Six months after the launch of the Diocesan Mission in 2002, it seemed that every ministry connected to the Sydney Diocese was about the Mission and the goal of reaching 10 per cent of the population in Bible-based churches.
Today, about six months after the launch of Connect09, it seems every ministry is about connecting, and has always been!

This phenomenon of linking one's ministry to the latest tag line, concept or strategic focus is interesting to watch but rather concerning at the same time. We need churches and ministry organisations to think in radically different ways about connecting to the community, rather than continuing what they have always been doing, and calling it "Connect09'.

This raises many questions for our diocese. I will raise just one.

Where should we put most of our efforts as we think differently about connecting with our community?

The age group our diocese is particularly weak in connecting with is the 18-to-25-year-olds. The National Church Life Survey results show a worrying loss of young people from our churches once they leave high school.

The hard facts

The fact is, nearly everyone in our pews this Sunday came to Christ before their 30th birthday. Our survey results (see box) show that 84 per cent of Sydney Anglicans say their conversion occurred during the time that they were still "young people". This is five out of every six of our church members.

Some may argue that this "five out of six" figure is just a measure of the failure of our current youth-focused ministry paradigm, which stops us from making effective efforts to connect with the non-Christian adults.

This argument goes that Anglican schools, Special Religious Education (SRE) and university ministry are currently our best avenues for community connection and so we need to develop similar models for adults. The conclusion is that our diocese is doing fine with youth but nowhere near as well with adults. Therefore we need to put most of our efforts into connecting with adults.

In other words, it is a question of causality. What is "causing" the result that five in six people become Christians as young people? Is it that we put most of our efforts into reaching young people and so this "produces" this result? Or are young people more open to questioning their spiritual direction than older people? 
While I agree that we must place concerted effort into reaching the adults in our local communities, I believe any conclusion that concentrates most of our efforts on adults springs from the false premise that we don't do this already.

The reality is that most of our ministry energy is already firmly focused on adults.

Two key NCLS results need to be put together " the fact that most people become Christians as young people and the fact that Sydney Anglicans see a high drop-out rate in those aged 18 to 25.

Together they demonstrate that God has shaped humans in such a way as to be more open to change - and accepting Jesus as their Lord and Saviour - when they are "young people". Yet most church ministries are focused mainly on adults, not young people.

Facing reality

When I think back 12 years ago, to when I was first appointed rector of a parish, the group I most naturally turned towards were those people like myself - within 10 to 15 years of my age. It is therefore no surprise that, in the early years, it was the 18-to-40 age bracket where the vast majority of growth came from.

This was the group I more naturally gravitated towards, and so that is where I put the majority of my time. I am not saying the under 18s and over 45s were forgotten by any means: we equipped and appointed others to minister to them. However, most of my time was taken up with the people I was most comfortable with.

Looking at most of the Sydney Anglican churches that have grown significantly over the last decade, you see a similar story. So why do I mention this?
I think most readers will agree that God shapes us as human beings to naturally gravitate towards people who are most like ourselves. However, this human reality opens a significant challenge for those of us in ministry as we age " how do we connect with the next generations of his people?

While there is something peculiar about the way God has made humans that means young people are far more open to accept him as Lord than adults generally are, in church history, adult Christian leaders have often solely focused on connecting with other adults.

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these".

It is very significant that our Lord made this command in the context of the disciples' passionate concern that Jesus spend more time with adults.

We send many of our best men and women into career Christian ministry. Most of them are overwhelmingly dedicated (they pay for most of their own training and give on average 10 years of their lives to be trained) and are among the most talented Anglicans we have. They work hard for decades with thousands of dedicated and talented volunteers. Yet our growth rate across the diocese over the last decade has only matched the growth rate of the general population.
Sure, any growth rate is staggering compared with what is happening in some other Anglican dioceses in our nation. Yet on the other hand such a status quo scenario should provoke self-reflection not self-congratulation.
Connect09 encourages us to turn towards our communities and make effective efforts to connect with them in a way we have not done before. A wise man said doing what you have always done only with greater intensity, and expecting a different result, is a sign of insanity!
Conclusions
While we should try to connect with peoples of all age groups, we should put a disproportionate effort into connecting with young people. God will use that strategic endeavour to bring about greater results for the effort expended in his name.

There are four areas local churches could examine:

1. Something is desperately wrong with the way we minister to people aged 18 to 25. Anglicans, overall, lose a staggering per cent of attenders in this age group. In particular, we lose far too many young adults soon after they leave school. This is a hole in our ministry net that needs to be mended as a matter of urgent priority.

2. Sydney churches should deploy a disproportional amount of resources into connecting with younger members of their communities. One major reason is that most young people are not in a position to contribute much in the offertory plate, and are not likely to do so for many years. This means youth ministry requires outside support. Yet the long-term potential is there, if only we would invest in it now.

3. Local churches must identify and groom young leaders to become youth ministers. Youthworks College graduates are in such demand that many have full-time jobs waiting for them even before they begin their two-to-three years training. The single greatest request I have had in my eight months as Youthworks' CEO is "Do you have a youth worker for me?' The answer is often negative because of the huge demand. However, if churches send their best young adults to Youthworks College they can have a youth worker straight away. There are currently 68 Youthworks College graduates working in a school or church-based ministry, connecting with many thousands of young people. Imagine how many more could be reached if we trained more of our talented young people in career children's and youth ministries.

4. Recruiting volunteers for school Scripture is also critical. Children in NSW government schools are the only children in our country who have a legislative right to be taught the Bible in state-run schools. Currently, Youthworks helps resource the teaching of nearly 262,000 primary school children Australia-wide. Nearly 80 percent of Anglican churches in Sydney have an SRE ministry in their local government primary school, connecting with nearly 53,000 children, yet only 32 per cent have a ministry in their local high school. Imagine how many more young people our churches could connect with if many more Scripture teachers were recruited!

As our churches focus on Connect09 let us ensure ministry to young people is foremost in our thoughts and prayers. Yes, connect with people of all ages, but whatever we do, we must connect with the young. That is where the harvest is most ripe.

The Rev Zac Veron is CEO of Anglican Youthworks.