Over the two years, 10 parishes across the Diocese have receivedsupport from a Mission Enabler and they have worked with 42 individualcongregations, in both urban and rural settings. The team have also beenoffering training to a wider number of parishes and individuals.
Ruth said: The project received a significant investmentfrom the Church Commissioners and each year they ask us to collect statisticsto demonstrate how Calling Young Disciples is moving forward. At the end of thesecond year, weve got significantly more evidence than we had at the end ofthe first year and that evidence is looking positive. Its been a realencouragement to see the numbers affirming that the model is working and we aremoving towards achieving the goals set at the start.
Churches that have been working with the Mission Enablershave seen a 67% increase in volunteers, which is over half way towards theanticipated total number of 250 new volunteers over the life of the project.These churches have also seen 360 people attending worship for the first timeand 80 of these have been recorded as becoming regular worshippers. Inaddition, 221 other people have been recorded as taking part in some form ofactivity with a focus on the Christian faith.
Ruth continued: It is still early days and the changes arefragile its difficult to measure what a regular worshipper might be.However, the numbers are important and give evidence of a change in theculture. It is also giving the CYD team and parishes greater confidence and theenthusiasm to do more and keep going! The Mission Enablers are only withparishes for a short time and the long term impact is dependent on localchurches continuing to prioritise work with children, young people and familiesand always looking for the next thing.
Evidence suggests that a number of the new activitiesinitiated by Mission Enablers have the potential to be replicated elsewhere andadapted for different contexts for example Toddler Praise type events, cellgroups for tweens/ teens and a programme of one-off events throughout the yearslinked to seasons or specific calendar dates. Participants have also emphasisedthe importance of engaging and blessing whole families rather than justfocussing on children or young people as well as being clearly and invitationallyChristian.
We shouldnt be embarrassed to include prayers or worshipsongs in our events, said Ruth. Its essential that we model the faith andpractice that we hope others will want to take up!
Churches involved with a Mission Enabler also become part ofa CYD Hub a learning community where churches on a similar journey cometogether to share their ideas and help focus their planning. There arecurrently two different hubs comprising of the churches involved in theproject, explained Ruth. There will be two more by the planned end of theproject with a total of 2-300 people committed to a three-year journey ofmeeting together, sharing practical ideas and receiving teaching to provideencouragement and strength to the parishes involved.This has been hugely appreciated by themajority of those who have participated to date and has definitely contributedto the growing levels of engagement and hopefulness reported.
Alongside the work of the Mission Enablers in parishes, theteam has been working with both the diocesan Childrens and Youth Officers andthe Education team to run training for all churches in the Diocese. Were keento ensure that as many parishes as possible can benefit from the Calling YoungDisciples project, said Ruth. In particular, Ive been talking to EmmaPettifer (Childrens Officer) and Simon Hill (Youth Officer) to look at how wecan better support churches which arent in a position to host a MissionEnabler. This may result in deanery roadshows or resourcing events where we canencourage and support parishes to give more emphasis to working with children,young people and families.
Were also starting to explore what might happen next forthe project what are the areas that are particularly working and how can wedevelop and build on these in the future. Hopefully over the next few years, wewill see more children, young people and families in our churches becomingdisciples of Jesus.
Key facts aboutCalling Young disciples:
- 6 Mission Enablers & Project Director, RuthWalker
- 10 parishes involved with a Mission Enabler& 42 individuals congregations.
- 67% increase in volunteers across CYD churches.
- 140 people received training from the CYD team.
- Over 360 people attending worship for the firsttime since the beginning of CYD
- Signs of increased confidence, skills & anopenness to trying new things.
