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The Faith in the Nexus research demonstrates that what will really transform our engagement with children and young people is a strong connection between the home, church and school. A recent presentation showed how the Diocese is making this happen.

The Diocesan Children and Youth Adviser told a recent synod about the opportunities and resources the Diocese is providing to support adults seeking to nurture the spirituality and faith of the children and young people they know and care about. If you want to find out more please contact the Children and Youth Adviser, Carolyn Edwards and/or attend one of our training events.

The Faith in the Nexus research was a mixed methods project carried out by the National Institute for Christian Education Research and the key implications for us as a Diocese are below.

RE, collective worship and assemblies are important stimulus for children’s thinking about the Christian faith and what it means for them – we need to visit school websites and find out more about what they are doing so that we can match themes and concepts in our ministry and provide resources to support grown-ups at home in the challenging conversations their children initiate.
We need to dispense with the assumption that there is a ‘right’ language or skill-set needed to engage with faith and build confidence in conversations that explore faith and big issues. Accepting that there might not be a ‘right answer’ and realising that often children just want to be heard and explore their thoughts and feelings with an adult.
Grandparents are often key in nurturing faith and home. How can we celebrate and support this fantastic resource in our Diocese?
The more children and their grown-ups feel connected to the school and church the more evidence there is of faith-related activities at home. This means that every church needs to prioritise building supportive relationships with their local schools whether they are church or community schools. This includes undertaking activities which support schools in their everyday life (see this leaflet for useful ideas) but also sacrificially free up the minister’s time to be an active part of the school community – including things like pastoral time hanging out in the playground with parents at school pick up time.
The research demonstrated that many children and their families feel that they ‘belong’ to the church because they attend with the school, but that the Sunday congregations do not share that sentiment. One parent was quoted as saying ‘we are allowed to attend with the school’. What can we do to ensure that that perception of belonging is nurtured into effective relationships?
Children’s desire for solitude, for time to think, is perhaps not sufficiently recognised in home, school or church. We need to provide space and facilitation for reflection and prayer for them as well as engagement with the Bible in our homes and churches
‘a picture emerges from this research of confident, articulate young people offering leadership and insights, as they seek meaning on faith-related matters. There was little evidence seen of this rippling into the church environment’ Where are our children and young people in our leadership and governance of our churches?