THE ANGLICAN WORSHIP AND THE YOUTH: A CONCERN.

THE ANGLICAN WORSHIP AND THE YOUTH: A CONCERN.

#Admin 2025-01-24
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ANGLICAN WORSHIP

 

The Anglican Church is one of the oldest religious denominations in the world. Hardly would you visit any country without having a place of worship that is the Anglican.

 

Anglican is unique with;

1.) The book of common prayers; this marks the uniqueness of the Anglican Identity

2.)Our Hymns; Anglican is extremely rich with traditional context/worship.

3.) The church is rich in Lectionary which is Bible based, and it comprises of different aspects such as  Advent,  Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, Trinity  etc. All these things serves as reminder of what God has done in the Body of Christ.

4.) Liturgy& Spirituality; The Liturgy especially the Eucharist is the instrument and sacrament of unity, where all members gather together. And this serves as a reminder that we should be inclined to God and serve Him.

 

Who is a Youth?

A youth is someone who is in the early stage of growth/existence (maturity).

It is the transition from dependence of childhood to adulthood dependence.

2Timothy 2, 1-2.

1Timothy 4: 12, Let no man despise thy youth: but be thou an example  of the believers , in word in conversation, in charity, in spirit , in faith, in purity(KV,)

A youth/young people appreciate church communities where they can grant them open lines of communication, actively listening and attending to their concern.

 

Youth; A Concern.

Now lets highlight the problems been identified that the youths are experiencing in the Anglican worship.

 

1.)Indiscipline in the Body of Christ.

We find a lot of indiscipline starting from the top to the bottom.

2Timothy 2:22, Flee also youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart(KJV)

In times of today our younger generation now practice "MICROWAVE RELIGION". They want everything cooked up and ready made, 30minutes worship and we are done.

In times of today, most young people want to listen to only prosperity/wealth leaving out the fact that living Holy lives that is pleasing to God comes first.

Matthew 6:33, But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you(KJV)

 

2.)Uncompromising Inflexibility.

We need to explore additional ways of worship, we are in a world today that the youth has a major and important role they play especially in the church. Despite not leaving out the Anglican believes, doctrines and traditional way of worship, we have to be a bit flexible in our mode of worship because we are in the age/time where we have Pentecostal churches all over and we cant deny the fact that our youths go there to worship too.

Our younger generation want a church that is spiritually vibrant.

 

What can be  the possible solutions.

 

1.)Decision making; Let s give the younger ones a voice in decision making, it makes them feel their opinions are valued and respected. Let s stop judging and critizing our younger ones, the exposure and knowledge they have now is on a different level to what we use to have in the 70s, 80s & 90s.  The youth as a group yearn for a church where they can have a sense of belonging, identity and recognition.

We cannot use the same methodologies we use for the older generation to teach the truth of our faith to the younger generation.

 

2.) Leadership roles; Offer leadership roles within the church community. Such as planning harvest programmes, serving in youth committees.

Joel 2: 28, And it shall come to pass afterward, that i will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions (KJV)

 

3.) Organizing prayer seminars/prayer meetings; The church has a lot of work to do in this aspect. These things don't come for free, the church must be ready to spend and invest in our youths. Bring in guest ministers to talk to our youths( This is part of what the go for in the Pentecostal churches)have a time of worship and praise, after all the main goal, loyalty and allegiance is to God our maker.

 

4.) Commitment/training from church leaders; We have to move the youth to the centre of all that is done as a church, their voice must always be heard. The spiritual Heads must leave room for them to exhibit and showcase the talents they have within them.

 

5.)Rendering help & assistance when needed;  The church & members as a whole should imbibe the culture of also pulling the youths up. Most of them aside spirituality also look at what they stand to gain from the church they worship. We have members in key positions in the society, let them put out job opportunities that the younger ones will benefit from, scholarships too would be appreciated for those that really need it.

6.)Parental guidance; Our parents have a handful/greater part  of the work to do. What examples are we laying down for our kids, some parents have failed in their duty posts, even priests kids are not left out. We must guide the younger generation especially in the area of misbehaving and having discipline. We must stop to pamper them  when they've done something wrong.

Deuteronomy 6:7, And thou shall teach them diligently unto thy children, and thou shall talk to them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up(KJV)

 

7.) Pastoral guidance; Are the priests practicing what they are preaching? Can these younger ones look at you and say yes, I have been blessed by what my priest teaches me. Are you a positive example to your congregation? This is a wake up call to the Body of Christ. The place of worship is a sacred place, and it must remain like that, that cannot be compromised.

 

8.) Comfort; The place of worship must be a comfort zone, where everyone can run to. Our place of worship must be comfortable spiritually and physically.

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