Churches are to be given extra help in how to take the gospel to children and young people.
Christian charity Scripture Union England & Wales laid down a call to churches to increase their outreach work with children and young people, as part of The 95 Campaign.
The campaign focuses on research suggesting that 95 per cent of children and young people don't go to church.
It has been launched by the charity as part of SU's 150th anniversary celebrations.
'It is hoped churches will join in a united vision to take the good news of Jesus beyond the church to reach young people, and that the campaign will help educate, motivate and resource churches to increasingly look outward in their children's and youth activities,' said SU.
National director Tim Hastie-Smith added: 'If today's young people aren't in church, we need to step out and take the good news to where they are. We can't wait for them to come to us. There are many practitioners nationwide who week in, week out, are working relentlessly to connect with children and young people, but there remain so many who have not heard of Jesus. We see many great initiatives already in place and we want to harness that momentum to see even greater impact across the nation.'
As well as encouraging mission, SU will lead discussions and facilitate learning through the campaign, creating opportunities to listen and learn from both young people and practitioners to better understand their needs. The 95 talks, keynote speeches by thought-leading children's and youth workers, will be live streamed live for the rest of this year.
A special a survey for children and youth assessing the state of ministry will also be taken to identify the areas that need improving and remodelling.
The campaign is also seeking to provide resources and financial support to existing outreach activities. To this end, SU has set up a new Good News Fund to provide churches with investment to see their initiatives get off the ground, and many free resources will also be developed based on learnings from the campaign.
Hastie-Smith said: 'Our vision for this campaign is too see a movement of Christians working together to take the good news of the gospel to children and young people who so desperately need to hear it. We're aware that this won't be easy. It means stepping out of comfort zones, and some difficult questions will need to answered, but that's all part of this campaign – bringing people together so we can learn and share together.'
You can find out more about The 95 Campaign, or sign up to be a part of the initiative, at www.the95.org.uk.
