Missional Youth Church Network
October 2023 Update
The Missional Youth Church Network (MYCN) is a ground-breaking initiative dedicated to fostering the spiritual development of youth through the establishment of new, vibrant church communities. Founded on the principle of ‘by young people, for young people’ MYCN is the result of a fruitful partnership between Church Army and the office of the Archbishop of York. By nurturing a sense of belonging and fostering a community spirit, MYCN aims to help local youth leaders and clergy come alongside young people as they explore their faith, discover their potential and make a positive impact on their communities.
In 2019, MYCN set a goal of creating 30 Missional Youth Churches (MYCs) within a span of five years. It is wonderful news that they are well on their way to achieving this target! Currently, MYCN is in touch with over 100 dedicated leaders, from all over the country, who share a passion for building churches with young people right where they are.
Out of the 25 MYCs that have been established so far, 16 are already actively fostering a sense of community and delving into the journey of discipleship. The progress being made is inspiring.
“I have appreciated being able to ‘think aloud’ with people who are very experienced in youth work and have benefitted from their wisdom. There is great value in thinking through various options with people who have an understanding of the situation but are not part of it and have no ‘agenda’ of their own… Being challenged by MYCN to think through what the next steps towards faith might be for the young people and changing our approach so that the youth could take ownership of their night immediately changed the dynamic of the group.”
Josh Smith, Wrexham CoM
Church Army’s collaboration with MYCN is thriving at Centres of Mission in Leeds, Bradford, Greenwich and Wrexham. These inspirational hubs have experienced remarkable growth in their youth communities. MYCN, as innovative leaders in youth ministry, are shaping the future, and their success is set to continue with a vision to create more youth churches across the UK. There is also a new youth team resource, called Explore, which aims to further support youth leaders and clergy in enabling young people to form community and discover faith in Jesus.
“MYCN are really excited to be launching Explore — a resource for youth teams. We think it’s important to invest in the leadership team and to ensure they share the vision for working among young people in their area, with a view to being able to share faith and grow disciples and to help young people fully participate as co-owners of the project.”
Angela Brymer, Strategic Lead, MYCN.
