Youth Council

An Introduction from the Chair of the Bishop's Youth Council

The Bishop's Youth Council has been running since 2003 and we have been through so many different things, from a change in Bishop and Youth Advisor, to sleeping out in cardboard boxes for the St Basil's SleepOut, going to Romania to work in a hospice, joining the Diocesan youth trip to Malawi and taking a Growing Leaders course. In our meetings we spend time together but also with God strengthening our faith and supporting each other through Christ.

Now the Bishop's Youth Council is developing and moving forward, in the way God is leading us with the diocese and church as a whole. Jeremiah 6:16 reads:

This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls."

This verse is inspiring us on the Bishop's Youth Council. It reminds us as young people that there have been millennia of faithful people before us and that we are part of something very ancient but good. As a council we try to reclaim from the ancient and transform it into something useful for us now. In the Bishop's Youth Council we try to find the good way for young people of the Anglican churches in Birmingham. We try to do this by being a voice to the Bishop which can be very influential in the local churches and the Diocese.

The Bishop's Youth Council has many issues we address together with the Bishop. One central issue is to try and bring young people together in each deanery so that they do not feel isolated in their individual churches. We try to achieve this by encouraging our council members to go to churches and youth groups to meet with the young people and build up relationships with them.

Because we are young people we sometimes don't see the grey between the black and white and that means we dream without limits. Therefore as young people we can make a huge change to the youth work and church in Birmingham by giving the young people a chance to voice their opinions and also an opportunity to change and improve the things they are concerned about.

The Council also has chances to make an impact outside of Birmingham by having representatives on the Church of England Youth Council, doing work abroad like going to Malawi, providing training in Christian leadership which can be applied outside the church and supporting each other in gap years and other projects.

Looking to the future we will be helping to roll out the Growing Leaders: Youth Edition training throughout the diocese, creating a 3d course for young people, supporting and fundraising for more charities as a council and helping the youth advisers in their roles, especially with planning the three Catalyst events.