It was a real privilege recently to attend an event put on by The Boys’ Brigade, at which it reminded churches that it has been serving children and young people for 125 years but recognises that it needs to change to engage today’s generation, it has produced new material and is willing to try new approaches all of which remain firmly rooted in Jesus. It was great joy to share for a few moments how the experiences I enjoyed many years ago have in some way formed my faith and ministry.

Above all I remember the Boy Brigade leaders and the way in which they lived out their living faith in Jesus and demonstrated this to us as children and young people. There are so many leaders in churches and organisations who owe much of their leadership skills to their experiences in the Boys Brigade. At the same conference Andy Hawthorne (The message trust) reminded us that great organisation and good  programmes are an important part of youth work but the real key is to love the young people for who they are. As one person has put it “the effectiveness of any youth work is dependent on the leaders engaging with the young people. To spend time with them, to pray for them, to enjoy their company, to laugh at what makes them laugh, and to listen to what they want to talk about. Its relationships that engage young people, only then can we show them that living for Jesus is a real and vital part of life.”

Today in China and Brazil God is using young people to lead his church in quite amazing way’s, whilst here in this country we are stuck with outdated models of leadership and struggle with how to retain young people in church. My Boy’s Brigade captain first put me in a pulpit at age 13 years, I don’t remember what I said but I do remember the words of encouragement from him and others. I wonder if we have become so afraid of failure and criticism that there is little scope for the next generation of leaders to step forward.

At the same conference we were reminded that it has been calculated that many of the disciples Jesus chose would have been very young men. At times they found themselves confused, fearful and certainly not the finished article. It was Jesus who modelled before them what it would mean to be his disciples and I suspect it was that which had the greatest impact on them.