Celebrating our Rangatahi

Youth Week is celebrated in Aotearoa New Zealand from 20 - 26 May 2024. This year’s theme for Youth Week is, “We may not have it all together, but together we have it all” - ‘Māwherangi a tama roto ka taka, kāpuia ake ka pūrangiaho’.

I want to start by acknowledging and thanking all who serve our young people within the church: church leaders who champion our young people, youth leaders, Sunday school teachers and all those rangatahi who sit on working groups and boards ensuring that the voices of our young people are heard.

The theme is a timely reminder that even though we may face challenges and struggles as individuals or even as a collective, when we come together and support each other, we have the power to achieve great things. It recognises the strength and value of unity, collaboration and community.

Youth Shaping the Direction of MCNZ

Earlier this year, the Tauiwi Youth Ministry team (TYTANZ) met with Simulata Pope and Alofa So’olefai, who are members of the transition team to discuss the current state of the work towards the establishment of Te Hāpai. This was an opportunity for us to more deeply understand the role that young people will play in this process and how this work will shape the future of what ministry to young people looks like for all of Te Haahi. It was clear from this conversation that all team members recognised the importance of this work and the need for young people to feed into the direction that this work lands in.

The question was posed - what are the things that are preventing growth for young people in our church? Although many challenges were identified, particularly in a post-COVID environment, there was also an acknowledgment of the opportunity that this work presents for us to reimagine how we are creating a space that enables our young people to grow and thrive in their faith and in the church. The needs of our young people and leaders are vast. There isn’t one answer or solution that will work for everyone. From the different age cohorts to the different regions and synods represented, our experiences differ. This emphasised for us the importance of further engagement and collaboration with our young people to understand their vision for the church, their specific needs, and how this can be best achieved through the work being led by the transition team.

For me, being provided with opportunities to be exposed to our Vahefonua meetings and Methodist Conference is what initially sparked my understanding of what it means to be Methodist and grew my sense of belonging within the church. Although I didn’t understand too much of what was being discussed, it enabled me to see the work that our church does and how decisions are made. These opportunities have also enabled me to meet and build connections with our youth leaders and church leaders more widely. For others, a sense of belonging may come from being able to connect with other like-minded young people or feeling safe speaking to your church leaders and ministers about the challenges we face as young people.

With the transition team's final report due at the end of the year, we look forward to being able to feed into this work to ensure our young people's voices are heard and incorporated into the decisions and direction that our church moves in.