Growth of the Faith, belonging, involvement: strategies to attract the new generations to the churches
The “youth” aspect was one of the topics to which the First District Conference devoted the most time and attention. For the FGEI, the Evangelical Youth Federation in Italy, Anna Paola Carbonatto, secretary of the National Council, informed about the upcoming appointments: a pre-Assembly-Synod in August and the North and Center training camp, unified, at Casa Cares on 4-6 November , on the theme of the “care” of relationships in particular.
Anais, Sara and Marco represented the Coordination of district scouting activities (CASD) which intends to re-establish and consolidate ties with the churches and intermediate bodies which, in the past, had frayed. They reported that the CASD works with a good number of participants whose goal is to feel good together in nature: a tent camp was concluded in May; the next one, at the end of July, is already full. For the older group there is a project in the coming months: “In the footsteps of the Waldensian paths in Calabria”where the Waldensians were exterminated in 1561.
The youth issue got more into focus when examining the document presented by the Commission appointed by the CED on a mandate from the 2021 District Conference; the Commission had the objective of defining “a new youth work project that is appropriate to the times, stimulating and capable of reconstructing fractures”. Hence the name “District youth animation project” commission, made up of pastors, former animators with experience (in Fgei, Agape, Casd) who elaborated the project presenting it to the Conference which was divided into 4 working groups, each of which had the task of thinking about: 1) what skills to ask the animators and what training; 2) what involvement of the churches in the project; 3) what role and effective availability of the key figure of the coordinator; 4) how to implement the project.
The document is divided into 5 parts in which the starting phases of the project are identified starting from the needs that must be met by forming an animation group that deals with youth activities, weekends with catechumens, meetings with Sunday schools , of the colonies, but also by creating a dialogue with the churches and consistories in order to promote and coordinate youth activities in synergy.
Furthermore, the project indicates objectives: to create and consolidate meeting spaces that foster growth in faith, reflection and research on issues of faith, belonging, historical-religious roots, active citizenship, but also commitment to church avoiding the isolation of the youth “sector”, and making sure that spirituality, worship, service and witness, constitutive elements of the community experience, are also incorporated in youth activities.
For the formation of a youth animation team (EAG), the project refers to professional figures: a coordinator (full time), a theological consultant, professional trainers who will work in synergy to train young church members with enthusiasm and imagination to invent new ways of approaching the world of youth.
Finally, to achieve the expected results, it will be necessary to equip oneself with tools that ensure the integration ofteam in the fabric of the church through meetings with consistories, pastoral and diaconal meetings, days of reflection, but also by monitoring the activity of the team itself in order to be able to assess strengths and weaknesses.
With act 21, the Conference entrusted the CED to proceed with the implementation of the project in a short time.