Moving youth ministry from being a priority to being part of the fabric of who we are?
At the recent meeting of Anglican Provincial Youth Officers in Hong Kong we worked on a new edition for Buenas Nuevas, the journal of the International Anglican Youth Network. As a taster, here is one of the articles that will come out in this next edition.
Over recent years many dioceses and provinces
within the Communion have made ministry to and among young people a priority. A
lot has been written about the importance of youth ministry. Youth policies have
been approved by synods with acclamation. Bishops have spoken enthusiastically
about youth ministry, sometimes beginning their Synod report with this good
news. Other provinces have affirmed the priority of funding youth ministry
initiatives and the importance of engaging those under 25 with the gospel and Anglican
tradition.
At the recent meeting of Provincial Youth
Officers in Hong Kong there was a lot of good news on this front. But there was
also a lot of concern. Too often these good intentions and encouraging pronouncements
have not been translated into action. Stories were told of bishops affirming
youth ministry in their synod addresses, while the youth ministry budget were
cut, in some cases by 90%. We heard of the struggle some leaders have in
finding ways of helping their bishop attend diocesan youth events, or of
engaging with young people at any level. While youth ministry is often a stated
priority, when funds become short, youth ministry is one of the first things to
be cut. When the demands on time become too large, spending time with young
people and those who work with them are among the first things to be dropped. We
heard stories of parish priests not spending time with young people, of cutting
services targeting young people and children, and overseeing the demise of
youth and children’s ministries due to lack of resources and time. None of
these stories speak of youth ministry being a priority. Nor is it a priority
when we struggle to find examples of ordinands or those ordained being offered
any training or encouragement to engage in youth ministry. Yes, a lot is being
said about the importance of youth ministry. But too often these grand
intentions are not translated into actions. There is a desperate need for this
priority to be taken out of the “good intention basket”, into the consciousness
of our provincial, diocesan and parish leadership, and into the consciousness
of all those who belong to our church. There is a desperate need for it to
become part of the fabric of who we are.
We don’t say this because we want to save the
church. (Although to be honest the long term prognosis of too many provinces is
pretty dire.) Nor do we say this to make people feel guilty. We understand that
we operate under tight constraints financially and time-wise.
We say this because young people are a significant part of the
wider community in every province. In some parts of our church young people are
a very significant component. For example around 70% of the Church of Melanesia
is under the age of 30. Young people are part of our communities and our
church.
How then can we take them seriously, hear their voice and allow
them to take their place among those of us who are older? How can we live out
for young people what Paul wrote to the Thessalonians
“We cared so much for you, and you became so dear to us, that we were willing
to give our lives for you when we gave you God's message.”[1]
This care is part of our calling as baptised people, people called into God’s
ongoing mission as members of Christ’s church. It is also how we live out the
promises we make at every baptism. “As the community of faith, we rejoice at
this baptism and will share with N what we ourselves have received: a delight in
prayer, a love for the word of God, a desire to follow the way of Christ, and
food for the journey.”[2]
The report on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s address to the House of
Lords on the UK riots reinforces this. “Reflecting on the
frustration of many young people at the betrayal of their own generation by
some of their contemporaries, Williams said, ‘Communities deserve the best, and
above all, let me repeat it My Lords, young people deserve the best.’"[3]
Youth ministry needs to be more than a stated priority because young people
deserve the best we have to offer, not the leftovers like crumbs under the
table.
None of this is very new. That is why we often
assert that youth ministry is important. The hard part is moving this thought
into our consciousness so that it shapes how we act and the decisions we make.
While we might say that youth are important most people in church would rather
spend time with people their own age. Many also feel inadequate when faced with
being involved with young people and look for others to engage in this
ministry. Most adults in church do not have the time to run a youth group, and
often don’t have the skills.
We are not suggesting we all get involved in
running youth groups. Instead we suggest that we need to prayerfully engage
with young people, meet them as fellow human beings, fellow pilgrims, as those
beloved by God. Rather than wondering how we might fix young people, we might
more fruitfully wonder how we experience God in their lives. Rather than asking
what it is we should be producing, it might be more faithful to ask how we are
being invited to join in God’s ongoing mission among young people. Rather than being
stressed about what to do next, maybe we need to spend time in prayer, so that
we might be filled with God’s infinite and life giving love for young people.
Then maybe youth ministry will no longer be a priority but be part of the
fabric of who we are as we live out who God invites us to be.
[2] A New Zealand Prayer Book, He Karakia
Mihinare o Aotearoa Published by Genesis Publications, Christchurch: 2005
[3]<
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_129392_ENG_HTM.htm>
18th August 2011.
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