Mo Mansill, my successor as National Youth Ministry Coordinator in the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand, has published the results of research into the current state of youth ministry there. It’s in Spanz, the national NZ Presbyterian magazine.

The four main issues drawn out by Mo are:

1. The drop-off – or rather drop-out – from the church as young people get older.
2. The number of youth leaders serving in the Presbyterian Church – but also the number who are isolated.
3. The gender imbalance in our youth ministries.
4. The diversity of material we are feeding our young people – and the amount of people that are inventing and reinventing resource material.

“These figures simply illustrate what we already suspected. We can take heart that research 1 indicates young people aren’t necessarily dropping out of their faith when they stop going to church. But while young people drop out from church, they still yearn for places and people which give them identity and belonging 2 . And, certainly, belonging to a faith community is integral if young people are to grow a faith which sees God as more than just a word. Creating places where young adults (those aged between 18-25) continue to feel inspired to grow in their faith in God and challenged to follow and serve Jesus remains an important challenge – yet it is one that too often doesn’t make it to the top of the priority list for churches locally, regionally and nationally. An exception is Dunedin , which is undoubtedly due to the significant ministry of Student Soul, the Presbyterian Church on the University of Otago campus. Other regions can and should be challenged by their example.”