THE Church of England’s 30K project — to recruit 30,000 youth ministers over the next decade — is described as “an audacious task”.
A primary commitment of Vision and Strategy, adopted by the General Synod in 2019, is to double the number of children and young active disciples in churches by 2030. It is all part of an effort to arrest the decline that has left many churches with no young people.
The goal is to put a church with a thriving children’s and youth ministry within the reach of every child and young person: to change the whole culture of the Church of England to make it younger and more diverse.
It has an acronym — CYPF (Children, Young People and Families) — and itself arises out of the Growing Faith Foundation, which seeks to put children “instinctively at the heart of all the mission and ministry of the Church.”
“Young people are like butterflies: they’re with us for a while, but soon they move on because they grow up,” the Professor of Practical Theology at Durham University, Pete Ward, reflected (Features 26 April 2024). Many members of church youth groups — often set up to involve and retain young people — do not go on to be adult members of the congregation. This means fewer young adults in the church, and, in turn, fewer children and young people who might form the basis of future groups.
He described the channelling of resources into projects such as 30K as “extraordinarily good news for those of us who have worked in this sector for many years”, but wanted thought to be given to its theological underpinning and to why previous funding had not had the hoped-for results.
Anecdotally, he says, “congregations that want to hire a full-time or part-time youth minister find recruitment extremely difficult, because there are very few trained youth ministers out there.” Of the 30,000 recruits, 23,000 will be volunteers, and 3000 will have been trained as employed Children, Young People and Families (CYPF) ministers.
Grants are starting to be allocated to pilot training projects. More details are promised on what is described as “a suite of undergraduate and postgraduate courses on [CYPF]”; but some theological colleges have been ahead of the game for a while, among them Cranmer Hall, Durham.
Some students do come into college aware of a vocation to ministry with children and young people, Cranmer Hall’s Dean of Anglican Formation, the Revd Sarah Strand, says. Some of these may have held significant positions in that field, and are now seeking ordination, and they bring their passions and gifts with them, she says. Others develop a passion for this ministry, as they further explore and discern their calling. But, uniquely, at Cranmer, all ordinands take a compulsory first-year module that is an introduction to Growing Faith.
She describes it as “an overview of ministry in churches, homes, and schools, both from a theological and a practical prospective. Practitioners come in and give them the opportunity to reflect on what ministry to children and young people will look like in their future roles. There’s the core academic module, and then there are lots of other opportunities for them to have placements during their training, and study weeks with a special focus to engage in different ways.”
Given the prominence of the strategy in C of E thinking, it may be wondered whether every minister in the Church will have to have all the skills needed for working in this field, but, she emphasises, “We’re absolutely not expecting them to be able to do everything. There’s a Growing Faith module that has been part of the bigger culture-change over the last five years, and all ordinands do all-age worship on Monday afternoons with our families.
“But what I’d say when we equip them for leading these services is that I don’t expect everyone to be extremely proficient, or love action songs. What we really want them to have is a sense of what, theologically, is important, and how to build teams, and how to create an environment in which everyone of all ages can flourish.
“There are going to be people for whom it’s the thing that they love most, but not for others — but they need to know enough, and why it’s important, so that they are then able to enable and equip other people.”
DO THEOLOGICAL colleges feel that the onus is on them to be the answer to everything that the General Synod is seeking to do, to make the C of E’s culture more youthful? They do have a significant part to play, and responsibility, in their sphere of influence, and in the students and the practical knowledge and skills that they have, Mrs Strand concedes; but she doesn’t consider that they feel that everything is hanging on them.
And there is both optimism and realism in the students who are training: realism, she suggests, in knowing that they may be going to churches where there are not currently many children and young people. “I don’t think they approach it in a negative way, and I think that, as they respond to vocation, and get exposed to a lot of different things, they still remain hopeful.”
The college has also launched a certificate in children’s and youth ministry, and its first cohort started in September. Like the C of E, it is aware of the level of ambition behind 30K, and of the national discussion about children’s ministry, vocations, and “pipelines” (the generation of vocations and pathways into training and careers for those who discern a call to youth and children’s ministry), and also of the need to ensure that people working in this field are properly paid and supported, and have career progression.
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“There’s a recognition that, over the last 50 years, perhaps, this conversation hasn’t been held in a way that prioritised these things, and a sense within 30K that culture change will take time. There’s a lot of reality about some of the statistics, but any improvement is helpful,” she suggests.
“There’s a core aspect of discipleship and worship and formation in theological education that has kind of been inherited from the Church for centuries, and that will continue. But there’s a sense, too, of needing to respond to the contemporary.
“I’m encouraged by the people that I see coming through our doors, whether they’re lay ministers or ordinands. We’ve got a significant Free Church cohort as well in the students who’ve come for our new certificate. I’m really encouraged by the future of the Church that’s in their hands. I think it’s all really positive steps.”
RIDLEY HALL, Cambridge, is teaching youth ministry across three academic levels, the most established training being the BA degree in Youth Ministry with Theology for Ministry and Mission. Its newest training offer is the Catalyst course, developed in partnership with the 30K project, and aimed at people who want more training in youth and children’s ministry, but don’t want to — or can’t yet — commit themselves to studying for a degree.
The training works alongside placements that the students are already ministering in, as part of the one of the college’s stated values — developing and building on contextual wisdom — and covers teaching in five main areas: learning, relationships, culture, discipleship, and groups and inclusion.
“We have just finished training our first cohort of 130 students, and it has been so wonderful to hear about the diversity of work with children and young people,” a youth-ministry tutor, Rebecca Dean, says. “We’ve just launched our second cohort with even more students, and this has been really exciting, especially growing our work with more northerly dioceses.”
Ridley Hall’s Youth Ministry BA students live around the UK work in youth-ministry placements around the UK, normally for churches or Christian charities, and come into Ridley Hall for block teaching. “This capitalises on our value for integrating theological understanding with practical skills, especially in a time where youth ministers are having to respond to the ever-changing social landscapes of young people,” she suggests.
The students are taught for the same Durham Common Awards as ordinands in TEIs. “It’s important to us that youth ministers have the same theological tools and calibre for their ministry. We are then able to add specific modules for their understanding of youth ministry, where they can learn about topics such as adolescent development, approaches to youth ministry, and exploring how to develop mission with youth people outside of the church.”
Ridley Hall also has a youth-ministry offering at MA level: a part-time course enabling students to continue to grow in their practical leadership skills alongside more specialist training. It hopes to begin supporting students in doctoral research too, “so needed in the field of youth ministry”, Dr Dean concludes.
St Mellitus reports that it is also very active in the field, through its Emerging Generations options at certificate, diploma, or BA level, for those with an interest in reflecting on ministry and mission to children, young people, and young adults.
A youth-ministry and undergraduate tutor, Dr Mark Scanlan, says: “Having been committed to theologically rich training for youth ministry for 15 years, we are excited to further invest this in partnership with the 30K project, using our experience to play our part in raising up a new generation of youth and children’s ministers for the Church.”