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The group drew on their experiences, both personal and pastoral, and felt that a range of factors left many individuals struggling, namely:
- A lack of ability in Churches to relate to younger people.
- A reluctance in Churches to be open to change and welcome innovation.
- A tendency of the Churches to absorb younger people (where they were present), assign them ‘emergency' roles and prevent their true vocation from being discovered.
- The difficulty experienced by parents who need to make arrangements for the care of children if they are to become more involved in the life of the Church.
- A feeling of being ‘isolated' and not truly ‘belonging'.
- The changes of context and peer groups experienced by young people as they leave school and attend university/college.
- A lack of emphasis on the link between faith and service in the Church.
- A lack of websites (the first point of call for information) detailing individual Church services.
Note:
Many people in this age range are post-denominational, i.e. they will not necessarily carry loyalty from one Methodist Church to another but will search for any Church that meets their need, in which they can exercise their gifts. We recognise that many people who leave for college/university will seek out change and experiment with something new.
Specific needs within this age range
In relation to the above, the group recognised two different age ranges, and felt that they would need encouraging in different ways:
17-23 years
There is a need to try and prevent people in this age range from ‘falling through the net’ as they move on to college – i.e. lost out of Methodism and disappearing into the ether, perhaps joining another denomination, or none at all. This is likely to be worse if the individuals are not members of the Methodist Church as there is no formal process of transfer to another place of worship – and little opportunity for this to happen informally unless the young person concerned contacts their minister. The group also recognised that there were those who remained at home whilst they studied, or began employment immediately. Our conclusion was that as a consequence, people within in this age range experience huge changes within their peer group.
23-40 years
The Church needs to be sensitive to couples where one partner is involved in the life of the Church, whilst another is not. An additional factor is whether individuals are parents. This places limitations on the amount of free time they have to devote to the Church – and when.
Strategy for mission
The point was raised that whilst the Connexion/District might want us to develop an initiative, the key issue is, do the people in this age range want it? Ultimately, what we will do needs to be owned by the individuals concerned. On reflection however, we find the following strategy promising.
We anticipate developing an internet based network, by which people can make and retain contact with each other. For people aged 17-23yrs we feel that an MSN online chat forum might be helpful. Across the entire age range we felt that e-mail bulletins may be of use. We understand some £3,000 of District funding is already available for setting up a website that encourages networking. We are presently seeking a volunteer to assist with this.
We must encourage fresh expressions of Church that meet the needs of young people across the District, taking the form of cell groups and parallel congregations. Examples of this are already evident – e.g. Side Door, Grimsby . We must encourage a model of cell group that is sensitive to the needs of people living hectic lifestyles. (i.e. rotating round different homes, including provision for childcare etc). We are wary of any strategy we develop becoming too ‘Church' centred; our needs to be on the fringes of the Church and must be sympathetic to the context in which people find themselves.
We will encourage local Churches to develop a broader understanding of ‘Church' that embraces different styles, and to see that midweek worship (as opposed to fellowship activities) can be an alternative to Sunday services.
First Steps and Action Points
We seek a volunteer to assist with networking/website/e-mail. This is easier said than done as many of our young people are already heavily involved in the life of the Church and will not be keen on giving up one activity for another – but this is a vital role, so if you are able to help, please contact us on revlmh@btconnect.com .
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