05/14/2013 - FX ARCHIVE...

‘Being’ church for the missing generation (Beth Keith)

Beth Keith considers 'being' church for the missing generation.

The Church of England's annual statistics for 2011 were released to much fanfare last week with glowing reference being made to 'an increase in child and adult baptisms and a growing stability in weekly service attendance'.

All well and good you may think but the fact is that the Church, as a whole, is failing to reach or keep young adults – any stats on church attendance will tell you that. Only 11% of regular churchgoers are between the ages of 25 and 34, whilst 16% of the UK population is within that age group. In tracking church decline, the greatest losses per year are occurring amongst those aged 15 to 29.

But, and it's a big but, there are churches bucking this trend, churches which are attracting growing numbers of people in their 20s and 30s.

Over the last year I've been talking with leaders of churches who are reaching and discipling young adults of the so-called 'missing generation'. These include parish churches, traditional church plants and fresh expressions of church. It's been a privilege to hear stories of how these churches are developing and a challenge to discover more of the issues they have faced along the way.

When this qualitative research project started through Fresh Expressions (via their Young Adults Round Table) and Church Army, we were keen to look at churches based in different contexts and ensure we had examples of churches reaching young adults from a range of socio-economic and religious backgrounds. We didn't want to simply track large student churches.

As a result, I have identified five distinct types of young adults' church. They have different personalities, are of different sizes, connect with different kinds of young adults and practice faith differently. They are:

church planting hubs;

youth church grown up;

deconstructed church;

church on the margins;

context shaped church.

What did I find? Some larger churches, with young adult congregations gathering for a Sunday service alongside midweek groups, are effectively reaching middle class, well-educated young adults who previously attended church as children. They act as gathering points, and are highly effective in attracting, retaining and discipling Christian young adults for a vocational life of mission in the world and ministry in the church. These young adults tend to move on to family-based congregations as they grow up.

But the churches managing to reach young adults with no prior faith or church experience – and from a broader socio-economic background – exhibit very different traits and practices. Meeting more often around the dining table than the church building; eating together is the new 'Sunday service'. For these small sacramental communities, access to communal spaces, such as cafes, large vicarages and community houses, can make a crucial difference to their growth and sustainability.

These more experimental forms of Christian community are greatly affected by the level of support and connection with the wider church, particularly during times of transition. But their unconventional style can be a stumbling block to this. They face a number of challenges and issues remain about permissions, authorisation, and the appropriate administration of the sacraments, alongside questions about sustainability.

Young adults attending these types of churches may struggle to make the leap to more traditional forms of church as they get older. This suggests the determining factor here is not their age or life stage, and that these new forms of church will continue to grow and develop. The recognition of these small sacramental communities as church is vital, both for the sustainability of these fledgling churches and for the building up of the wider church.

You can read more about this and the five types of young adults' church in a 36-page report outlining the findings: copies of authentic faith: fresh expressions of church amongst young adults are available now.

d-church

The multimedia fresh expression of church started in December 2011 and has grown beyond all expectations. Elaine Lindridge explains more.

d-church offers a monthly, online, 'service' in real time and its members interact with one another via Facebook, Twitter and a blog to explore spirituality and create community in a digital world.

The original idea came from lay worker Chris Stephens of the Sunderland Methodist Circuit and a team of five of us now oversee its work. Our Facebook page has been 'liked' by 320 people and this gives them regular access to the online monthly service. The largest group of people using this are in the 35-44 age range.

An example of the project's outreach comes from one of the online gatherings. During the time of prayer, 18 people contributed something to the prayer wall, 155 accessed the prayers and at least 215 saw them. On occasion the outreach extends to several hundred people at a time. The most popular post was a quote from John Wesley which was used as a blessing; it reached over 2,636 people virally. The team is particularly delighted to have made contact with several people who are on the edge of church or faith.

d-church has also become a regular 'meeting' place for some Christians for whom gathered worship is not always easily accessible. While it was always intended to be a virtual meeting, the team have now developed this project in the 'real' world with 'd-church@' gatherings.

Questions as to the meaning of the letter 'd' are frequent and our response is deliberately vague. Does it mean digital? disciple? or even ‘de’ (as in those who once were part of church but are no longer)?

However people see it, we seek to encourage an online community gathering that is a safe place to discuss life and faith. It is for those who profess faith, seek faith and who doubt faith. It's for those who love the church and those who struggle with the church. Wherever you are, you are welcome to comment on the items, make prayer requests etc. We leave the contributions online for others to look at and comment on.

We try to follow the d-church 10 commandments:

do put God as number one

do remember to worship God and God alone

do blog about others in a way you would have them blog about you

do treat the feelings of others with kindness (no bad language please)

do walk in honesty, it's the best way to be

do express your thoughts and views even if you think they may challenge the views of others

do respect each other's views

do remember love is patient (especially if uploads fail)

do blog your own ideas (no copying without permission and also acknowledge source)

do have fun

Churches buck the trend to reach young adults

New research, released today, identifies five types of churches which are bucking the trend in reaching and discipling the ‘missing generation’ of people in their 20s and 30s.

Beth Keith, a tutor at Church Army in Sheffield, conducted the qualitative research project on behalf of Church Army and Fresh Expressions. Her report, authentic faith: fresh expressions of church amongst young adults, reflects the wide-ranging ways in which churches are tackling the fact that only 11% of regular churchgoers are between the ages of 25 and 34.

In the past 12 months, Beth has surveyed leaders of parish churches, traditional church plants and fresh expressions of church. The aim was to look at churches based in different contexts reaching young adults from a range of socio-economic and religious backgrounds – rather than simply tracking large student churches.

The five distinct types of young adults' church identified are:

church planting hubs;

youth church grown up;

deconstructed church;

church on the margins;

context shaped church.

Beth said,

They all have different personalities, are of different sizes, connect with different kinds of young adults and practice faith differently.

The research found that:

some larger churches, with young adult congregations gathering for a Sunday service alongside midweek groups, are effectively reaching middle class, well-educated young adults who previously attended church as children;

churches managing to reach young adults with no previous church experience – and from a broader socio-economic background – will more often see their young adults meeting around a dining table than in a church building because the getting together for a meal is very important in creating community

Beth added,

The first group of churches act as gathering points, and are highly effective in attracting, retaining and discipling Christian young adults for a vocational life of mission in the world and ministry in the church. These young adults tend to move on to family-based congregations as they grow up.

The second group exhibit very different traits and practices; these are churches where eating together is the new 'Sunday service'. For these small communities, access to communal spaces, such as cafes, large vicarages and community houses, can make a crucial difference to their growth and sustainability. Young adults attending these types of churches may struggle to make the leap to more traditional forms of church as they get older. This suggests the determining factor here is not their age or life stage and that these new forms of church will continue to grow and develop. The recognition of these small sacramental communities as church is vital, both for the sustainability of these fledgling churches and for the building up of the wider church.’

The 36-page report, authentic faith: fresh expressions of church amongst young adults is available to purchase now, both as a booklet and a downloadable PDF.