Examples: Andys@4
Context
St Andrew’s Chippenham is a town centre parish with
an aging congregation; it has a small Sunday school which meets once a
month and a youth group with very few members. Many families from the
local community bring their children to be baptised at St
Andrew’s and then do not return to Church. They clearly have
a wish to thank God for the birth of their baby but often feel
uncomfortable with the formality of services and have little
understanding of the Christian faith.
Here in our community is a group of vulnerable people in need
of support and nurturing. Looking after a young family is demanding and
exhausting. Often parents do not have an extended family near by to
help with the pressures and responsibilities.
Prompted by the birth of a baby young parents often revisit those
“big questions” to which all human beings want
answers. Questions about the miracle of a new life, about the purpose
of life, about the values by which one should live. Questions about
God, the universe, suffering and death.
Our wish as a Christian community is to support these young families by
showing them the love of God in action through offering them
fellowship. We also wish to help them find answers to their questions
through sharing with them the Good News of the Kingdom.
“The task is to become church for them, among them and with
them, and under the Spirit of God to lead them to become church in
their own culture.”
(Mission Shaped Church)
Planning
Group
In response to this wish we hold a monthly 4pm service for
families and we have a small planning group which organises and leads
this venture. This is a new initiative which began in January 2007.
Our planning group is in itself a form of evangelism. We have recruited
a member of our congregation, whose husband attended our Emmaus Nurture
course. He was baptised recently and she began attending Church with
him; infrequently at first. As a librarian she had skills at leading
children’s workshops and so we asked her to help us. By
recognising her talents we were able to nurture her emerging faith in a
positive and productive way without being patronising or overbearing.
She therefore had the opportunity to learn more about the Good News of
the Kingdom and to find fellowship among us. We have also recently
recruited a young Mum, who brings her two young daughters to andys@4
and has enthusiastically supported our venture. By recruiting her to
our planning group we hope to give ownership of the service to those
who attend it.
The
format of Andys@4
Each service has a clear, simple theme which focuses on the fundamental
beliefs of Christianity. We hope that by introducing these themes to
the children, the adults will also learn about the faith and by
advertising our Emmaus course on the service sheet some may take their
learning further. The services are short and informal. We use
puppets to attract the children’s attention and sing action
songs linked to the theme. We feel it is important to have movement
within the service so our prayers involve physically doing something,
planting a seed, making a handprint, lighting a candle.
Through the music we involve members of our established congregation;
the teenage members of our youth group play their instruments before
the service and supported by our musical director, play during the
service along with our music group.
An important element of andys@4 is the refreshments after the service.
These are organised on a rota basis by established members of St
Andrew’s. Coffee time gives us a chance for fellowship for
making friends for talking and laughing together.
Conclusion
Andys@4 has successfully involved many members of our Parish in mission
and evangelism; their support has been fantastic. It has enabled us to
establish a thriving new community of emerging Christians, worshiping
with their children in a way in which they feel comfortable and secure.
Friendships are being formed between ourselves and more importantly
between the young families. We have begun to fulfil our wish
to respond to a human need in our community through offering fellowship
and support to a small group of young people. We also have a wonderful
way of proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom, of teaching and
nurturing new believers in a caring and sensitive way.
In all of this however it is important to remember that “
neither the one who plants or the one who waters is anything, but only
God who makes things grow.” 1 Corinthians 3:7
Alison Love