Date: 21 December 2021
The Mission Enabler team continues to grow as the Diocese aims to support and empower parishes to be a place where people of all ages reach their full potential. The latest member of the team, The Revd Alastair Etheridge, joined at the start of December to work alongside churches with their youth ministries and outreach.
“I am excited to join the Mission Enabler team and be back in Guildford Diocese. I am passionate about seeing young people grow as disciples of Jesus, becoming like him and revealing him to those around them. Much of this role will be about listening to and working collaboratively with parishes to help them explore how they can best serve young people. I see my role as advocating for young people and youth ministry and helping churches think creatively about how they can make disciples within this emerging generation.”
As well as spending time getting to know the team and connecting with a few youth leaders in his first few weeks Alastair has also been taking time to dream about opportunities this new role opens. “This has been quite exciting and I love thinking about the potential and possibility of what we might be able to do at a diocesan level, to not only stem the tide of young people leaving the church, but to create new possibilities and pathways for young people to engage as deep and committed disciples.”
“My passion for youth ministry comes from having benefitted from some excellent youth ministry as a young person.” Alastair goes on to explain the experiences that drive him. “Without the encouragement and inspiration of some great leaders I'm not sure my faith would have come alive in the same way. I really benefitted from having people to listen, advise, model Jesus, and spur me on to know him more. After university I stumbled into youth ministry, a little reluctantly as I tried to discern a growing sense of calling to serve young people and as I found myself surrounded by young people and seeing their wonder and excitement as faith in Jesus became real for them.”
Having worked in youth ministries for over 20 years, including locally in Woking and as Director of SoulNet, a network based at Soul Survivor Watford supporting youth leaders nationally, Alastair comes with a wealth of experience.
“My time at Christ Church Woking and at Soul Survivor massively shaped me and grew my passion for this generation. As a result, I think that thriving youth ministry communicates both this depth and sense of adventure to young people. It helps them grasp who they are becoming in Christ, it gives them a way of being in the world. Thriving youth ministry doesn't have to have a loads of young people, it doesn't have to have the coolest equipment, facilities or leaders, rather thriving youth ministry stands with each young person, values them, encourages them, reveals Jesus to them and establishes a sense of adventure in them in an overly cautious and fear driven world. I think thriving youth ministry seeks to listen to God's voice discerning the bespoke ways he calls each church to follow him as they seek to know, reach, and disciple young people.”