I think the biggest challenge is that young people are fed a lie that they don’t realise. And the lie is: if you have the right clothes, if you have money, if you’re a party animal, if you have status and hang around with the right people, then you will be fulfilled. Our challenge is to kind of lift the curtains and tell them that it’s not true. To tell them: You can have all those things and still, there will be a gap, a big hole in your life. And true fulfillment only comes from knowing Christ. Somehow, we’ve got to find a relevant and challenging way to get that message to nine million children and young people who just don’t know.
What changes do you wish to see in today’s society regarding the youth?We live in a culture today in UK where maybe 90 % of the nation’s youth have no contact with the church. Firstly, I’d love to see more young people have an opportunity to hear the good news of Jesus, and really go for the great life that He offers them.
Secondly, I would like society to look more positively at young people. In this country, the press are always putting young people down, suggesting that they will beat you up or steal your car. And always, the minority spoils it for majority. Part of the Urban Saints movement is saying, ‘we don’t want to say young people are yobos and bandos.' We want to say that they could be Urban Saints – they could be men and women that could be transformational for the Kingdom. We would definitely love to see the society’s view of young people change.
What’s the main goal that rings in your mind as Crusaders enters its new century?
Right now we have about 450 groups reaching across the country working with 5-18 year olds— about 20,000 young people. Our big emphasis for the next few years is to double that number: How can we reach 50,000+ young people in the next 2 or 3 years? All the while knowing that that’s only half a per cent of the population. As we aim towards that in the next 2 or 3 years, our eye is on 10 years: What would it take to reach millions of young people? Being able to bring them together into a community to hear the good news about Christ is our focus.
What does Crusaders want to be remembered as?
We want to be remembered as a movement that loves young people. One that has invested so much time, money, and people into the task of preaching the good news to them. We want to be remembered for having set a standard that’s provocative and prophetic to the church, and that we’re the watchmen/women over this generation.
