Mission & Ministry amongst 20s & 30s Roundtable
As part of the Flourishing Life project, the Oxford Pastorate recently hosted a mission and ministry roundtable in collaboration with St Aldates Church.
We were delighted to see an excellent turn out, with college chaplains, academics and ministry leaders engaging with important questions around the challenges and opportunities for mission amongst Millennials and Gen Z.
Associate Chaplain Dr Bethan Willis led the session, introducing key ideas and materials to prompt further small group discussions. Together we identified key areas of challenge for these younger generations including digital life, loneliness and mental health; concerns about the economy, climate change and political life; and the pressures of self-creation in a post-postmodern age.
Many of these challenges linked on to opportunities for the church to engage and respond. We explored how a deep desire for meaning and purpose; a quest for a clear and stable identity; a desire for justice and equity; and, in many cases, a recognition of the roll of virtues or character in human life, were potentially open doors for churches to engage in conversation and shared reflection with these generations.
Having identified opportunities and challenges we focused in on how churches might want to speak into these opportunities, stressing the need for humility; the creation of ‘porches’ or ‘forecourts’ between the church and the world, spaces where Christians and non-Christians can engage in mutual conversation and culturally relevant reflection; and the importance of engaging with loves and desires in mission and ministry.
Summary slides of the talks are above.
On the day some of the resources we highlighted included:
- John Stackhouse’s Humble Apologetics Humble Apologetics: Defending the Faith Today | Oxford Academic (oup.com)
- Tim Keller’s article on forecourts & porches: Lemonade on the Porch: The Gospel in a Post-Christendom Society by Tim Keller (gospelinlife.com)
- Jamie Smith’s You Are What You Love – Summaries include:
- Simeon Zahl on theories of change & desire: The Cure of Souls: Theory of Change in Christian Ministry - Mockingbird (mbird.com)
- David Brook’s article ‘A Moral Bucket List’ David Brooks Moral Bucket List.pdf. This is often a good place to start a conversation on virtues and moral life with non-Christians.