Context
In Spring of 2011, the Communities in Ministry/Communautés et ministères Unit-wide Committee was charged by the Permanent Committee: Programs in Mission and Ministry (PC:PMM) to develop a new strategy for Youth and Young Adult Ministry. The strategy was to be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound, and lay before the church what could be expected over the next triennium from the General Council with regards to Youth and Young Adult Ministry. In Autumn of 2014 a task group was struck to evaluate progress on the strategy and propose directions for the coming triennium.
The United Church of Canada is at a critical moment in its life. In order to engage young people and people of all ages, we must learn to see the world differently and we must learn to see the church differently. We must move beyond seeing ourselves as small, self-enclosed affinity groups that protect our own people and our own interests. We must focus on something other than our own survival and self-preservation. Churches must re-engage with their neighbourhoods, not to attract neighbours into the church, but to discover where God is already active in the neighbourhood and to join God’s mission to love creation through loving the neighbourhood. This strategy seeks to promote and develop a missional mindset for youth and young adult ministry in the United Church.
Evaluation of Current Strategy
There were five foci of the strategy and specific programs within each focus area:
1. Networking
a) Creation of a Regional YAYA Staff Network
b) Development of a National First Third Ministry Association
c) Improved Involvement and Integration of Young People in the work of General Council
2. Leadership Development
a) Regional Internship Program for Young Adults
b) General Council Youth Forum
c) Support for Campus Ministries
d) Support for United Church Camping
e) New Funding for Continuing Education in YAYA Ministry & Reorganization of Vision Fund
3. Credentialing
a) Analyses and Communication of Current Pathways to Paid Accountable YAYA Ministry
b) Partnership with A.S.T. in Development of MDiv Honours Program with YAYA Specialization
4. Mission Engagement
a) Regional Internship Program for Young Adults (see above)
b) Support for SCM and WSCF
c) Global and Ecumenical Engagement in Partnership with the Partners in Mission Unit
d) New Funding for Exemplary Mission-Related Programs & Reorganization of Vision Fund
5. National Gatherings
a) Rendez-vous
b) General Council Youth Forum
c) Camping Connections
d) YAYA Presence at Other National Gatherings
While most of the programs were engaged with relative success, funding for the Regional Internship Program was not found and the Communities in Ministry/Communautés et ministères Unit-wide Committee voted to remove it from the strategy in 2013. There have also been no youth-specific visits to global partners sponsored by the General Council in this triennium although significant support for such experiences was offered through the Vision Fund to local congregations or regional ministries. Previous Youth for Peace exposure trips to Israel/Palestine and Colombia were significant and life changing experiences for participants. Many of the participants have remained actively engaged in social justice campaigns and actions of the church. The First Third Ministry Association is still relatively small and fragile, but holds significant promise and requires further support.
Outcomes of the current strategy include a deepening of relationships amongst conference and presbytery YAYA staff due to the annual gathering. They develop collaborative projects, providing feedback and evaluative support for both regional and national YAYA initiatives. This connection has also provided a path of mutual participation in planning for and contributing to General Council programs and resources.
A recent informal survey of youth, young adults, and their leaders indicated that all groups felt “most connected” to the United Church of Canada through Rendez-vous and other national events. 71% of youth respondents felt most connected through Rendez-vous and 41% through conference and presbytery events. Amongst young adult respondents, 63% named Rendez-vous and 48% indicated their local churches have made them feel most connected. For adults, 92% felt most connected to the United Church through Rendez-vous and other national events while 50% named their local church as the place they felt the most connection. Clearly, national events such as Rendez-vous foster a connection between young people and the United Church, as well as between YAYA leaders and the church.
Finding ways to foster a sense of identity as Christians and as members of The United Church of Canada continues to be important to this Youth and Young Adult Strategy. Finding connection and developing relationships and networks of support and collaboration are equally important if we are to develop sustainable models of ministry with, for, and by youth, young adults, and their leaders.
The task group used the current strategy as a foundation for a new strategy. The task group also acknowledges the directions of the Comprehensive Review Task Group and their plan to recommend “a faith project with significant resources to renew current ministry, enable new forms of ministry, enliven and equip our leadership, and lift up and celebrate our successful ministries.” Increased meaningful engagement with youth and young adults must be included in this project, and so the strategy is bold in its scope. If the results of the Comprehensive Review and consequent decisions by the General Council should decrease staffing and funding for ministry with youth and young adults at the General Council Office, the strategy may be used as a guide for ministry with youth and young adults in regional and local settings.
Our Vision
We pray that the Holy Spirit empowers youth and young adults as they partner with others and continue to enliven and transform The United Church of Canada in service of the mission of God. A Song of Faith states, “We sing of God’s good news lived out, a church with purpose: faith nurtured and hearts comforted, gifts shared for the good of all, resistance to the forces that exploit and marginalize, fierce love in the face of violence, human dignity defended, members of a community held and inspired by God, corrected and comforted, instrument of the loving Spirit of Christ, creation’s mending. We sing of God’s mission.”
We gather so that youth and young adults discover their identity as Christians, within the expression called The United Church of Canada. From A New Creed we remember that, “We are called to be the Church: to celebrate God’s presence…to proclaim Jesus...our judge and our hope.” A Song of Faith states, “We are called together by Christ as a community of broken but hopeful believers...”
We unite leaders and youth and young adults to collaborate, share experiences and resources, network and find support in our common call. A New Creed reminds us that “we are not alone.” A Song of Faith states, “So God creates the universe and with it the possibility of being and relating.”
We equip young people and their leaders to:
· Recognize and claim their gifts of the Spirit to enhance the church and community;
· Confidently know, live, and share the stories of God’s people; and
· Live as disciples of Christ, carrying out God’s mission.
The original Basis of Union of the United Church of Canada recognizes that the church should exist for the “up-building of the saints.” A Song of Faith reminds us, “We are each given particular gifts of the Spirit. For the sake of the world, God calls all followers of Jesus to Christian ministry.”
We engage young people to act with love, pursuing the mission of God in the world; believing personal transformation, social and systemic change will create a more just world. A New Creed calls us to “…love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil…” According to Song of Faith “In and with God, we can direct our lives toward right relationship with each other and with God.”
Components
We Gather (National Gatherings) – The first connection a young person makes with a faith community is always local, whether that is through a camp, church, campus ministry, etc. National gatherings, however, serve a unique role in the overall ministry of the United Church of Canada. They allow young people to experience and explore the diversity of the church that isn’t always represented locally. For some youth and young adults local and regional ministries may be limited or non-existent and national gatherings can help them realize that they are not alone in finding a place of acceptance and ministry in The United Church of Canada. Such events can be personally transformative and can be the spark that fosters a life-long involvement in the church. They do not substitute for long-term local ministries, but hopefully energize and inspire participants to create meaningful opportunities in their regional and local settings. The YAYA Strategy affirms the important roles played by three YAYA-specific national events (Youth Forum, Camping Connections, and Rendez-vous) and the importance of including a YAYA presence at national events open to the wider church.
For Rendez-vous 2014 the Regional Financial Development Officers of the Philanthropy Unit offered an opportunity for directed giving for those interested in supporting the event. The effort showed huge potential as the officers raised over $40,000 in directed donations for the event. With this success in mind, the General Council commits to the continuation of funding for national YAYA events. Ecumenical partnerships will be explored to broaden the scope and share the financial liability of these events. The General Council also commits to do all possible to ensure that national events create spaces in which people are affirmed for who they are as diverse children of God. The events will intentionally model diverse leadership and radical welcome to young people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, varied theological perspectives, and diverse expressions of gender and sexual identity. The General Council will provide tools and resources that will help young people tell the stories of these experiences in meaningful ways so that the whole church is impacted by the energy and transformation that occurs at national events.
We Unite (Networks) – Finding ways to unite youth to youth, young adults to young adults, leaders to leaders, and across the generations is an important component of the strategy. YAYA ministry can be lonely, challenging, and isolating. Leaders need opportunities for personal faith development and accountability in the midst of these challenges. When connections are made, either in person or electronically, resources and ideas can be shared and collaboration resulting in stronger relationships and support for our common call will occur. With limited resources of time and money, finding ways to collaborate is essential. The YAYA Strategy seeks to create more intentional networks, especially for those in leadership roles. Under this strategy, the General Council commits to the following pieces of work:
· Regional YAYA Staff Network:
General Council commits to hosting an annual, gathering for regional YAYA staff people. The purpose of the gathering will be for information sharing, relationship building, collaboration, study of societal shifts and trends, and best practices in YAYA ministry,
· National First Third Ministry Association:
General Council commits to strengthening a national association of first third ministry practitioners. First third ministry is a term used in describing the collection of ministry fields that serve people between the ages of 0 to 30 – roughly the first third of life. A first third ministry association would be made up of leaders (volunteers and paid accountable) from the various circles of youth ministry, campus ministry, camping ministry and children’s ministry.
A team will be assembled to develop criteria and benefits for membership. Experts will be recruited to provide content and commit to responding to questions. Intentional promotion will occur.
· Online Networks:
General Council commits to continuing support to youth, young adults, and their leaders through online groups and communities. The recent survey indicated that Facebook is still the most widely used form of online community for young people and their leaders. All groups still use Facebook as a way to network and to both receive and share information. Currently, besides the First Third Ministry Facebook group, there is a group for Youth and Young Adults, a group for the Regional YAYA leaders, and groups formed around events such as Rendez-vous and General Council Youth Forum. There is also a Faith in Action Facebook group and e-newsletter that highlights the work of United Church ministries that function outside of congregations: Affirm United/S’affirmer Ensemble Affirming Ministries; Camping Ministries; Campus Ministries; Chaplaincies; Community & Social Justice Ministries; Education Centres; Seniors’ Facilities; Theological Schools. We must also continue to discern the uses of other forms of social media in our ministry with youth and young adults.
We Equip (Equipping Leaders) – Part of General Council’s work is to connect leaders with the people, resources and opportunities they need to succeed. Equipping and supporting leaders in YAYA ministry, therefore, is a key part of the strategy’s focus, and the General Council commits to the following pieces of work:
· The Vision Fund:
The Vision Fund will be reimagined as a way to incubate, foster, and fund new, entrepreneurial and sustainable ministries with, for, and by youth and young adults. The General Council will bring together creative and resourceful leaders seeking to reimagine and birth new and sustainable ministries for youth and young adults. Regional training events and ongoing cohort groups will be established to develop sustainable and missional YAYA ministries. The regional training events will also include interested donors and voices from the margins.
The General Council will continue to provide $150,000 per year for grants to United Church congregations and ministries that commit to receiving training, participation in cohort groups, and continued relationship with denominational staff, councils, or structures. Additionally, a preference will be given to projects that are inter-cultural and missional, e.g. reaching out to young people in the community.
For leaders seeking to pursue continuing education in the field of YAYA ministry, the General Council will maintain funds in the amount of $25,000 annually for continuing education bursaries. Special consideration will be given to young people and leaders from remote settings.