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1. 456 20 IONot groded electronic games 9 68 3 Play teama sports 3 57 23 17 4 What sort ef television programmes de you watch7Please tick all Read books ond comics n 4 1 18 that apply Skate rollerblade cycle 21 52 9 18 24 Aninal nature 44 Game shows Spend time with boyfriend 58 Carteons 9 Information or girlfriend 25 19 2 54 81 Comedy 25 News Watch videos DYD 25 52 17 6 4 Cookery 37 Quiz shows Watch television 50 27 2 2 Other hobbies interests 23 45 14 18 7 Curren affars 7 Religious programmes please specify 20 Documentaries 67 Soaps 6 Discussion 47 Spart eisure 9 For each of the following statements please indicate whether you 23 DIY gardening 4 Don t watch much agree or disagree please tick one box per row 79 Filens television Agree Not sure Disagree Everyone needs o hero in their hfe 29 41 30 5 De yeu own any of the following yourself Please tick all that apply enis 74 Computer 66 Personal Stereo feel af clone 36 28 J 22 DVO 4 Playnet Tt is ahwayt wrong to tell hes 42 28 30 62 Mobile phone s Televides It is always wrong to cheat 67 19 t4 60 Music system 61 TV in your room It is better to get even than mod 38 36 26 heen 1 eee all rn It is OK to copy things from other 6 Playstation Dreamcast N amp 4 IO WAP phone people if you are in a hurry 24 3 45 6 Do yau have your own room It is OK to teka little things like pencils from school zo a7 7 04 Yes all to myself 16 No I share with Life s teo shert te worry 43 28 29 b2. 14 Which one of the following statements comes closest to describing how you would define a femily Please tick one box onty 37 Where all members of the family ore related teeach other by birth adoption or marriage 56 Any person or graup whom you love or care about deeply or who lave or care about you deeply 4 Any group of people who live in the same home together 3 Any greup of people whe share the tame set of values and goals in life 15 Which ef the following statements best describes your home My home is a place where Please tick one bex enty 59 T feat secure and loved 9 Each of us is trying to love each other 24 Sometimes I feel loved ether times I don t 4 T usually feel uncemfortable and would rather be elsewhere 4 I feel comfortable although we are rot a close loving family 16 Over tha pest three months have you done ony of the following activities remember everything yeu tel us is anonymous end confidential Please tick al that appty 69 Watched a horror or violent film 6 Used an ilegal drug 15 Cheated on on exam or test 7 Stolen money 5 Been involved in shophfting 56 Lied to a parent teacher or ether adult 46 Lied fo a friend or another young person 20 Drank enough alcohol to get drunk 17 Intentionally tried to hurt someone physically 20 Intentionally tried to hurt someone s Feelings 13 Smoked a cigarette WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT RELIGION AND CHURCH 17 Which ef the following rratemants best describes yo
3. 6 REACHING AND KEEPING TWEENAGERS per Appendix 4 Table A4 2 34 A grades 51 B 13 C e 27D Bor F Naturally we were also interested in whether they felt they were Christian or not They replied as follows e 55 were Christian 24 were not sure if they were Christian e 14 had never been a Christian e 3 were no longer Christian and 4 belonged to another religion slightly less than in the general population However being a Christian and regularly attending a place of worship is not the same thing When asked if they now went or had ever gone to church or Sunday School they replied e 36 went to church regularly 18 went to church occasionally e 22 used to go but didn t now 24 had never been This is a very reasonable cross selection of the various kinds of experiences that were being explored When the form mentioned church we asked the 4 who belonged to other religions to sub stitute temple synagogue mosque etc The questionnaire did not include a question on ethnic origins Experience of church The respondents churchgoing varied by age gender and academic success as measured by the grades they usually obtained Figure 1 2 illustrates how their churchgoing varied with their age The regular churchgoers decline with age with the largest drop between those aged 11 and 12 when young people have been in secondary school for a year or so Those wh
4. 7 Farity pressure 44 I grew out of it 4T started going te see the 46 I did not enjoy it parent that I don t live with 23 There were few other 10 My friends stepped going people there ef my ags 6 There were no activities for 41 nas always hte young people 11 Moved out of the area 7 Did not get on with the leaders 7 I didn t like the way 9 Did not get on with ethar I was tracted young peeple children 3 The services were 12 I had serious doubts about the too lively Christian religion 17 Church services 37 The worship service was boring started too early 12 Did rot understand the lessons 8 Thecongregation was rot 23 The services were old fashioned welcoming 18 Some other reason please specify Now go to Q24 21 Lf you ge te church eccacionally what sorts of things de you go te church for Please tick all that apply 1B Confirmation 20 Youth service 62 Wedding funeral 17 Church parode 49 Christening baptisrn dedication 34 Easter Day 34 Carol service 24 Harvest Festival 36 Christmas day midnight mass 23 Mothering Sunday 24 Something else please specify Now ga te Q24 25 Whet kind ef cherch de you er did you ge to Please tick one only Tf you go te more than one church please think about the church you ge te most offen 48 Church of England 2 Independent Roman Cathelic 2 House New Church 10 Baptist 9 Methodist 2 Panteca a tol 8 Other please specify 13 Don t know 26 Many young people yeu age do not go to church
5. Evangelical Alliance J W Laing Trust Salesians of Don Bosco l i Spring Harvest Youth for Christ aoa a en ae ae n o ada aae ae ae ee eee as aaa T Likewise we are very grateful for those who gave many hours serving on the Steering Committee to help guide the entire project Richard Bromley Chair Youth for Christ Darrell Jackson initially Baptist Union of Great Britain Nick Lear later Baptist Union of Great Britain Capt Ron Davies Church Army Rev Philip Mounstephen Church Pastoral Aid Society Matt Summerfield Crusaders Ishmael Smale initially Evangelical Alliance Danny Brierley later Evangelical Alliance Martin Poulsom Salesians of Don Bosco Rachael Orrell Cnring Harvect i tU4wk BUSEWE AZT ELA WILLS wya aa a Sea ae tJ fe rT gt 8 a Z O y gt E X Tj TI fi Z tT 2 gt in rr CA Those who have been kind enough to comment on an initial draft of this manuscript were Richard Bromley John Buckeridge Revd Anthony Burnham The Revd Gill Dallow Sydney Jones OBE Penny Frank Nick Lear John Marshall Revd Philip Mounstephen Martin Poulsom Debby Sharp Heather Wraight Youth For Christ Youthwork Moderator Free Churches Group Diocese of Leicester Boys Brigade Church Pastoral Aid Society Baptist Union of Great Britain formerly Director of Ministry Saltmine Church Pastoral Aid Society Salesians of Don Bosco Northamptonshire Association of Youth Clubs
6. and others have stepped going Why de you think that is Please tick ell that you think apply E7 They think it is boring 39 They think it is irrelevont 64 They don t beleve in Ged 6 None of their friends go 17 They don t feel welcome 33 They feel out of ploce 16 Their families have moved away 67 They car be bothered 18 They go out with their perents 11 They go out with their 43 They hove never thought about it grandparents 23 They don t like the people who 14 They don t like the de go minster leader 41 They don t know omyone at 22 They don t like the mora church teaching 34 They don t knew what happens 73 They think going to at church church isn t cool 63 They ve got other tiungs to do 48 Their parents dont ona Sunday encourage them to go 49 They don t get up early enough 15 Their parents might not on Sundays to go to church like the minister vicar 23 They go te see the parent that they don t live with 6 Another reason please specify 27 Why do you think some young people go to church Please tick all that apply 68 They have akurys gone 53 Their parents send them 60 Thay enjoy it 17 It s near home 22 Can you remember why you sterted going te church Please tick one only If you go to more than one church please answer the questions for the church you go to most offen 41 Because they think they should 57 Their parents family go 64 Te earn about God and Jesus 38 To meet their friends 65 My parents took me
7. from God s Kingdom writes teacher and author of Sunday school materials Mrs Geraldine Witcher and gives a whole book to explain how Isn t the decline just normal population change In fact quite the contrary There were 9 150 000 children under 15 in England in 1991 and 9 440 000 in 2001 an increase of nearly 300 000 the number is projected to decline 600 000 to 8 830 000 children by 2011 a decrease of 6 The decline is not necessarily the same among churchgoing and non churchgoing families but never theless a small proportion of the future decline may be for natural reasons rather than anything to do with the church as such Who gave information The upper third 10 14 year olds of this under 15 age group was chosen for this study partly because of the educational and physical changes that occur in this five year period which may influence their feelings towards the church but also because it is during these years that many parents give their children freedom to choose whether or not they wish to continue Coming with them to church A random selection of ministers was asked to distribute forms to the 10 14 age group in their church or Sunday School 549 forms were returned from them Just over 100 schools in the same towns as these churches were asked if they would allow one or more classes to complete the questionnaires and more than a third agreed returning in total 1 296 forms In addition forms were distribu
8. hand them in at the police station 40 Pick them up and keep them 8 Pick them up and give them to charity 7 Pick sne up ond leave the other 12a What sort ef person de you think yeu are Please tick ol that apply 14 Angry 57 Helpful 57 Relhable 24 Annoying 36 Lary 14 Rude 20 Bessy 23 Leader 1 Scared 3 Bully 45 Mature 7 Self centred 63 Caring 41 Messy 27 Shy 36 Daring 28 Moody 9 Slow 35 Forget fu 43 Noisy 52 Sporty 82 Friendly 24 Ordinary 57 Talkative 64 Funny 21 Que SA Thought ful 20 Fussy 15 Pesceful 7 Unforgiving 57 Happy 10 Perfect 26 Unusuol 54 Mard working 49 Playful 48 Well benaved 12b Hew de you think other people would describe you Please teck all that apply 75 A good friend to have when 3 A bad person there is trouble 73 A good laugh 13 Someone whe gets intectot 16 A boffin ef treuble 37 A coo dude 46 Someone who knows what 6 A nerd they are doing 66 Someone you can trust 3 Someone whe doesn t care 27 A bit of a pain about others 64 A good person 10 Someane whe always wants their own way 13 Which of the following do you trust Please tick all that apply 69 Parents 5 Paliticians 71 Other family members 7 People on Television 56 Police 3 People who write in 44 Teachers newspapers 17 Social workers 14 Lawyers 59 Doctors and purses 34 Other cividren and young 31 People whe go to church 42 Church leaders vicor munester 33 Childline 32 Youth club leaders 29 A neighbour 19 Leaders of things kke gudes scouts
9. rate of 1 000 a week Two churches in five in England have no children s or youth work at all What can we do they asked We ve got to find out why We all agreed So did others serv ing with youth organisations and battling it out at the front line Crusaders Youth For Christ the Salesians of Don Bosco Church Pastoral Aid Society the Baptist Union of Great Britain Spring Harvest J W Laing Trust and the Evangelical Alliance were all con cerned and responded to letters asking for help with a major new Study specially aimed at youth Others also supported the study in different ways like Boys Brigade and Church Army In addition a much wider body of people kindly agreed to act on the Council of Reference A small planning committee under the chairmanship of Richard Bromley Director of Local Ministry Youth for Christ began to consider what should be investigated and how The project was called Reaching And Keeping Early Secondaries RAKES The outcome was that four groups of young people were identified Thacea wha wara nirrrantthe cot ll an chiar nrh 4 HIU Wno Weile currenuy SU iki Cnurcn Those who had been in church but had left Those who had never gone regularly to church Those who attended Christian events or youth clubs but who didn t go to church regularly 2 REACHING AND KEEPING TWEENAGERS It was agreed that the main focus of the study should be young people aged 10 to 14 school ye
10. 1 and 16 Chapter 8 Questions 31 to 37 Chapter 9 Question 12 The result is this book of 57 500 words excluding 6 000 in the Appendices 208 REACHING AND KEEPING TWEENAGERS Bi Amand Sm RA ARLY A 2 V What is this aurvey It leoks at how yeurg people spend thair spare time and what they think ebeut religion and tha church Whe shavid completa st Yours people agad batween 10 and 14 years old AR your answers are canlidarnal ard no one ahe et your school or church mil reed them What gravid I do 1 De net arita your rome on the quettionnare 2 Please tick D only ene answer for cach muestion uniess it asks you te tich more than one 3 Whea yeu have firashed put it in the envelope you have bees given end seal it Giwe 1 bach t your leader teacher Thank you for your help YOU AND THE THINGS YOU THINK AND DO What else de yeu de in your spare time Please tick one box per row Idoit enmy with with I dont 1 What school year are you in wn friends ether doit 5 Year 5 or beiew 23 Year 8 2 Year ilor panj 12 Year 6 22 Yeor 9 above Do homework a4 6 5 5 21 Year 7 15 Year 10 bo te church activities 4 28 17 51 g Y Go to disces rightchbs 1 60 7 R 2 Ars yeu 60 to the cinema 2 77 15 6 47 A boy 53 A gri bo to a youth church chub 4 39 9 48 Hang around with friends 4 68 3 5 3 What grades de you mestty ger for your school college work Listen to music 6o 3 Please tick one box only Play arcade games 8 36 6 45 0A 12 LEAF Play home computer
11. Christian Research 205 Appendix 2 Methodology Quantitative research This carefully planned survey was aimed at four groups of Tweenagers e Those who currently go to church on Sunday but distin guishing between different types of frequency e Those who are involved with a Christian activity like Boys Brigade church youth club Crusaders etc during the week but who do not go to church on Sunday e Those who do not go to church at all contacted via schools Those who had stopped going to church by far the most difficult group to contact A questionnaire was sent to a carefully selected random prob ability sample of ministers taking into account such factors as denomination churchmanship church environment and geograph ical location Each participating church was sent an appropriate number of forms up to a maximum of 20 A total of 1 008 ministers across four denominations were chosen and asked if they would dis tribute forms to children in their church aged between 10 and 14 One in every eight 12 123 churches agreed to do so The number of forms requested is shown in the Table on the next page together with the number of responding churches to whom they were sent No church was sent more than 20 forms how ever many were requested It is not possible to know if all the forms sent were distributed but if they were the response rate was 38 549 forms If fewer were actually distributed the response rate wo
12. Reaching and Keeping Tweenagers Dr Peter Brierley This survey was sponsored by Baptist Union of Great Britain Boys Brigade Church Army Church Pastoral Aid Society Crusaders Evangelical Alliance J W Laing Trust Salesians of Don Bosco Spring Harvest Youth for Christ All royalties from this book will go towards the cost of further research for the Church SS Christian Research i November 2002 Contents Introduction Chapter 1 Hi Tweens Chapter 2 The Influence of Home and Family Chapter 3 The Impact of School Chapter 4 The Importance of the Small Screen Chapter 5 Friends and Leisure Activities Chapter 6 The Experience of Church Chapter 7 Honesty and Other Personal Values Chapter 8 What do Tweenagers Believe Chapter 9 Tweenagers where are they going Postscript Appendix 1 Sponsors and Council of Reference Appendix 2 Methodology Appendix 3 The Questionnaire Appendix 4 Additional Tables About Christian Research Index 19 47 6l 71 103 139 203 205 208 212 235 237 Introduction Y t was real scary as the analysis began I came into work one morn Line and my colleagues said to me What s up I ve been trying to understand the figures from this 1998 English Church Attendance Survey I replied I ve been looking at the number of children under 15 in the church They ve dropped nearly half a million in the last nine years We re losing kids at the
13. ars 6 to 10 though inevitably some 9 and 15 year olds were caught up in the sweep We approached schools churches and parachurch agencies asking for young people to complete a questionnaire and also held two Focu s Groups one ka aa a v ee 47 A Aa W 4 we weal 2 AS UE among churchgoing young people and one among non churchgoers It was perhaps especially appropriate that this pa took place in NNI tha T INITCOET Vane nf tha MhalA Ce nd Chu nh lA nalinnn VV l UIT INVIGMA ICAI UILI LIC Willku JL U Wil Cil Anglican and Catholic Schools were approached There has been a huge amount of support for this study and virtually everyone we approached has seen its importance and supported it as far as they could We are tremendously thankful for this interest and concern and grateful to all who have helped in whatever way But of course it s what all these young people said that s really important so read on A full list of sponsors appears on the title page A complete list of the Council of Reference is given in Appendix 1 gt CHAPTER ONE Hi Tweens ost British children move from junior school to secondary M rooi around the age of 11 Some go to a middle school but these are being phased out and some 7 go to public school at 13 but for the large majority the change comes the year they celebrate their 11th birthday Teenage attitudes and values develop gradually over several years starting in th
14. ary schools Two thirds of the schools were willing to help and although again the exact number of forms distributed is not known 63 of those sent were returned 1 296 forms suggesting a rather higher rate of response since not every school would have distributed all the forms Seven of the schools were suggested by the Association of Christian Teachers and there were 10 Church of England schools and 10 Catholic secondary schools in the numbers approached APPENDIX 2 27 The questionnaire was subject to extensive testing with a pilot and advice from a Diocesan Children s Officer Attitudinal Research Qualitative or attitudinal research was undertaken by means of two Discussion or Focus Groups with young people of this age range one in a church context and one in a non church Desk Research In addition to the above desk research was also undertaken with a review of the literature and other religious research carried out Extracts from the findings of others who have undertaken research among this age group have been incorporated with the text through out The Report The actual questionnaire used is given in Appendix 3 together with percentages to the answer to each question These have been analysed and reported as follows Chapter 1 Questions 1 3 and 17 Chapter 2 Questions 13 15 and 18 Chapter 3 None Chapter 4 Questions 4 7 Chapter 5 Questions 8 and 30 Chapter 6 Questions 19 29 Chapter 7 Questions 9 1
15. church 48 Yes 20 No 32 Maybe ce a oma Th A APPENDIX 3 211 29b Whet de you think your friends and other people would sey if they thought that you went to a church ee a youth activity based in a church Please tick one ony 16 They might be curious end ask me questions 32 They might make fun of me or think I am stupid or uncool b I would be too shy to tell anyone 3 They belong to another religion to they would not be bothered 33 I have already told my friends that I go 10 Something else please specify 30s De you regularty ettend any of the following activities in a church hell during the week Please tick all that apply 5 Geys Girls Brigade 14 Out of school clubs 6 Cempaigners Crusader 9 Haliday clubs Pathfinders 13 Scouts Guides 4 Rock Solid Clubs 19 Youth Club 20 Sunday school junior church 12 Drama Music group 19 Youth group fellowship 4 Other please specify 34 Na ge ta Q3la 306 Weld you describe these ectivities as 31 Excelent 5 Poor 45 Sood 6 Doa t know YOUR BELIEFS AND EXPERIENCES 31a Which of the following do you believe in Please tick al that apply 72 God 50 Hell 73 Heaven 67 Jesus 13 Average yee 28 Re incarration 43 The Devi Jib What do yeu think happens te people when they die Please tick one box only 19 Everyons goes to heaven 35 Good people go to heaven and bod people go to heii 13 Only Christians go te heaven 10 People die and are born again a
16. e final phase of junior school Hence the focus of this study on these early and pre teens as the survey questionnaire was headed or early secondaries as it was otherwise described A more convenient word for this age group is Tweenagers a term originally coined by marketing professionals so that s what we ll call them Why the concern The English Church Attendance Survey and earlier English Church Censuses have shown that the total number of children under 15 attending church of all denominations on a Sunday was e 1 400 000 in 1979 e 1 200 000 in 1989 and e 720 000 in 1998 The 200 000 decrease in the 1980s more than doubled in the 1990s The 1990s decrease averaged 1 000 children a week leaving church equivalent to 50 000 a year or half a million 500 000 in a decade The rate of decline is not strictly linear but even so it has been suggested that if these trends continue by 2016 the number of children under 15 in English churches could be as low as 225 000 4 REACHING AND KEEPING TWEENAGERS Much concern has been expressed at the huge decline the Church Pastoral Aid Society CPAS for example aims to mount a major attempt to give every child in the country an opportunity to make their own choice about the Christian faith A leaflet is avail able about their campaign entitled A heart for children The church must stop the haemorrhage of its young people and banish the generation gap
17. e who got grade A or claimed they did were regular churchgoers almost double the proportion of those who no longer or never went to church Are those with most academic success as measured by their school grade more attracted or loyal to church or does this but reflect the often stated claim that the church is middle class Those who got the lowest grades D E or F were more likely to be occasional churchgoers The percentage of those normally getting Grades B or C increased the further they were from being regular churchgoers Details are in Table 1 4 Table 1 4 Church attendance by academic success Usual Regular Occasional Lapsed Never Overall Grade o Yo Ye A 46 33 28 24 34 B 44 23 56 57 5I C 9 I 14 18 13 D E F i 3 2 I 2 Who are these young people They may be called Tweenagers but their generation has been given plenty of other names as well Their parents were initially called the Buster Generation as in a sense they broke or bust the popula tion boom in which their parents that is our sample s grandparents had been born In Britain this term was never very popular and for 203 nai A TATA AA 1 e LAPPUA i Sponsors and Council of Reference We are extremely grateful that this research has been supported and advised by so many The survey sponsors by finance or in kind were The Baptist Union of Great Britain The Boys Brigade The Church Army Church Pastoral Aid Society Crusaders
18. o go to church only occa HI TWEENS 7 sionally drop in number at the same time although with a marginal increase later The change is however even more noticeable among those who are no longer churchgoers increasing between those aged 10 and 11 the year they move from junior to secondary school It is this transition which is the key dividing line Figure 1 2 Churchgoing experience by age 4 No longer Never All ten Tweenagers in the churchgoing Focus Group attended church regularly though not necessarily every week However of the non churchgoing group one used to attend and all the others had been to church for a wedding christening or on parade with a uniformed organisation The one who used to attend was brought by a friend when she was in Year 7 and went on and off for about 18 months Several researchers perhaps especially in the UK Professor Leslie Francis have explored the reasons why women tend to go to church more than men The same was true of the boys and girls in this sample as Table 1 3 shows more girls went regularly more boys went occasionally or never However girls were the more likely to have dropped out 8 REACHING AND KEEPING TWEENAGERS Table 1 3 Church attendance by gender Gender Regular Occasional Lapsed Never Boy 32 20 19 29 Girl 39 17 25 1Y Overall 36 18 22 24 The grades young people usually obtained also varied between churchgoers and others Nearly half 46 of thos
19. rothers sisters My opinions and attitudes are fot token seriously 27 42 31 7e Oo you have access to a computer e Sins arson cairat reay le 94 Yes 6 No go to Q8 a difference in this world 22 23 55 To If yes do you have access to the Internet Sometimas it is necessary te tell a he 66 21 13 81 Ves 13 No go t0 Q8 Stealing is always wrong 73 15 l2 The future will be better than 7c If yes how aften do you access the Internet today os 4 i 9 More than once a day 9 Once a month The man purpose ef life is enjoyment 24 Once a day 9 Less than ance a month ard persoral fulfilment 55 30 15 30 Once a week There 1s 80 one who I consider to be my here or role model 28 31 41 7d What de you use the Internet for XPlease tick all that apply 27 Chot rooms 8 News 13 Shoppi ing 55 E mails 45 Play gomes 14 Other please spacify 55 Information 33 Play music APPENDIX 3 209 10 De you do any activity thet heip other people ereundrhere you live Please tick off that apply 22 Yes on my own 33 Yes through my school 19 Yes through church 38 No 18 Yes through other groups like Scouts Gudes 11e If you found a 20 note lying on the pavement would you Please tick one onty Leave it there 24 Pick it up and hand it in at the police station 58 Pick it up and keep it 13 Pick it up ond give it te charity 1ib If you faund twe 50 notas hying on the povement would you Masse tick ene only 3 Leave them there 42 Pick them up and
20. s someone else 8 People die and ere born again as another creature 15 Nothing everything just stops Jic De you ever think about whether or not God exists 58 Yes 24 No 18 Not sure 31d Do you believe that yeu can have a relationship with God 45 Yes 25 Na 30 Not sure 32 Which ef tha following come info your picture of God Please tick all that apply 62 Creator 46 Love 5 Policeman 57 Father 9 Mother 35 Savour 22 Judge 35 Old man 4 Spoilsport 53 Friend 9 Other piease specify 33 Wha de yeu think Jesus Owist it wes Please tick one only 13 A very wise person 66 The son of God 8 An ordinary person 11 Someone who never existed M In your opinion what mokes a person a Christion Please tick all that apply 26 Being born in a Christian formly 14 Going to a Christian 49 Being baptised Christened school 3 Being born in the UK 42 Knowing Jesus asa 66 Believing in God personal saviour 49 Believing the Bible is true 26 Leading a goed life 36 Going to church 7 Don t know 21 Saying that they are Christian 3 Something else please specify 35 Have you been Please tick al that apply 40 Baptised 55 Christened 19 Admitted 19 communion 16 Confirmed 13 Admitted te memberstup ef a church 36a Have you ever experienced eny of these Please tick one box per row Yes Abr Ao An experience of becoming are a Christien 35 29 34 A healing experience 15 25 60 Visions voices strange dreams 38 17 45 _ Something be
21. te church as a baby because they go there 4 My parents sent ma te Sunday School but did not go to church themselves 1 My fernily moved nearby and came from arother church T first went te church through a church activity J I was curious about what went on there JT first went with my grandparents 5 My friends go ond asked me to go too b Arather reason please specify b Don t know 23 What is it abaut the church that you go to that yoy most like Please tick all that apply 23 Bible teaching 29 Youth leaders 28 Strong presence of God 20 Youth worship 45 Caring people 19 The miruster H Enjoyable music 32 Helps ed me worship God 41 Enjoyable Sunday youth group 25 Enjoyable drema 22 Enjoyable mid week activities 27 Enjoyable social activities 28 It is where I have 53 Opportunity to meet friends always gone new people i3 Not sure 7 Other please specify 24 To sing hyrans 24 To get points for their Some other reason please church youth activity specify 28 How often de yeu de each of the following activities please tick one box per row Daily Weekly Monthly Occasionally Never Read port of the Bible 9 18 4 31 38 Pray to God 32 14 4 24 26 Attend a church based youth group 2 WV 4 9 48 Lead a church based youth group 1 3 l 6 89 Toke an active part in church services 2 2 10 28 48 Attend a Bible study group 2 9 2 7 80 29a Would you tell your friends if yeu went te church or to a yeuth sctivity besed in a
22. ted to HI TWEENS 5 various Christian organisations working with young people of this age range and 327 forms were returned giving a grand total of 2 172 forms Thanks so much to all who helped in this exercise The returned forms were distributed across the different school years as shown below where Year 6 is largely 10 year olds Year 7 are aged 11 and so on up to Year 10 who are 14 and Year 11 who are 15 Figure 1 1 Number of forms returned by school year 600 o Bee Ee Ee Ss SS S EER Yr 5 or unde Year 7 Year 9 Year 11 or over Year 6 Year 8 Year 10 This is a very fair spectrum of the relevant target group For convenience the few in Year 11 or over have been added to those in Year 10 and those in Year 5 or under to those in Year 6 for analysis Nearly half 47 of the respondents were boys a little under the population proportion of 51 for this age The Focus Groups had a similar representation of ages with the 7 girls and 10 boys who attended being 4 from Year 6 4 from Year 7 5 from Year 8 3 from Year 9 and 1 from Year 10 One question asked what grades they achieved for their school work Their answers showed a range across the full spectrum but more in the higher grades indicating an ability to answer the quest ions sensibly though whether they all did so is another matter Those aged 14 tended to get the lowest grades full details are in Appendix 4 Table A4 1 Girls claimed higher grades than boys as
23. uld be proportionately higher 206 REACHING AND KEEPING TWEENAGERS Table A2 1 Number of forms sent to which types of church Evangelical Non evangelical Toral Ang Bap Meth New Ang Bap Meth New N City 5 1 81 151 0 28 3 Sub 68 7 8 1 8 1 20 21135 10 345 28 7 bwn 20 2 18 2 00 0 60 7 H Rural 48 4 0 0 00 Of 140 10 S City 10 1 28 2 19 2 0 0 13 7 i Sub 94 11 68 3 00 0 0 184 13 394 31 q Twn 144 8 42 3 6 1 16 2 315 24 H Rural 24 3 16 2 OW 0 0 106 13 Total 413 37 188 14 48 5 36 4 546 46 44 4 24 3 162 10 1 461 123 The first figure is the number of forms sent the second the number of churches Christian youth organisations especially those represented on the Steering Committee were asked if they would distribute forms to their classes groups clubs etc All kindly did so We are especially grateful to the Boys Brigade and the Church Army for asking young people whom they knew had stopped going to church to complete a form It is impossible to know exactly how many forms were actually distributed probably far fewer than the 1 580 supplied 327 were returned a notional response rate of 21 but most likely probably the real response was nearer twice or even three times that A selection of 77 schools in the same areas as participating churches were also approached to ask if a form could be completed by relevant classes The school year for class distribution varied from Year 6 in primary schools to Years 7 to 10 in second
24. ur present religious commitment Please tick one box onty 55 I oma Christian 24 I am rot sure if Tama Christian 3 I am no longer a Christian 14 T have never been a Christan 4 I belong to another religion please specify If you belong to another religion then wherever you see the word church please think of temple or mosque or the plase you usually go te for worship if you can but if youcan t then please go to the next question 18 Do you know if your parents end grandparents have ever gone te church Please tick one box for each columan Parents Srandparents Mums Dad s Parents Parents No they have never gone 13 10 13 They ge accasianally 19 22 18 They used te go regularly but they don t go Row 12 13 tQ They have recently started going to church 2 1 i One goes to church but the other does rat 12 amp 5 They have ahvays gone regularly 29 24 23 I don t know 13 24 3l Oe anl 210 REACHING AND KEEPING TWEENAGERS 19 Be you now er have you ever gone to church or Sunday school on a Sundey Please tick one only 24 How eld were you when you started going te church 24 No I have never been go to Q26 22 No I used te go but T don t ga now ge to Q20a 18 Yes I go occasionally go te Q21 36 Yes I go regularly go to Q22 20a If you stopped going te a church Sunday school or church hew eld were you when you stepped going 20b Why did you stop going Please tick ell that apply
25. yond description 23 22 55 lt u Feeling as if somebody something were ae mate rS ave trying to communicate mth you 3i 24 45 A feehrg of peace during a church service 38 20 42 An experience ta de with nature 22 28 50 The presence of God 32 26 42 Some other spiritual supernatura force 20 26 54 Something else please specify 7 lt 82 36b Do you knew any other people who have hod experiencedihe these 47 Yes 53 No go to Q37 Ibe If yes what de you think about them or thele experience Please tick one only 42 T can relate to thenv it 15 t sounds scary 7 Tm emaous 14 I think they are a bit 5 Tt was coincidence mad 17 Other please specify 37 Do you think that Christianity is relevent to you 52 Yes 21 No 27 Not sure Se Wdae a Thank you very much Now please put the questionnaire in the envelope provided and hand it back to your teacher or group leader
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