In partnership with Liverpool Hope University, SU’s Sarah Davison has been researching a hybrid approach to mission, looking into what influences non-Christian young people (aged 7-15) and how they’d seek out information about faith.
The full report will be available to download here from 16 September 2024. Before then, here are a couple of key findings taken from the report to get you thinking.
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Key finding one
Children and young people favour a hybrid approach. While us adults tend to differentiate between online and face-to-face mission, Generation Z don’t. They didn’t just want to purely explore faith online or face to face, they wanted both – not least because online and face to face serve different purposes.
They’d go online to find out facts and figures on faith – but they’re aware not everything online is true and exercise caution! But to discover what it’s like to be a Christian, they’d want to talk to a real person because they associate trust with someone being in front of them.
Key finding two
We may have wrongly assumed what influences them! Young people say they are influenced by family and friends. Youth leaders, however, assumed their influences were brands, celebrities, social media, trends. It might be, of course, that young people are less aware than adults of the power that these things exert on them. But I do think we need to be careful that we don’t assume we know children and young people, what they need, what they want, and so on.
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Sarah says, ‘For me, it’s highlighted that, when we explore faith with children and young people, we need to really listen to them, understand where they’re coming from, and be mindful that we can learn as much from them as they can from us! And taking a hybrid approach offers more opportunities for that to happen.
Access the full report
The hybrid mission report will be available on 16 September. Visit su.org.uk/hybrid to download it and learn more.
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