14 November 2006
Children want 24/7 church
An online survey conducted by MethodistChildren has found that
children prefer to participate in the fun, fellowship and community
offered by churches during the week and in summer holidays than on
Sundays.
Steve Pearce, Children's Secretary, says; ''Midweek groups are
almost 100% bigger than Sunday groups. Many churches are doing
great work on Sundays, but it's clear from our results that
children want church to be more than just that - they want to go to
activities during the week. Which is great, because 43% of the
churches that work with children already provide mid-week
activities, with an average of 38 children attending each
group.'
This is particularly the case for the 9-13's age group and
MethodistChildren hope to see the work of the Church serving
children's needs throughout the week. Steve says; 'Sundays are
special, but we're called to be Christians every day of the week
and this survey shows that children and young people have a 24/7
spirituality that needs to be fed all the time. We are already
doing this in a variety of ways through services such as the
MethodistChildren website and free weekly texting service. We are
also involved in various online church projects for those of all
ages, but there's always more room for growth.'
Doug Swanney, Children's Work Development Officer, comments that;
'This strengthens the case for churches to develop work on days
other than Sunday and to try one-off events and holiday clubs. It
shows the opportunity churches now have for partnership with
schools and clubs as they develop their extended services.'
Children's workers across Britain are adapting to this trend and
the survey highlights their most pressing needs as wanting a local
forum to discuss ideas and encouragement, more resources and more
training. MethodistChildren has responded with a new resource, The
MethodistChildren Journey, which is being sent to all churches this
week.
Doug comments; 'The most significant finding of the survey is that
when churches do something new, it usually works. Churches need to
be ready to take the risk of trying new things Ð they might just
surprise themselves with how successful they are.'
The results of the survey are available online at www.methodistchildren.org.uk.