Children and Youth Initiative Gains Momentum for 2007
The Children and Youth Initiative of the Anglican Communion Network (ACN) continues to gather momentum as it heads into the new year. Launched in the spring of 2006, the Children and Youth Initiative is part of the ACN’s strategy to work towards a “reformation of behavior” in the culture and in the church in America. The Children and Youth Initiative directs its attention towards those persons 30 years of age and under who are “churched” and “unchurched.”
“What we see today is that there is not much difference between the lifestyles of Christian believers and non-believers,” said the Rev. Jack Gabig, Director of the ACN Children and Youth Initiative. “What we are striving to rebuild is a culture of Christian discipleship from the cradle to the grave within Anglicanism; a holiness of life in dedication to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the sharing of His message of love and salvation for all people.”
The four primary objectives of the initiative are (1) to foster community among leaders, (2) to provide ongoing training for volunteer and professional children and youth workers, (3) to develop an Anglican theology for children and youth, and (4) to encourage the sharing of resources for ministry.
To foster community, several “summits” of key leaders and trainers in children and youth work have already been held for prayer and strategy in the common mission of reaching this age group. “The networks of relationships that have come forth from these gatherings have spawned creative ideas and cooperation among these leaders,” said Gabig.
In addition to sharing community face-to-face through leadership gatherings, community is also being developed through the internet. A website, that will serve as an interface among leaders, is scheduled to launch in March. Another website that would provide young people a forum for discussing issues of living the Christian life in American society is also under consideration.
By autumn, the Anglican Academy, an online certification program for ministry volunteers, is scheduled to launch. The Anglican Academy will offer training modules for children’s workers and youth workers. Discussions are also currently underway for doing more regional training for leaders and regional retreats for young people similar to the Network’s national training event for youth workers held in Charlotte, North Carolina last November which featured the Rev. Canon Dr. Michael Green and other well-known youth ministry trainers.
To accomplish the objective of developing a distinct Anglican approach to youth discipleship, plans are underway for a symposium in 2008 to be hosted on the Anglican catechism at Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania. “Our hope is that the outcome of this will set us up for developing quality interactive curricula in the orthodox Anglican Christian faith for children, youth and adults,” said Gabig.
The goal of encouraging the sharing of resources is to discover who has what resources and to act as a clearinghouse for distributing that information. “For example, the Diocese of South Carolina excels in training its young people in biblical literacy; the Dioceses of Ft. Worth and Quincy have excellent acolyte training; and the Dioceses of Albany and Dallas have great youth camping programs,” explained Gabig. “Similarly, Gateway Mission Training Center in El Paso, TX is exceptional at teaching about youth and foreign mission; Rock The World Youth Mission Alliance in Ambridge, PA focuses on student/peer leadership training; and, Acts 29 Ministries in Atlanta, GA knows how to help young people to live in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Church needs all of these gifts and resources for our life together and for our ministry to the world. The Network is here to help maximize the effectiveness of these collective efforts.”
The momentum of this initiative is creating a buzz. Karen Reichard of Grace Church in the Network Diocese of Central Florida said, “This initiative is an answer to our prayers. We have prayed for something like this for years and God is now making it happen. You have no idea how important this work is to us.”
Posted 1/24/07