37% of parishes running youth provision

First published 5th November 2019

To fulfil our call to proclaim afresh the Good News in each generation, the Diocese has, through its 'Creating connections' vision prioritised reconnecting with children and teenagers, young adults and families. Through our commitment to Growing Faith we envisage mission and ministry that sees children, young people and households coming to faith, growing in discipleship and contributing condently to the Kingdom of God through the community of faith.

In 2018, as part of the Statistics for Mission returns, parishes across the country were asked about their youth provision that year.

The information provided reveals:

In the Diocese of Bristol 37%, of parishes were engaged in running provision for young people against a national picture of 25%.

Whilst two-fifths of that provision took place during Sunday services, three-fifths took place at other times during the week.

A vast majority of provision is led by volunteers within the congregation, with other parishes reporting that this is led by clergy or paid workers.

"It is really encouraging to see how many churches in the Diocese have responded to the challenge set out in 'Creating connections'..." said Diocesan Youth and Children's Adviser Dan Jones, "...however statistics sadly reflect that less and less under 16's are attending acts of worship. It is my prayer that as we continue to invest time and resources on engaging and nurturing young people's faith in creative ways, we will see lives transformed and young people passionately worshipping their heavenly Father."

Additional Resources

How to... Start a youth ministry from scratch

How to... Support and encourage volunteers
How to... Recruit children's and youth work volunteers
How to... Encourage young volunteering

A report on the terms and conditions of paid workers, produced by the Diocese of Leicester
Grove booklet - Supervising youth workers

Information about National Youth Work Week

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