3Generate’s continued growth – new venue due to increasing demand

The Methodist Youth President, Tim Annan, has told theMethodist Conference, meeting in Birmingham, about the continuedgrowth of the Church's annual gathering for young people includinga move to a new venue to meet increasing numbers.

The 3Generate event last November saw more than 600 young peopleand adults attend, having grown from just over 220 when it began in2012. 

This year will see further growth with the move to Pontins inSouthport to accommodate more than 900 young people and leaders - a360% growth in just five years. Tickets for the event in Novemberare close to selling out. 

Participants at the event also discuss issues of faith andcommunity that they want the wider Church to be aware of and toaddress, which are turned into manifestoes presented to theConference. 

Tim Annan, who was elected Youth President at the 2015 3Generateevent, and began his year in office last September, introduced the3Generate report by saying: "It is my privilege to present thisreport, which contains just a fraction of the living, vibrant storyof children and youth work within this Methodist community."

He issued a challenge to all local churches about increasing thesupport and engagement with young people: "3Generate is an event,but it is a small part of a year round process that the entirechurch can engage with and should! You don't have to go to theevent to be part of that process. Within our church families, wehave contact with 170,370 children, young people and familiesweekly; 13.94% of all those that attend on a Sunday, on average,are under 20 years old. 

"There are many ways in which we can all engage with this process,and many churches engage with this process in authentic, vibrantways and we need to hear about these instances more!"

"I hope and pray that we get to the point that 3Generate is notthe only place where we hear the voice of the children and youngpeople. I pray we get to a point where the voice of children andyoung people are heard louder and more clearly in each of our localchurches, rather than just at a large event in November.

"The only way we can achieve this vision is by actively engaging,funding and supporting children and youth work at a grass-rootslevel of the church year-round. Let us not be complacent inthinking this will just happen."

Jude Levermore, Head of Discipleship and Ministries in theConnexional Team, said: "I'm hugely encouraged by this growth inthe engagement of children and young people. In these difficulttimes this is good news for our church and for the communities inwhich they are placed, but it is also good news for the world - whoknows what God might do through them?"