Strong relationships can go a long way…

So many churches yearn to have young people, but can often be unsure how to make it happen. Some might be tempted to think they need more money and resources, but in our benefice, we have no paid youth worker, a small investment of £1000 in youth work each year and we regularly work with a group of sixteen 11–18 year olds each week. How have we done this? The key is to find the time, energy and motivation to invest in their lives. In our context, we open our home in the vicarage to them every week. Its noisy, inconvenient, messy and I love it. Each week we have fun, we talk, we worship and we work out what following Jesus should look like.

In addition to this, we offer our young people opportunities to take a lead in church. We prepare and equip young people to help lead worship, lead services and preach. Our congregations really seem to appreciate their musical skills.

It would be easier for my team and I to do these things, but Jesus invested time with his disciples, and we are trying to do the same. As a result, we have a group of young people who understand that relationships matter and that are passionate about Jesus. We also have some potential Ordinands, several young people doing Growing Young Leaders, some leading Christian Unions in school, and young people sitting on PCCs.

It hasn’t been easy, but I am convinced that the key to our success has been the quality of the relationships and the time we have invested in these remarkable young people.

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Revd Andy Ackroyd is Team Rector in The United Benefice of Cheswardine, Childs Ercall, Hales, Hinstock, Sambrook, and Stoke-on-Tern. He loves cricket so much he Captains the Diocese of Lichfield Team, he supports Leeds United Football Club, and is affectionately referred to by the young people at church as Boris because of an unfortunate hair incident.