As our world starts to consider how we might move forward after the pandemic I have been thinking about how we should move forward with our youth and children’s ministry. The conversations I keep hearing are all about what do we ‘start again’ and what is it we have learnt during this time that needs to help shape how we move forward. I would probably say one discovery that many of us have realised is the accessibility of online youthwork and how it can include people who otherwise might not have walked into our youth groups or churches. Maybe though, like me, you have missed gathering people and simply cannot wait to get back to doing just that. However you are feeling it’s important not to rush straight back into the way we worked back in 2019.
My boy Zach did a project on the Great Fire of London a few years ago which gave us an opportunity to head down to London to see The Monument. Did you know in the fire 50% of the City of London was destroyed, 13,200 homes were destroyed rendering 80% of the population homeless. 87 of the 109 city churches were burnt to the ground and it took 50 years to rebuild the burnt area of London. It is clear that the fire had a huge impact of the lives of people.
I didn’t realise the significance of the words inscribed on the side of the base of The Monument. These words have returned to my mind as I think about how we rebuild youth and children’s ministry ‘after the fire’ of this last 18 months.
Here is a quote from the South Panel of the Great Fire off London Monument in London; “that public works should be restored to greater beauty, with public money, to be raised by an imposition on coals; that churches, and the cathedral of St. Paul’s, should be rebuilt from their foundations, with all magnificence; that the bridges, gates, and prisons should be new made, the sewers cleansed, the streets made straight and regular, such as were steep levelled and those too narrow made wider.”
I found a great resemblance to the language of Isaiah 58:
“Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.”
So, what do we repair and restore? What do we build from scratch? What do we design and create in a way that we have never done before? I think the really exciting language from The Monument is the idea of ‘streets made straight and regular, such as were steep, levelled and those too narrow, made wider!’. As people looked over the fire-damaged ruins of London they imagined a London that could be even better, a London that was magnificent, a London that was made new, a London that was fit for the purpose of the new season but also a London where the layout and design would mean another great fire could not be as destructive as it had been in 1666.
I would love us to look over the past 18 months, which for many of us may look like ‘ruins’, and dream big for the future. Let us look at the last 18 months and consider how we might rebuild. If we think about it this is a truly exciting opportunity. Often we get stuck in a rut and life can have a feeling of sameness! Not that we would ever give thanks for the pandemic, far too much life has been lost or fractured. But maybe if we looked at the pandemic as gifting us an opportunity to think differently, to build differently, to establish a new way of life that encourages community, servant-heartedness and embracing the simplicity of time with one another. I wonder whether Sir Christopher Wren, who was tasked with ‘rebuilding’ London, looked over the ruins of London and was actually strangely excited about the opportunity that lay before him? The author Terry Pratchett said this: “Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colours.”
I am finding life a bit of a balancing act at the moment, there is the excitement about all that is opening up and possible, and then there is the hesitancy of the pace at which we start things. This week I find myself in ‘isolation’ and so choosing to use that time to dream and imagine what ministry should look like in the coming months and years. I want to seek God for where we should be investing our creativity and energy. But at the same time I want to rebuild differently, I want to rebuild in a way which allows the life of my ministry and the good news of Jesus to freely flow and thrive. It’s vital we don’t just return to what we did before, but learn, adapt, create and include.
In the same way the City of London was rebuilt to open wide streets and communities, maybe we also should be looking outwards into our communities more and more?
So as we “rebuild and repair” our youth and children’s ministry, here are some thoughts…
Three things to avoid
– Don’t just start everything again without thinking about the implications of this new environment we find ourselves in. Ask yourself what ‘must’ we do to heal and grow.
– Don’t stay online too long. I know online ministry has been a blessing over the last year but for some people it has become the easy option. Try and create spaces of ‘full life’ community. Make it really difficult for people to not want to join you in person.
– Don’t try and ‘fix’ everything. Allow the new season to take shape over time. We don’t need to plan too far ahead as we are all still working what this new rhythm of life is like.
Three things we could try
– Build a bigger team! Spend time sharing your vision with the whole church and try and gather a whole range of volunteers and leaders to give their time and energy to the ministry. A simple way to include and gather more people is to ask them to be involved in the ministry in one of three ways (or all three!). Ask people to sign up to be either ‘someone who gives’, ‘someone who does’, ‘someone who prays’. This way you can allow everyone no matter their circumstances to be involved. All three areas are essential and by drawing people into one or more of them it gives you the chance to have an ongoing relationship with them and share how they can serve and support.
– Spend time chatting with parents, kids, young people, families and find out how the last 18 months has affected them and then ask their thoughts on what they need moving forward. Yes we have all been in the same storm, but our boats, our ability to sail, our companions in the boat and our fear of storms are all different. You may find that close community is one of the things most people have missed but also one of the things most people have relied on. How do we allow our ministry to wisely prioritise community and relationship over program and services.
– Just be together. Our church has spent the last few Sunday mornings just hanging out with our young people and it has been truly life-giving. More than ever relationships should be our priority. We need to make time for these and not rush to move onto a more rigid schedule. To start with our gatherings might be hard work as people have to get used to being together again. Some of us have forgotten how to be close to people, to be in a room with more than a few people. But I believe the community we can offer is the very best place to bring healing and restoration.
Three things we should remember
– God didn’t just take an 18 month holiday! I have no doubt that in the coming months and years God will reveal much to each of us about this season we have just experienced. I would consider taking some time to reflect on what God might have been saying/teaching in this season. Also take time to write down what you are thankful for, our thankfulness to God can really open doors to a new peace and a deeper relationship with Him. In the Old Testament Joseph experienced times of great fruitfulness and the presence of God even though he was sold into slavery, abandoned, wrongly accused and imprisoned.
– Some people enjoyed lockdown and online ministry. I know this might not be many people but it is worth taking a moment to listen to those in our groups who have thrived online. I know for us, some of the younger teenagers found online much easier than walking into a room full of their older peers. I have also ‘seen’ more people that found physically being at church difficult. Online was far from our ideal youth ministry environment but I think it’s important that we learn why some people found it ok and how this understanding can help shape our future plans.
– Be kind to yourself. There will be a new way of doing life and we mustn’t fall into the traps of comparison and perfection. We have all experienced something utterly unique to the entire world and we need to work through what this has done to our emotional, spiritual and mental health. We are still loved by God, we are still forgiven sinners, we are still called to show love and we are each used by God in a way that no one else can do like us.
“The only way that we can live, is if we grow. The only way that we can grow is if we change. The only way that we can change is if we learn. The only way we can learn is if we are exposed. And the only way that we can become exposed is if we throw ourselves out into the open. Do it. Throw yourself.”
― C. JoyBell C.
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