Children and Community

1. Children and Community

2. Aim To explore ways of working among children in a variety of contexts beyond the local church.

3. Learning outcomes • To reflect on stories from different contexts and distil principles of good practice • To develop strategies for developing new areas of work with children in a variety of contexts • To explore an understanding of what it means to be ‘church’ • To advocate the active participation of children in mission and ministry.

4. Opening thought • When you welcome one of these children because of me, you welcome me. • (Matthew 18:5)

5. Church or not church? Church Not Church ? ?

6. Where are the children? • Not in church • Not with you on a Sunday/your meeting day • So where are the children?

7. Aims for reaching new children • Which three of these would you choose as the aims of your group? • Which would be your main aim? • Are there any of these aims that your church needs to discard deliberately?

8. Working among children in different contexts • What makes these activities successful? • What are the principles underlying them? • What principles could you take and apply to your own situation?

9. Working among children in different contexts • What things are not applicable to your situation and why not? • How are these activities an expression of ‘church?’ • What is already happening or could happen where you are, which is a new expression of being church?

10. A strategy for new work in church communities • Identify the needs of an area • Acknowledge the skills of the church community • Identify strengths and weaknesses of church community • Plan aims and strategy • Achieve the goal.

11. Reflection on learning • What concerns and challenges has this session raised for you? • What potential benefits do you see for the children in your group and for your church community? • What would you like to explore further? • What action will you take or encourage your church community to take as a result of this session?