Viewpoint 10 and

and shape how Salvation Army youth and children’s workers can move forward into wider, deeper and more life-giving ministry.

God’s desire for relationship, for close connection, can be seen throughout the Bible. Right at the beginning, in Genesis chapter 1, we read that God created the Earth and all that is in it and, at the end of each day of creating, saw that it was good. But despite the pleasure it brought him, God wasn’t done. There was one thing needed to improve and complete this magnificent creation: people. Chosen people. Loved people.

God didn’t want to hold us at arm’s length. God wanted withness. So, ‘The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighbourhood’ (John 1:14 The Message). Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection all point in the same direction: towards us.

Priest and blogger Drew Downs writes: ‘Jesus came to be with us and to teach us this withness. From gathering around tables to eat and drink in remembrance of Jesus to our healing Jesus in hospitals, feeding Jesus in our soup kitchens, sheltering Jesus in our homeless shelters, welcoming Jesus in the refugee, or visiting Jesus when he’s incarcerated, we are practising withness with God as we practise it with one another.’

This has always been true, so why is it important that we speak about it now? There are two realities that need to be named. Both have been true for some time and have been exacerbated by the upheaval and challenges of the past couple of years.

The first is that the Church in the UK, including the Army, is in numerical decline. Even if your corps is one of the few churches not experiencing decline, the truth is that the majority of people are not in our buildings. The most generous estimates suggest that a third of the population have some kind of connection with church and one in twenty regularly attend Sunday worship. These numbers are even lower among children and young people.

The second reality is that our children and young people are struggling. A 2020 report from the National Youth Agency revealed that there are more than a million young people with known needs that have been amplified by the Covid-19 pandemic and an estimated two million young people with emerging needs triggered or caused by the pandemic. More than a million people aged 8 to 19 have self-reported mental health issues. There has been a spike in calls to helplines, with 84 per cent of young people with existing mental health needs reporting worse mental health following school closures and 26 per cent no longer able to access mental health support.

Young people are anxious about the damage we are doing to the environment, with three quarters of respondents to a University of Bath survey thinking the future is frightening and more than half (56 per cent) believing humanity is doomed.

Reflecting on the turmoil in the Church, author Sarah Bessey laments: Sar a a ah e ess se ey y la ame en nt ts: : ‘The word ichabod came to me. The od came e to o me. The e glory has departed.’ If we’re ed.’ If f we ew ’r r’ e honest, most of us have us have e experienced moments like ments li ik ke e this. But hopefully we see ly y we w see those glimmers of of light that remind us us u of what is most true. rue e. Bessey continues: es: ‘The Incarnation means means that God’s glory is here. is he h re. Always has been here. Is still n he ere e. Is sti t ll l here. God became a person and me m a per e so s n and d dwelled among us. God grew inside of a us. God d grew inside e of fo a young woman who knew her Scriptures, and was born one night in Palestine. God nursed and cried and grew and listened and loved…

‘The glory of God moved right into our neighbourhoods... Out of the temples and arks and behind the veils, right out into your front street. The glory of God is now hiding in plain sight in our right-now lives.’

If God’s primary form of ministry is withness – close connection and deep relationship – what does this mean for us? It means a focus on presence, as we seek to support and resource youth and children’s workers. That presence can’t be about what we do in our spaces because most people aren’t there. They’re in their spaces. Our youth and children are in schools, universities, football clubs, parks, on the streets and in their homes. Some of them – too many of them – are in pain, on the margins, excluded. But the good news is that God, Emmanuel, is there too, inviting us to share and point out his transformational presence.

All over the territory, youth and children’s leaders are moving into these spaces and people are noticing again the glory of God. Salvationists have taken their youth work on to the streets. There are now 136 members of the Army’s Street-Based Youth Work network and nine brand-new youth ministries. Starfish is a mentoring programme running in primary and secondary schools. Well-trained volunteers are working with school staff to identify vulnerable students who could benefit from a positive relationship with an adult. In one case this led to a corps being asked to provide a holistic package of support for the whole family. Homework clubs, football training, dance groups, music lessons and university chaplaincies are just some of the ch haplain nci c es are r just so ome m opportunities Salvationists are investing opport r un unit ties Salvat a io oi nists in to ensure presence, offer in i to ensu sure e prese connection and point out conn nec cti ion an what God is already doing. wh hat a God d is It’s not just about It’s no ot ju physical spaces. ph hp ys y Our children and Our young people are yo y u talking about ta t lk l i mental health, identity ment tal a he and gender issues, the and gende er climate, inequality and climate, inequ human trafficking. We’re hu huma an n tr t af a fi ick kc ing seeking to be present in those se eekin ng to be e pr p es sen nt t in n t conversation spaces too, with resources such as Upbeat and True Story, as well as training on pastorally supporting LGBTQ+ young people and traumainformed practice. The more of these spaces we can be present in, the more we’re able to point towards God.

Author and seminary teacher Andrew Root says: ‘Ministry is about connection, one to another, about sharing in suffering and joy, about persons meeting persons with no pretence or secret motives. It is about shared life, confessing Christ not outside the relationship but within it. This, I learned, was living the gospel.’

There are questions for each of us, as individuals and as a Movement. Where are the people God is calling us to meet? Who is God calling us to open our lives to? How could a journey towards withness – with God and with others – transform our world?

JO IS TERRITORIAL YOUTH SPECIALIST (DISCIPLESHIP)

TYB and TYC students relish making music in person

Territorial Youth Band

BOURNEMOUTH

JOSIE LAMPLOUGH BIRMINGHAM CITADEL MANY people may have been apprehensive going to such a big event, but this year’s Territorial Youth Band was full of amazing music, ministry and laughter. What made the week even more special was seeing everyone after such a long time and having the opportunity to make music with our TYB family again.

The week was packed full of fun activities, with lots of time to help us improve our musical abilities and space to move forward in our journeys of faith.

On Tuesday afternoon trombonist Paul Fisher came in to tell us about his musical journey. He also taught us about other styles of brass music and how to play with ‘show faces’, which Paul finds helpful when playing pop and jazz music. This came in handy for some of the pieces we played, including ‘La Fe Es La Victoria’ by Steve Kellner and ‘Groove Hosanna!’ by Munashe Chikwezvero. We also did things to help us improve our musical skills, such as improvisation, pulse and aural awareness. This afternoon with Paul was a high point for me because we were able to have fun with one another while improving our musicianship.

Another highlight was something we hadn’t done in previous years: a trip to the beach between rehearsals on the Thursday evening. There we focused on the theme of the week which was building on our foundations of faith. This was a great opportunity to reflect on what has challenged us over the past two years as well as the thought-provoking moments shared during the week.

I also enjoyed the Thursday night TYB Review of the Week, which reminded us of the funniest bits of our time together. This year it was led by staff members Charlie Green and Callum White. The evening was full of games, awards and laughs.

The whole week was incredible, leaving us all on a high after what has been a really tough two years. It was great to be presented with such amazing and challenging music and be taught so much by the amazing staff members. I’d like to thank all the people who helped make the week such a success and joy. Boscombe beach

HARRIET STEWART REGENT HALL IT was exciting to return to Territorial Youth Choir in person this year. I was happy to see friends again and excited to meet new people.

After the auditions we went straight into our rehearsals with Songster Leader Karl Westwood (Bromley Temple). We ran through all the songs to get a general idea of them. My favourite was Karl’s arrangement of Chris Tomlin’s ‘How Can I Keep from Singing?’, which is about endlessly praising God for his amazing love. Everyone was given a private singing lesson by Stephanie Lamplough (Birmingham Citadel), which I found really helpful.