Deanery Briefing - Reaching New Generations with Jimmy Dale National Youth Evangelism Officer

Under 16s in the Church of England are declining year on year at almost twice the speed of adults.

In the last 5 years, the number of churches and parishes with 25 or more under 16s has decreased by 28% and the overall attendance of under 16s has decreased by 20%

Generation Z (those 18 and under) are the first ever generation in England to be non-churched rather than unchurched.

They do not have the same cultural understanding and baggage in relation to church and what it means to be a Christian.

While this offers a huge missional opportunity, this same generation is exploring faith in new ways within a post Christian culture.

We need more innovative and imaginative ways to reach young people.

• How do we engage with todays young people?
• What works and what doesn't work?

Getting behind the headlines

In our first session, Jimmy will guide us through the current picture, unpacking what is happening nationally with young people and the church.

With a renewed focus in the Church of England’s Vision and Strategy around growing Younger and more diverse. Jimmy will help unpack the key finding from the Feb 2020 report that was presented to General Synod (GS2161), outlining where we are and what we need to look at from this as we look to move forward.

Creating an environment for engagement

In the second session, Jimmy will look more practically at 5 things you could do in your deanery to help grow the number of under 18’s; from setting a culture to being clear about your expectations, this session will look to offer practical advice that can be outworked in your context.

Jimmy Dale

Jimmy is the National Youth Evangelism Officer for the Church of England, responsible for promoting and resourcing youth evangelism across the country.

Having spent 15 years in youth ministry, as a parish youth worker, working for Youth for Christ.

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