UK: Church missing the opportunity to speak to young people about key issues, report warns [VirtueOn

UK: Church missing the opportunity to speak to young people about key issues, report warns



UK: Church missing the opportunity to speak to young people about key issues, report warns

EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE
http://www.eauk.org/c
Jan. 10, 2017

The majority of churches in Great Britain are failing to talk to young people about the issues they're facing, according to new research.

Youthscape, a Luton-based charity delivering innovative youth work across the country, has launched a report call Losing Heart, which surveyed 2,054 churches across England, Scotland and Wales to identify the needs of those working with children and young people.

The report found only half of churches "often" speak to their young people about the basics of the Christian faith.

Chris Curtis, the CEO of Youthscape, said: "This report is more a sober warning from a doctor than an autopsy of a dead body. Youth and children's work in churches isn't dead, but we're badly out of shape and a change of lifestyle is urgently required."

Losing Heart claims the majority of the churches "never" discuss the subjects of pornography, same-sex attraction, other world faiths and drugs and addiction with their young people.

In the report, Youthscape writes: "We were surprised to see the results ... which reveal that only 50.2 per cent of the churches regularly talk about the basic beliefs of the Christian faith with their young people, and under 10 per cent of the churches surveyed regularly talk about sex and relationships, other world faiths and pornography in their youth groups."

Youthscape also found that churches, especially smaller ones, do far more children's work than youth work.

Nearly all churches polled offered some form of children's work on a Sunday, although this varied from 80.3 per cent of small churches (up to 50 congregants) and 98.7 per cent of large churches (more than 150 congregants).

However, the same was not true for youth work: 89.1 per cent of the large churches offered youth work on a Sunday, while only 49.7 per cent of the small churches did.

The disparity is also seen in the effectiveness of the ministry offered.

While only half of respondents believe their youth work to be effective, nearly three quarters -- 73.9 per cent -- believe their children's work is effective.

Shockingly, 41.4 per cent of the small churches surveyed said their youth work was "ineffective".


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