(Original article by Levi Phillips - Diocese of London website)
Rev Ron Cross, Vicar of St Saviour’s Sunbury, reflects on how a recent sermon by a young person in their church impacted him.
One of the many exciting aspects of being a Youth Minster for me has been seeing the growth in our young people as they give themselves to serving at our Sunday morning services. As we started to develop what we were doing in the local community, we couldn’t get away from the question, “Are we treating these young people like equal members of the body of Christ?” So we decided to explore how that outworks in our church. We know having young people serve is not a new thing in many churches, but we’ve started giving an entire service over to young people, to plan and deliver from start to finish. It’s been fun and we’re learning as we go! Something that has stood out for me as a vicar during these services, is that young people can be hugely inspirational if we can release the need to control. Most of the time, you can have either control or growth, but you can’t have both. It’s something that vicars especially wrestle with when we’re delegating responsibility, but for me this has been a real part of making space for young people to lead well. At one of our recent youth-led services, we were treated to a sermon on “being relevant” (one of our values at St Saviour’s Sunbury) from Abbie, who happens to be aged 14. Abbie preached with more skill, incisiveness and with greater passion than many adults I’ve heard in my time as a vicar so far. Take a listen to her sermon and be encouraged...