Something's keeping me awake at nights!

My mum sends me The Melbourne Anglican newspaper every couple of months. It's a cracker, very diverse, incredibly engaging and something for everyone.There is an article in the February edition that addresses a key issue that bothers me continuously.The attention grabbing text box reads, "Suppose I'm a local minister and our congregation is ageing. We have a few younger families, but by the time the kids reach high school, they tend to drift off. We have no youth group, and struggle to attract teens to anything we do. Without youth and young adults, we'll eventually fade away. How could our local parish connect with youth outside our church walls?"Despite Linda Hirst’s best efforts and Cheryl's before her this issue keeps me awake at night. Am I alone?The author says that the best that the best churches manage is fifty or sixty kids meeting on a Friday night with a few of their friends coming along if there is something of interest on offer.With young people being driven by on the spot organisation, frantic school schedules, saturation media, an options focus and little or no spiritual community formation there is no ‘one size fits all’, the author says.He then says he googled the word ‘parish’ to help him with Anglicans [he’s a Baptist, you see]. He discovers that ‘parish’ get used as shorthand for local church.  But more research reveals that ‘parish’ is a geographical unit under the care of one parish priest.  A parish, therefore, includes ALL people in that area and their cultural diversities.  The parish church seemed to be a centre for spiritual and social activities of the parish.  The building is just a focal point, the people, all of them, are the parish!Now take an often used statement like, “How could our parish connect with youth outside our church walls?” If the parish =local church, then it’s people, not a building, so there shouldn’t be any walls.Youth ministry [any ministry, I suppose], this chap says, is God’s people, of all ages, empowered by God’s Spirit [the parish church] taking responsibility for their local area by going to young people where they are with Jesus.  The church, he says, exists to serve the parish.  Shoring up our own numbers is never a part of it.  He says, it’s ironic that the word ‘parochial’ relates both to ‘parish’ and ‘being narrow in scope’.I’m not sure I like this Baptist!He says, the bottom line is Parish or Perish.  If we will not take spiritual responsibility for our own Parish we will perish and this is right, for to fail in this responsibility is to abandon the mission of God.Now, I think we show a steady interest and spiritual concern for our parish.  There is always more to do and I would love more people to experience the ‘I’ve been rescued!” love of Jesus – but what about ‘youth’?Let me break this author’s devastating news.  No teenagers or young adults in this generation will grace the door of St Philips as it is currently! We have nothing of interest for the myriad youth cultures out there.  Most of us don’t even know what ‘youth culture’ is?  They won’t come, so we must go! What?!But don’t despair.  Next week my Baptist friend has some very ‘doable’ suggestions. Awake at Night In the Adventure Malcolm