The Five
(why volunteering for kids and youth work is more important and less scary than you think!)
You may have heard either me, or our youth pastor Mark (or both!) talk about Sticky Faith. Sticky Faith evolved out of some research carried out by the Fuller Institute exploring why some young adults walked away from faith and why some stuck with it. They discovered that around half of all young people brought up in the church, were no longer going to church or practising faith within three years of leaving school. The research was used to develop a ministry framework and published in the excellent Sticky Faith books.
When I read Sticky Faith, it resonated with me for a number of reasons, firstly, because I am passionate about developing faith in children and young people that sticks – both as a pastor and a parent. Secondly, because I saw some of my own friends fall away from faith as young adults and not least of all, because I was nearly one of them!
The research found that one of the striking things that those whose faith stuck had in common, was the input of (an average of) 5 significant adults outside of their immediate family, on their faith journey. This gave me pause for thought. I could not immediately think of 5 significant adults that had really influenced me on my faith journey, but over time the faces of some people emerged out of the fog of my memory, whose presence in my life, I now understand, helped to give me a firm foundation in faith. It was this that enabled me to turn back to Jesus when I was at a critical crossroads in my young adulthood. You may be surprised at who they were and what they contributed to my faith foundation!
Marilyn: Marilyn was the leader of the ‘Beginners’ class at my Sunday school. She had a red lipstick smile and seemed always old. I don’t remember any of her sessions, in fact, I don’t think I remember anything she ever told me. Marilyn did not really know my parents. We never saw her outside of church, or even really had much to do with her once we graduated from Beginners. So you might be wondering what Marilyn’s great contribution to my faith formation was? Every Christmas our family received a handwritten Christmas card from Marilyn. She continued to send these long after we left Beginners, even in fact, after we left that church. That she took the time to remember us in that way for all of those years, touches me deeply.
Dennis & Lynne (two for one!): They led the ‘Seniors’ group at my Sunday school. At first glance they did not seem like a couple who would easily connect with or relate to young people, but they gave and they served without reserve and they loved Jesus. What I remember the most is Lynne’s passion to get us worshipping with her beautiful piano playing (and slightly less beautiful singing) but it taught me that worship comes from the heart and it’s pleasing to God’s ears, even if not to my neighbours! I also remember Dennis’ willingness and openness in sharing his testimony. Dennis’ story of a reckless young man who suffered the consequences of his actions and came to Jesus in the midst of suffering and retained that faith in Jesus despite many years of praying for healing that never came (but eventually many, many years later did!) surprised and inspired.
Mandy & Michelle: Two young women working for a church doing outreach on a gap year. Their entry into my life was via a school assembly when I was about 12 or 13. They performed an hilarious sketch and told us they were setting up a lunchtime Christian Union for any Christians or people who wanted to find out more about Jesus. Well, “I’m a Christian” I thought, so I went along. (But mostly because they used drama in their assembly and I loved drama). Mandy and Michelle left after a year, but the group carried on. They were role models, young women not too much older than me, living for Jesus. It was in this group that I had my first tangible encounter with the Holy Spirit. They helped me grow in my faith and not to be embarrassed of being a Christian at school!
Michael, the minister at my church: We rarely saw each other outside of church services or events and it wasn’t the preaching or teaching that influenced me. It was the other stuff, the around the edges stuff. It was taking the time to notice me and know something about me. It was being the first person to tell me that if I had a gift I should be using it for the glory of God (he gave me a couple of Christian sketchbooks and told me I could produce some drama for a church service – me – a teenager – and a main Sunday morning worship service, not a youth service!). When I was wrestling with whether a career in acting was utter foolishness or whether I really did have a sense that this was God’s plan for me, he affirmed me.
“I prayed for all of you [neighbourhood] kids, I kept praying that something would stick”
Ruth and Phil (I don’t normally view couples as one entity, honest!): My parents bought their house, a newbuild, months before I was born. Ruth & Phil, also expecting their first baby, bought the house next door. My parents, both brought up in Christian families, came from very different church going traditions, for reasons probably suited to another story, on another day, Ruth and Phil, also Christians, offered to take us kids to their church, which had a Sunday school. It wasn’t too long before Ruth and Phil had a car full of neighbours’ kids to take to Sunday school. Even though they moved out of the area when I was around 15, they remained family friends. In fact the last time I saw them was just before the pandemic, at my dad’s funeral. Ruth was asking me about my work here at St John’s. “I prayed for all of you [neighbourhood] kids, I kept praying that something would stick”, she told me. Stick it did.
Most of these people, with the exception of Ruth and Phil, passed through my life at a particular time or place. They didn’t become lifelong friends, they didn’t take me out, come to my house, buy me presents, they weren’t necessarily incredibly ground-breaking leaders. I’m sure they would say they did nothing special. They were just ordinary people who loved Jesus and responded to his call. So what was it specifically that has made these people the ones that stick in my mind as influential?
• They cared. They gave their time and encouragement and they built relationships.
• They prayed. I know that each of these people prayed for me specifically and were able to do so because they knew me (and many other kids).
• They gave me a window into their own faith and modelled service to God and to the church.
Did you know that St John’s has one of the 16 largest combined children’s and youth ministries of CofE churches in England? (Church of England data)
It is a privilege to have a large number of children and young people here at St John’s and we want to help them develop a faith that sticks. Four out of five(ish) of my ‘influential Christians’ came from my church. What role could we be playing in the spiritual lives of the children in this church? To disciple such a wonderfully large number of children and young people takes a big team. A number of our volunteers have stepped down or moved on and we need new volunteers to sustain our children’s and youth ministries, we simply cannot continue to run our groups and events without more volunteers.
Could you be one of the ‘Five’ to get alongside them building relationships, praying for them and giving them a window into your own faith by volunteering on one of our teams? You never know what might stick!
Diana Hopkins
Children’s Pastor
dianahopkins@stjohnsharborne.org
