How an Emerging Generation will Impact the Episcopal
Church
By: Eric M. Moulton
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"…The
Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which
a
man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest
of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of
garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air
come and perch in its branches." ~ Matthew 13:31-32
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Is there hope for the Episcopal
Church? In twenty years will the face of this church
in the United States be even weaker in number and spiritual
influence than it is today? Never mind, for now, that
the average age of an Episcopal church member is approximately
twice that of the author of this article. The Episcopal
church is faced with war and challenge on two fronts.
The first is the internal struggle to keep the church
doctrinally and theologically sound. This battle, raging
for decades now, is crippling the ministry of the church,
hampering its message and debilitating its ability
to lovingly, truthfully, gracefully and effectively
minister to a lost and dying world desperately searching
for hope. Jesus warned His disciples about divided
houses; they will not stand (note that this division
is not solely between people, but between people and
God with His enduring Word). The second battlefront
challenge facing the church is currently staring down
the entire body of Christ (particularly in the western
world), not just the Episcopal church. It involves
the church's struggle to effectively minister to 21C,
postmodern culture. This culture is spiritually charged,
but for the most part is charging to anyplace but the
church in search of spirituality. Regrettably, we are
so embroiled with these internal conflicts that our
ability to minister to the world is seriously compromised
and diminished.
This begs the question that lies in the hearts of
many committed leaders involved in Episcopal church.
What will become of this denomination? In twenty years
will there continue to be bitter divisions and struggles
over doctrine and practice that hinder the real work
of the church? Can we turn the tide of this current?
Can this sleeping giant rise from its slumber and be
a Kingdom force once again? I believe there are subtle
signs of great things to come and here is why...
The signs of life are germinating in the soil of the
rising youth generation. Like never before, youth ministries
in the Episcopal church are graduating many students
who hold to a vibrant, orthodox and evangelical faith.
I see God raising up a new breed of youth whose leadership
and commitment to the gospel will eventually propel
them into parish, diocesan and national levels. This
mustard seed revolution is taking root and growing.
Powering this mustard seed movement is an army of
dedicated youth workers. The last two decades have
witnessed a tremendous surge in the area of youth ministry.
Though lagging behind many other denominations, the
Episcopal church has made significant progress in the
area of youth ministry. I travel extensively throughout
the country teaching youth and training youth workers
(most often in Episcopal churches). I have met scores
of godly youth workers who passionately minister to
their students. These youth workers are consistently
discipling, equipping and encouraging students in the
faith. Surprisingly, many of these workers did not
grow up in the Episcopal church!
The remarkable thing about
these youth workers is how they end up in the Episcopal
church. God seems
to be calling many from all manner of church traditions
and backgrounds. This importation is making an indelible
impression. In addition to this outside help, the first
generation of Episcopal youth workers are beginning
to raise up leaders from the inside. Between these
two streams you find the Lord ushering in a fresh wave
of leadership impacting the rising generation. These
youth workers tend to be orthodox, evangelical in outlook
(many consider themselves to be "Spirit-filled," or
charismatic) and are committed to growing healthy,
Christ-centered ministries for students.
To ground ourselves in reality here, there is much
work yet to be done. Of 350 or so youth workers present
during the training workshop at ACTS 29's national
event (explore the YouthQuake experience @ www.a29.com),
only a third were full-time or part-time staff capacity.
Many churches still do not have youth ministries, but
this is rapidly changing as diocesan and parish leadership
begin to sense the urgency of such ministries. If any
person in any diocese wants to know what the church
will look like in 10-15 years, they need look no further
than the youth ministries within the diocese. As a
result of the Church's commitment to minister to students,
higher percentages are graduating from youth groups
with a strong faith and walk with God. Many are hungering
to go deeper. A recent article published in the Living
Church expresses this growing sentiment from the youth
generation. The author (a college student from Wake
Forest University) expresses his hunger for God, but
wonders if the Episcopal church can feed him something
that will satisfy (The Living Church February 10, 2002
p.12)! What a sobering rebuke to the church! How will
we respond to the challenge?
Today's postmodern students
are hungering for an encounter with the Living God.
They want the fire of His presence
and are not afraid of the truth of His Word. The last
thing today's students want is to be a part of a church
or organization filled with divided loyalties, confusion
or lack of conviction. The YouthQuake event witnesses
this hunger each year as students passionately seek
the Lord in reverent worship and pray to be transformed
in His presence. It's interesting that growing youth
events and youth ministries are almost always nurtured
in the soil of orthodox worship, biblical teaching
and discipleship and are grounded on the emphasis of
the Gospel! These life-giving youth ministries are
springing up in pockets across the nation in individual
parishes and diocese. Some of the leading Diocesan
youth ministries are the Diocese of Texas, West Texas,
Central Florida, South Carolina and Pittsburgh (you
can access links to some of these through the national
church web page at www.ecusa-anglican.org). There are
also growing Youth Ministry training events as well
as regional and national events for Episcopal youth.
The impact of this will be expressly evident over the
next 10-15 years and beyond, but we must take the next
step…
If these hopeful signs of
revolution being birthed through youth ministries
are to translate into rising
leadership and vision, then I believe God is calling
for another wrinkle. This other wrinkle is young adult
ministry, or specifically speaking, campus ministry.
When Episcopal students graduate from high-school with
an authentic faith they need a place to plug into.
There is a desperate need for orthodox, life-giving
campus ministry. There is such a void in viable, "Anglican" campus
ministry for Episcopal young people. These ministries
should be uniquely Anglican but passionately committed
to evangelism and discipleship. This must be addressed
and corrected if the Episcopal church is to ever harness
higher percentages of godly young leaders with solid
grounding in the faith and creative vision for the
Kingdom. I could think of no greater outreach opportunity
for a local parish than to "adopt" a college
campus by funding and staffing an orthodox, cutting
edge ministry to the students of that campus. The implications
would be enormous. Who will begin to raise up the standard
on campuses in an Anglican style for the Kingdom of
God?
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No other church is poised to reach
the experience collecting, participation
driven, postmodern seeker like the Episcopal
Church! The participatory nature of the liturgy
infused with creativity and the power of the Holy Spirit
is incredible. |
The more I talk to youth workers who scratch their
heads while sharing their mysterious journey to the
Anglican world, the more I sense the heart pulse of
God for the Episcopal church and her great potential
to shake this nation with His love. I believe that
youth ministry on the local level will continue to
grow. The impact will be waves of students and young
people raising up the standard again. We must be prepared
to take our young worshipers to the next stage of development
or we will miss a great opportunity. The life of the
Episcopal church depends on it. Calling people to campus
ministry is the crucial, next-step. With courage, humility,
faith and His life-giving presence, there is hope for
this Episcopal church. There is hope. Hope is rising.
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