A long way out
So we gathered on Friday for "ASBOs, gangs and God". A few people I was hoping would come couldn't make it, but enough of us turned out to make it worthwhile.
The conversation seemed to focus on 2 main things:
i) How mission to young people "at the edge" links with church as we know it
ii) How we engage with young people - what's happening, sharing experiences etc.
On the first point we covered some good ground of missiology and ecclesiology. How much is the agenda for this kind of work "owned" by the churches who may be paying the workers wages of supplying the volunteers? What do the results of such mission look like? Should we expect "integration"? When or where does "proclamation" come into it?
Not sure we came to any conclusions - it would be great to post about how we solved the issues - but the journey was helpful!
On the second question of engagement, seems a variety of projects and approaches are being used, which is good. From clubs, to detatched work, schools stuff to "Appropraite Adult" (accompanying young people to court).
I was challenged and encouraged by some of the stories shared about nitty gritty engagement. This stuff is not glamorous or high profile, but we need desperately need churches engaged in the urban setting.
We also spoke about how to continue the conversation. It was great to have Graham with us keeping the Anglican side up. This is surely just the start
So we gathered on Friday for "ASBOs, gangs and God". A few people I was hoping would come couldn't make it, but enough of us turned out to make it worthwhile.
The conversation seemed to focus on 2 main things:
i) How mission to young people "at the edge" links with church as we know it
ii) How we engage with young people - what's happening, sharing experiences etc.
On the first point we covered some good ground of missiology and ecclesiology. How much is the agenda for this kind of work "owned" by the churches who may be paying the workers wages of supplying the volunteers? What do the results of such mission look like? Should we expect "integration"? When or where does "proclamation" come into it?
Not sure we came to any conclusions - it would be great to post about how we solved the issues - but the journey was helpful!
On the second question of engagement, seems a variety of projects and approaches are being used, which is good. From clubs, to detatched work, schools stuff to "Appropraite Adult" (accompanying young people to court).
I was challenged and encouraged by some of the stories shared about nitty gritty engagement. This stuff is not glamorous or high profile, but we need desperately need churches engaged in the urban setting.
We also spoke about how to continue the conversation. It was great to have Graham with us keeping the Anglican side up. This is surely just the start
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