Transcript Slide 1

Presentation by
Katherine Lyddon
Diocesan Children’s Work Adviser
Employing a Children’s and
Families Worker
Christ among the children Emil Nolder 1910
One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands
on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.
But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom
of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” And he placed his hands
on their heads and blessed them before he left.
Matthew 19:13-15
Children involved
in church
1830 1 million
1850 2 million
1880
4 million
1910 6 million
1998 500 000
12“What do you think? If a
man owns a hundred sheep,
and one of them wanders
away, will he not leave the
ninety-nine on the hills and
go to look for the one that
wandered off? 13And if he
finds it, I tell you the truth, he
is happier about that one
sheep than about the ninetynine that did not wander
off. 14In the same way your
Father in heaven is not
willing that any of these little
ones should be lost.
Matthew 18:10-14
The Next
Generation
The question is
in 10 years
Don’t be
afraid; from
now on you
will be
catching
people
Luke 5:10
Is your church treating children like fish?
-stocking the freezer for use in the future?
-Keeping the fish in the net (containing and entertaining)?
-or just moving them from aquarium to aquarium (catching children
from other churches)?
Children should not
be regarded as an
‘insurance policy’
Children are a
blessing, an integral
part of the Church
of today, and a sign
of the kingdom of
God among us.
In Luke 5:4-9 Jesus orders his disciples to cast out into
the deep, to do something new and risky. They moaned
but did it anyway. The harvest was more than they could
carry.
Matthew 28
19Therefore, go and make
disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and the Son
and the Holy Spirit. 20Teach
these new disciples to obey all
the commands I have given
you. And be sure of this: I am
with you always, even to the
end of the age.”
Not stay, but go!
Post-Christendom
Those who were 10 years old in 1950
brought up their children in the 1970s when
religion in schools and organizations was
actively discouraged, and the traditional SS
had become tired and lacklustre.
They are now fast approaching retirement,
and of them 70% were not in Sunday
School. That means that the majority of
even the elderly are non-churched.
80% of the average church population made a conscious decision
to be a follower of Jesus Christ before the age of 14.
More changes
than at any other
time in history:
Children’s life and
culture in the last 30
years.
WORK
1980s
2010
Work was one job
24 hours everything
9-5
flexible shifts
5 days a week
job shares
50+ hour weeks
work away from home M-F
multi jobs with minimum
wage
FAMILY TIME
Meals together
Cars (stranger danger,
inadequate public
transport)
Sunday’s together
Eat in shifts
Walk and talk
Lone parents encouraged
to work
Lots of after school/
weekend activities to
attend
=Less talk time
FAMILY LIFE
One family
Extended family close
by
22% Live in lone parent
family
10% live with step
families
Swapping between 2 or
more houses
Grandparents far away
Extended family now
consists of teacher, child
minder, after school club.
SUNDAYS
Rest
Only work free day
Church
House work
Shopping
Sports
DIY
Visiting relatives (no longer
local)
FREE TIME
Play in the
street
Sport
Reading
TV (including in children’s
room)
Family walks
Computers 53% 2004
Mobile phones 25% 2004
•less time talking with parents
• children will text/email rather than pick up
the phone and speak to others.
Page 4,5
Children and the church today
Extended working hours, dispersed and broken
families, with the pressures of a consumerist society
leave many families with little time together at
weekends. Some parents may want to take their
children to church occasionally but it is a small matter
on the edge of a crowded schedule. For many more,
church services are strange events with no relevance
to the life of the average young family. Moreover,
today's’ children are not encouraged to walk more
than short distances or travel without adults, so have
less opportunity to go to church on their own than
was the case in previous generations.
18th century time of great
change. The Industrial
revolution brought movement
from rural to urban and
churches did not keep up.
Children poor living
conditions.
Dawn of 19th century brought
social reform and helped to
protect children, Robert
Raikes worked in prisons and
decided prevention is better
than punishment. He
responded to the needs of his
community by teaching in the
streets on Sundays.
•Time of great change
•Responded to the needs of the community
•Teachers were recruited
Skilled children’s worker
•Able to communicate with all ages
•To ‘Go’ to children and families
•To help the rest of the church
adapt to new ways of doing church
The Future
a)Church will happen at almost any time
and any place.
b) It will be incarnational in that it will
change in order to engage with children.
d) It will include worship that has a sense
of the presence of God, and helps
children develop their own prayer lives.
e) It will be nurturing: telling the story of
God’s loving relationship with his people,
and ours with each other.
f) It will be inclusive in that all will genuinely
be welcome. Some groups will be
designed for children, while others will be
for the parents and children together.
g) It will be transforming, looking towards the
future, because it will give each person an
opportunity to worship and have a
relationship with God. That changes lives.
Signs of hope
After years of falling numbers and the
church's having lessening contact with
children, it seems that the tide is
beginning to turn.
Numbers are rising as more and more
churches find imaginative and varied
ways of letting children hear and
respond to the Christian story.
Signs of hope
Many schools are looking for advice on
the spiritual dimension of education.
Far fewer parents are refusing
permission for their children to attend
religious services than a decade ago.
Relationships between schools and
local churches is being restored.
Today, many children are learning and
experiencing the Christian faith in
other ways and places besides
Sunday in church, and there is a
growing appreciation that these forms
of outreach need to be owned and
resourced by the local and wider
Church.
Fremington
Children and Families Worker
St. Paul’s and St George
Children and Family Worker
Alphington
Children and Families Worker
St. Paul’s Devonport
Children’s Worker
Emmanuel, Plymouth
Families Minister
St Andrew’s Cullompton
Children and Family Minister
Honiton
Children’s Officer
Holy Trinity with Littleham
Children, Youth and
Families Worker