth and Portland Case study
- Growing Younger: Eastbourne Case Study
- Growing Younger: Loftus Parish Case Study
- Bubble Church – Growing Church with Families
- Prioritising Ministry with Children & Young People
- Pray for Young Disciples
You can also find the Getting Started With Children and Young People’s Ministry Webinar recording here.
What Can We Do Moving Forward?
In the final section of the day, participants were encouraged to get together in areas to work through a mapping exercise, looking at what’s happening across geographical areas. Groups were also asked to do a ‘dreaming’ exercise, where they considered what you might do together if you had unlimited time and resources.
Both these exercises gave people time to recognise and feel affirmed in what they were currently doing, as well as see potential gaps in their strategies, and begin conversations about what neighboring parishes might do together. Some of the responses from this, where people were asked to share a word or phrase of what they were thinking or feeling at the time, are recorded below:
- Seasonal mapping is just as important as geographical mapping – young people and children are more likely to come to church at Christmas, for example
- Lots has been happening already which we must give thanks for, with many connections across parishes and benefices
- Some strategies have been serving really well, while others seem like a big chasm – we need to consider ways to connect these
- When it comes to young people, we have cold pools, warm pools, and hot pools – are they intentionally Christian or not? We must think about what we have that connects from cool to hot – the warm pool of people who may be interested in coming to church
- Connectivity was a key theme – we have to get to know people to engage with them. There are lots of things that link us – for example, we discovered that one secondary school linked three benefices in attendance, through sports, an after school café and a Christian Union
- We thought about our Deanery Chapter connections, and how we should see it as a priority for our Chapters to recognise connections in local schools
- We considered the drop off point of young people up to the age of 18, and how to prevent this from happening
- Churches can put on events etc. that appeal to young people, but it may be harder to connect to them and bridge gaps
Working Together
One of the main takeaways of the Bishop’s Study Day was the idea of working together as a diocese, not as separate parishes or benefices. There was a commitment to hear what other groups are doing, to see each other, and see what’s happening!
We realised that we are all doing relatively similar things, so we need to support each other, and not do the same thing on the same day, creating competition amongst churches. We must share our resources and stay connected.
Upcoming Webinars and Resources on Children & Young People
- Getting Started With Children and Young People’s Ministry – Prioritisation and Adapting: Wednesday 8 November, 12-1pm – Register here
- Getting Started With Children and Young People’s Ministry – Resources: Monday 27 November, 11am- 12pm – Register here
You may also be interested in signing up to the Church Support Newsletter, which shares learning, stories and upcoming events from across the Church of England. Sign up here.
Please do add the weekly prayer meeting to your calendar too – we are praying every Tuesday throughout 2023 from 13:00-13:20 for the doubling the number of children and young active disciples in the Church of England by 2030.
The link you’ll need for the Zoom is here: https://cofe.io/doublecyp
Please add this to your calendar by clicking below:
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