Hannah Felsbourg
23 October 2024
A new initiative is calling for urgent prayer and action to address the growing challenges facing youth ministry in Australia.
The Youth Ministry Futures project, founded by the Reverend Graham Stanton, seeks to transform the way local churches engage with young people over the next 20 years.
At the heart of the project is a focus on creating long-term, well-trained leaders in youth ministry, an area of significant need within many Australian churches.
Dr Stanton said 81 per cent of youth ministry roles in Australia were part-time, resulting in high turnover and insufficient training.
He said these part-time roles often did not last, as people eventually moved on to full-time jobs, leaving youth ministry underdeveloped.
Read more: ‘Giving young people a voice in the Church will give them a stake in the Church’
“We want to increase the number of well-trained, long-term vocational youth ministry leaders,” Dr Stanton said.
He said a key goal of the Youth Ministry Futures project was to make youth ministry a viable, full-time ministry role within the local church.
As part of its efforts, the project is promoting a prayer month in November 2024, encouraging churches and individuals to pray for the future of youth ministry in Australia.
Dr Stanton said prayer was key to the project’s success, especially with young people facing challenges like mental health issues and disconnection from churches.
“Our first commitment is to pray that God would bless the efforts people are making in local church youth ministry,” Dr Stanton said.
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Youth Ministry Futures is also looking to establish a new mission agency to provide financial support and create sustainable, full-time youth ministry roles.
Dr Stanton said this model, similar to organisations like the Church Missionary Society, would pool resources from like-minded individuals and support local church leaders.
He said beyond securing the future of the church, the goal was to bring the good news of Jesus to young people across Australia.
“There is life in Jesus and young people are growing up in Australia not having the opportunity to hear the good news of Jesus,” he said.
“That’s part of our mission as God’s people … the message of Jesus genuinely is good news for Australian young people.”
More information on the Youth Ministry Futures project and prayer month can be found at ymfutures.com.au.
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