Children and Youth Ministry Support

Growing Younger is a priority for churches as part of the Diocese of London’s 2030 vision to see every Londoner encounter the love of God in Christ.

We will start to realise this vision when every child within our diocese:

• Lives in a parish that has a plan to welcome children and young people.
• Lives near a church doing good, well-resourced youth and children’s work.
• Lives near a church that has made a positive impact on their life as they have grown up.
• Lives in a deanery with at least one church working to reach new young people and providing regular worship events for young people.
• Meets Christians inside their school doing excellent schools ministry.
• Has a clear link to a church doing excellent youth work if they attend a Church of England school

The Children and Youth Ministry Support team is focused on helping churches to prioritise “growing younger” and this is reflected through all the resources and programmes offered.

We support anyone involved in leading a church community and their parish through:

• Consultancy – answering questions, helping to refine strategies, signposting resources, supporting recruitment
• The Launchpad course – short-term bespoke training for clergy in partnership with Youthscape
• The Growing Younger Development Pathway – focused support for a church over an agreed time to help them develop and achieve specific goals

It is vital that paid workers feel supported in their role and we aim to help churches in a number of ways:

• 1:1 support – Informal coaching to tackle issues head on and help sustain them in the role
• Networking – Regular meetups to help people connect with and learn from others, solving problems together in person and through the online learning community
• Cultivate – A course for anyone in a paid role without degree-level certification
• Mighty Leaders – An online learning community with essential guidance, training and content to increase the skills and confidence of volunteers and their leaders.

Most things wouldn’t happen in a churches without volunteers. We aim to help churches in a number of ways:

• 1:1 support – Informal coaching for volunteers who are leading others or managing a rota without a paid worker
• Training events – In-person and online throughout the year, either run by the diocesan team or organised locally by Areas
• Mighty Leaders – An online learning community with essential guidance, training and content to increase the skills and confidence of volunteers and their leaders.

We can support you in recruiting the right person for your community and helping them settle in. Whatever stage you’re at in the process, feel free to contact us.

Things we can help with include:

• Refining the job scope and job description
• Guidance on the right salary and benefits
• Safeguarding expectations and processes
• Guidance on what to expect and how to manage them
• Distributing the vacancy through our networks
• Ongoing supervision/advisory support

Email us if you’d like support with any of the above. Be sure to check the Diocese of London’s guidance for in-depth walkthrough of the safe recruitment process for churches.

If your vacancy is already online, you can submit your vacancy to be displayed on the Diocese jobs page. Make sure you’re also aware of the Apprentice Programme, which is a great opportunity to train someone from within your church.

Looking for a job?

Check the vacancies page. Some churches in our Diocese do not submit their job vacancies to our jobs page, so try searching on social media or church network job boards.

The Compassionate Communities team supports churches and chaplaincies who are involved in ministry and mission work to ensure young people have spaces to be safe; challenging youth violence, offering mentoring, and helping families in their parenting of young people.

Find out more here