Question 6: Children, Youth, Young Adults & Families

How do you understand the ministry role of children, youth, young adults and families in the life of the church, and what is the Bishop’s role in fostering greater engagement with them? 

Martha Tatarnic: There are two things that I hear us saying regularly as Anglicans that I vehemently dispute. First, we make blanket statements about what youth do and do not want. When we invest time in talking with young people we discover they have diverse needs and preferences, and we do them a disservice by assuming we can lump them into one category and avoid the work of building authentic relationships that seek to listen and learn. Secondly, we suggest that we have nothing to offer our young people.  I have lived and served in a large variety of Anglican churches. Each one of these diverse communities had many gifts to offer, including gifts to pass along to younger generations. 

We do not get to opt out of building relationships with, responding to the needs of, and empowering the gifts of our younger generations. We have something offer, and we most definitely have something to receive in doing so. There are models and resources for successfully re-booting youth and family ministries, and the Bishop can enable that resourcing and storytelling across our parishes. Moreover, the next Bishop needs to continue to be clear that our ministries to seniors, youth or families are all compromised if we do not include all generations in our outreach, worship and fellowship. Each church must understand God’s missional claim upon us to essentially be good parents -- to treasure future generations and pass on to them the gifts that have been passed on to us.

 

David Anderson:  It is sometimes said that children and youth are the future of the church. The fact is that children, youth, and young adults are vital members of the church today. All of the baptized are full members of the church. The inclusion of all members of the church, as well as the provision of age-appropriate programs for discipleship and formation are important considerations for all ages.

Discipleship and Christian formation are not meant to be passive endeavours. Passing along the faith is not just a matter of downloading information. Christian formation occurs in a set of practices. Christians practice their faith. It is crucial, therefore, that ministry roles of children, youth, young adults, and families are encouraged. At St. John’s, where I am presently the rector, the unique ministry roles of our younger members and their families are especially encouraged through opportunities such as Messy Church. Our youth group provides another example in its unique ministry among neighbours who suffer with mental illness and who are at risk for social isolation, visiting a local group home on a monthly basis.

A bishop can encourage these ministries by stressing the importance of this work and by ensuring that ministries are adequately resourced by synod staff and volunteers. The bishop should be present to encourage youth and children’s workers at diocesan training events and engage with youth and children at diocesan and regional events for these age groups.

 

Susan Bell:  The Body of Christ is one of the only truly inter-generational institutions in our society.  After years of intentionally working with youth who are spiritually curious and alive, I am convinced that children/youth and family ministry is a priority.  We grow and nurture our church every bit as much as we evangelize for it.

My husband and I have raised our own four children immersed in the life of the church.  They have been formed by intergenerational fellowship, as choir members, servers, readers, attending –  then teaching -  church school.  They have formed close bonds across age, and other supposed barriers.  All this comes from the bond of faith.  These relationships are a precious gift in a transitory world that struggles with true relationship.

Omitting the spiritual formation of families is a very great mistake.  Already in places where this has happened we are experiencing the loss of a generation.  We have seen a trend where children are accompanied by grandparents.  While this is a wonderful example of apostolic witness, it’s sad because the transmission of faith has skipped a generation.

The Bishop’s role, more than ever now, is to create and maintain space in the councils of the church to listen to the voices of young people and families as they seek to live out their baptismal ministries and share their experience of Christ among us.  It’s also the Bishop’s role to make their formation a top priority in budgets, in programming, and to proclaim their importance as our future. 

 

David Burrows:  In order to address ministry roles with children, youth, young adults and families in the life of the church, one must be grounded in an understanding of baptism.

Baptism invites and demands full participation in the life and ministry of the faith community. We cannot expect the baptized to be at the same levels of commitment, skill, gifts, passion or experience but we can expect they are in the process of journeying. It is up to the bishop to enable clergy and faith communities to see that there are specific gifts and skills that need to be fostered.

Children, youth, young adults, and families are full members of the body of Christ, and need to be afforded the same responsibility and privilege as others. I stayed within the church throughout my life because I was asked to engage in the work and ministry of the church at each and every age.

Children and youth should not be expected nor relegated to 'youth friendly ministries.' As each child is an individual, so then parish communities must explore the passions, skills, and interests of those individuals to see how they can best be engaged in the life and work of God in a parish.

The Bishop of the Diocese needs to exercise great care with youth, providing support and resources that will enable them to be fully integrated into the life of parishes, and the diocese. Specifically, the role of the bishop requires patience, love, advocacy, trust, and support.

 

Robert Hurkmans:  Sally and I are passionate about family ministry.  Over the years it has become clear to us that faith formation of children and youth takes place in two key arenas: the church and the home.

Lately on Sunday mornings our girls are asking: “Mommy, can I stay in church with you?”  This isn’t a negative attitude toward Sunday School: it’s music to our ears!  Isn’t the goal of family ministry to see the next generation become fully integrated into the church’s worship, community & outreach?  Don’t get me wrong: Sunday School and Youth Group are important contexts for faith formation, but that approach alone may inadvertently distance our kids from the worshiping community.  The goal should be that adults and children grow, pray, worship, and serve alongside each other.

That being said, 99% of the spiritual formation of our children DOES NOT happen during their one hour at church, it happens during the other 167 hours of the week.  That’s why Mom and Dad (or Grandma and Grandpa) are the primary teachers of the faith to the next generation. 

The Bishop of Niagara needs to nurture family ministry in these two ways: by supporting parish teachers and leaders who are involved in these parish ministries, but also equipping parents in their crucial role of discipling their own children.  To this end I could foresee the development of an “Institute for Family and Faith” as a way of augmenting the Children and Youth Ministry already taking place in the diocese.

 

Robert Fead:  We all know that it has been difficult in recent decades for the church to attract young people and young families. I believe waiting for them to come to us is just not going to work in this day and age. We need to go where they are! This has been one of the great blessings of my ministry to the Canadian Forces. Military chaplaincy has given me the unique opportunity to minister to young adults where they are. While most of these young adults would not describe themselves as “religious” they still see their chaplains as wise counsellors, confidants and trusted friends. Every encounter I have with a young soldier and their family is an opportunity to plant a seed of faith.

When I was a teenager the two most influential Christian witnesses I had (besides my parents) were my scout leader and hockey coach. They were both committed Christians who were not afraid to speak about their faith and how important it was to them. Having our scout leader lead us in prayer or a hymn around the campfire just seemed normal; it was a part of who he was and it became a part of who I am. They never imposed the faith but they found ways to propose it by the way they lived.

When we do get young people in the church we need to keep them engaged. Besides Sunday school and youth programs we need to encourage them in the ministries of serving, reading and hospitality. They are more likely to stay if they feel they have something to offer and that the community appreciates the unique gifts they have to offer.

 

Stuart Pike: First of all, I hear many people say that our youth and children are the future of the Church. That’s true, but firstly we need to see them as our present, and we need to value them not just for whom they will become, but just as they are now. They have much to teach the Church about an honest and open relationship with God. Jesus brings a child into the centre of his disciples and says, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Children, youth, young adults and families, therefore, have a great ministry role to the Church in helping us recognize and enter the kingdom in the here and now. It is by virtue of each of our baptisms that we belong as a child of God and have different roles to play within the Church. I would see the role of bishop as being engaged in this, and in listening and learning from what children and youth are saying. Children and youth have great ideas and enthusiasm and these are precious gifts for our Church right now, and we can include much of what they share to inform our mission. If I were bishop, I would want to focus firstly on finding ways to bring youth and children together with me and other Church leaders in informal council to share their dreams and ideas for our diocese and I consider this to be even more important to do at the parish level to effect real change and to make us more relevant to all people including our younger members. This needs to be an ongoing conversation. 

 

In the lead up to the election, the Electoral Synod Nominations and Planning Committee is asking candidates to respond to a final series of questions. We’ll post the responses to two questions each week on our electoral synod webpage and share those responses on Facebook and Twitter too.