“If we really want the church to grow, we have to invest in young people,” said Thom Chu, the Episcopal Church’s director of ministries with young people. “At General Convention, there was a sense that they really wanted to engage and embrace some of the priorities that had already been set.”

By including young people in its ministries and its decision-making, the Episcopal Church is embracing its commitment to the 20/20 vision adopted in July 2000.
Upholding this promise, the new Executive Council Advisory Committee on Young Adults and Youth met in May and identified priorities in youth ministries, young adult ministries and higher education ministries.

“We were trying to reflect all the different experiences and needs of young people and youth because we’re trying to offer a positive and healthy view of God and the church,” Chu said. “Most importantly, the Episcopal Church offers community and a place to connect.”

Priorities include establishing a diocesan young adult ministry network, enabling youth leaders’ formation and designing and implementing a churchwide young adult internships program.

The youth leaders’ formation is the first stage in a multiyear process to implement the Youth Ministry and Spirituality Project, an ecumenical effort to renew youth ministry that formerly was funded by the Lilly Endowment.

“We’re not only talking about adults working with youth, but really empowering young people to be those agents of compassion and mercy in their environments,” Chu said. “So we are spending some of our money to do deeper work in peers’ ministry, both on campus but also among our high-schoolers.

“In our high schools, we already have in place people who know the faith and are learning the faith, and they need the support that will give them the capacity to be a soulmate to someone in need.”

Designed to bridge the gap between short-term mission opportunities and year-long domestic and global service programs, the internships program will provide support for placements lasting six to eight weeks. At the end of each year, the Episcopal Church will host a retreat for all the participants.

“That way they get to meet someone who has just come back from Tanzania or just come off assignment in Los Angeles,” Chu said. “And they can learn from one another’s experience and get a feel for whether they want to pursue one of the long-term programs.”

New campus ministries will focus on “vibrant, transforming worship that touches the deep spiritual yearning of college students,” according to the Advisory Committee. The plan is to offer leadership opportunities, interfaith and ecumenical possibilities, exploration of justice issues and discernment for young vocations of all orders.

“We should not just be thinking of young people in the future,” Chu said. “We need to engage younger generations today.”