Hearing the voice of our young people 

If the young people in your church could be honest with you for half an hour about the joy and struggles of their life, what would they talk about? If they were to share with you the key moments of their faith journey and how God has been active in their lives, what stories would they tell? If they were invited to share their dreams about the future of the church, what kind of picture would they paint? 

As we journey with congregations and foster opportunities for these kinds of conversations and relationships, we are finding that we are both confronted and inspired. Inspired by the way that God is at work in the lives of so many young people. Inspired by their faith and their passion and their desire to grow and make a difference in the lives of others.  

We would also be challenged: by how much we assume but don’t know. Challenged by how our young people connect with God in ways that might seem different to us. Challenged by their hopes and dreams for their church to be a place where they can passionately connect with God and confidently invite their friends into faith. 

Our Ministry & Mission Growing Young journey is helping congregations start these conversations, discover the life and faith of their young people and discover the ways that God is already at work and the possibilities that may be ahead of them. 

Our growing young facilitated process involves: 

• working with a church’s leadership through the Growing Young material (https://churchesgrowingyoung.com); 
• providing support and training for the development of intergenerational relationships; 
• facilitating times of listening to the voice of young people (these can be within your community or through other connections); 
• Church-wide surveys and the development of a report that will help your community understand the areas where you are best equipped to engage in effective ministry with young people. 

Each church community is different in their DNA and each has a rich heritage of ministry and a unique future for where God wants to lead them next. Our aim is to come alongside that and help you discover and understand your young people within that context and help you discover what the unique next steps are for you.  

We are looking for new churches to partner with in this process for 2022 and would love your community to consider embarking on this journey. We would love to talk further with you about what this Process might look like in your setting so please get in touch and we can start a conversation.  

Contact: 

Tom.schmidt@qld.lca.org.au 0413 515 069 

Kathy.matuschka@qld.lca.org.au 0460 604 827 

From the LCAQD Minsitry & Mission team