AYCF Resource of the Month

Here2Stay.org.au

 

 

There are two times in life when it seems many young people drop out of going to Church: the first is the early teen / tween years (11-14) and the other is the transition time between high school and uni or work (17-21).

 

The first of these times is a source of concern for churches across many denominations in many countries. In Australia, a substantial group of ministry leaders has come together to address the problem as directly as possible, and Here2Stay.org.au is the result.

 

Here2Stay is more than a program: it is a meta-strategy of "10 pillars": 10 areas of experience that churches need to be providing to children in order for it to be likely that children will stay in the church as teens, then as adults. As they say on the site, "Scripture presumes that faith formation occurs within intergenerational, familial and community settings. It is time to regain these priorities."

 

These 10 pillars are:

Anticipating, honouring and celebrating our ‘transitions’ and ‘rites of passage':

1. Anchors/Rites of Passage

Take the time to listen, to be encouraging, to be available, to be accepting.

Mentors and life coaches

A place where God meets you, stretches and inspires you … and transformation happens.

Peak experiences

Discipleship is about being intentional, relational and holistic in creating a culture of lifelong formation across the ages.

Generational connections

We are not mean to travel alone in this life … true friends are important!

Positive peer community

Model the compassion of Jesus in response to the needs of the world around us.

Respond with compassion

Be intentional about providing spaces to encounter Jesus …

Encounters with Jesus

Understanding the BIG STORY of the BIBLE is important in faith formation …

Big story of the Bible

Encourage the board spectrum of ages to be involved in mission …

Serve in mission

Families (households) are the primary faith communities for all ages …

Family/household nurture

 

Although I always tell churches that there is no way they will be able to do all ten every week, it is important to think about what your church is offering in each of these ten areas, and the website is full of practical suggestions gathered from people right across Australia.

 

Have a look at www.here2stay.org.au and see whether you agree that these are the ten areas where we need to provide young Christians with the spiritual experiences to help them develop maturity in Christ.

 

For more resources like this, visit www.AYCF.org.au.   



Diary Notes

There's never a dull moment in youth and children's ministry around the Diocese! Here are some quick bites of what's been happening lately...

11 May: SN@P Night at Bardon Parish!

The Larks in full flight

Highlights for me included the techno duo 'Three Point' and the band called 'The Larks': both very impressive! Well done to Youth Minister Nathan Haywood and Rector the Rev Colin Nicholson for making it happen.

12 May: SN@P Night at Hendra-Clayfield Parish!

24 Hours later and there's Chris Richards again setting up sound and lighting for another SN@P night. This was a more intimate setting with a different feel from the night before. I enjoyed a father-son vocal/guitar duo and also Hannah and Brenton singing together. Well done to the Rev Iain Moore for supporting this initiative, and to Chris for all of the technical work behind the scenes.

The Rev Iain Moore at the first Hendra-Clayfield SN@P night.

What is SN@P?  The SN@P Collective Facebook page is probably the best place to start. SN@P is designed as a first-level activity of engaging with the community and having people come to their local Anglican church when they wouldn't ordinarily do so.

19 May: Pentecost

Loved our Pentecost service at St Lucia which is always colourful and usually has lots of participation from young people. Helium balloons and a big cake were the go, as four children were admitted to Communion.

Christ Church St Lucia Pentecost 2012

In the afternoon, I visited Kenmore parish for their Pentecost Messy Church.  Unfortunately they were up against some very attractive events for kids (like the nearby Brookfield Show!) so numbers were modest, but I enjoyed meeting the participants and volunteer helpers who were there: it is very true that Messy Church is for all ages, not just for kids.

I was very happy to jump on to a table alongside Youth and Children's Minister Brittany Leam, where we were constructing windchimes.
 

After that, it was on to the yummiest table: "Edible Apostles" - yay! See Recipe instructions in the picture below.

The Ven. Bev Bell was all smiles: a) because Messy Church is fun and b) because she was leaving for a well-deserved and lengthy period of Long Service Leave the next day!  Have a great break, Bev!

On 21 May, I met with Bishop Alison Taylor for the first time, and it was great to have the opportunity to outline some of the strategies we are carrying out at AYCF.  I felt +Alison was rather impressed by how much is happening, so thank YOU for your part in that, whatever it may be.

22 May: Went to a great seminar run by Terry Williams and the Queensland Children's Ministry Network (QCMN), of which we are proud members.
The seminar at New Farm highlighted a cross-denominational project called Here2Stay (www.here2stay.org.au) which seeks to address the problem of people leaving the Church in their early teens.  This 'drop-out' is seen across denominations and across national borders, so the broader the response, the better. Check out the website for the first steps in our response.

Speaking of cross-denominational activity, it was good to then have a coffee with my friend and colleague Aaron Glover, the Director of Lutheran Youth of Queensland (www.lyq.org.au), a group I've admired for a long time. They run very professional, efficient youth ministry and I've learnt a lot from observing them.  Aaron and I discussed a range of topics of mutual interest including campsites and appeal projects.  More to come on those...

23 May: Time for another little road-trip which I usually enjoy.  This time it was a Sunshine Coast Area Deanery meeting at Pomona (Cooroora parish, named after the striking peak which dominates the area, and where they hold an annual 'King of the Mountain' run up and down each year. I know from past experience it's a tough, steep walk with a chain as a handrail at certain points. We had a nice lunch and meeting where I could outline what we're doing in AYCF ministry and how we may be able to assist the parishes represented. Many thanks to the Rev. Gillian Moses for her hospitality, and to Area Dean the Rev Ken Goodger for his kind invitation to appear.
(I might add that Pomona also has some renowned geocaches in the area, so I'll be back for sure, one way or another.)

25 May: Fiona Hammond and I presented a seminar on "Cybertweens: understanding child culture and offering authenticity" to the GFS Leaders Weekend.  The venue (Toc-H House at Bongaree) seemed like a great choice and we were very happy to be spending more time with this great group of people, gathered from as far away as Bundaberg.  Well done Chris Rooney for organising this weekend, and it was great to catch up with our friends from GFS / Kidsplus+ who do excellent work with their program of kids' clubs and sponsorship of many different projects.

So after all that, at the time of writing, we are just a few days away from the RISE day at St Francis College, Milton, which we hope and pray will be as successful as it was last year. Praying for presenters and attendees at RISE - that all may be blessed by what is said and heard.

Until next time - the Lord be with you!