Youth, Children & Families
The Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA) recognises that children, young people and families are a gift from God and of immense value to our church and communities. We believe that effective ministry to, with and by children and young people involves ministering to the whole family and so, while we offer ministries and programs for age-specific groups, we also focus on caring for and nurturing families as they grow together in Christ.
Here are some ways the LCA supports youth, children and families.
Board for Youth and Family Ministry
Our mission
The LCA Board for Youth and Family Ministry (BYFM) exists to support a national vision for children, youth and family ministry (CYFM) in the LCA by being a point of reference and resource for the wider church and by supporting and encouraging district CYFM,
camping and new initiatives. Click here to download our brochure.
Our ministry and mission
We encourage families to share faith.
Over the last ten years the BYFM has promoted and resourced the practice of passing on the faith at home. This began with the Child In Our Hands resources and continue today with the Faith Inkubators faith education system (see below).
We develop leaders.
A key role of the BYFM is to help LCA districts to develop and facilitate training for young people and leaders. A prime example of this is the training each district provides to develop the volunteer leaders who serve in the LCA's extensive camping programs.
We advocate for children and families.
The BYFM not only advocates for children, youth and family ministry but also for young people themselves. We believe it is important that the LCA, when making decisions, recognises and respects the opinions and views of young people. Examples of this advocacy include:
- National 'Time of Listening' initiative
- Bible engagement research
- Children and Family Ministry Survey
- National Youth Forum 2012
- Ministry funding through the LCA's 'Youth Ministry Permanent Fund'.
Faith Inkubators
Incubating faith every night in every home
Faith Inkubators Australia is part of an international movement dedicated to re-visioning Christian education by connecting parents to their own children's faith walk seven nights a week. We share a bold vision that faith incubation happens every night in every home.
Our mission focus is 'creating a culture of faith formation that affirms and equips parents' calling as the primary faith teachers, mentors and role models for their own children with the church, reinforcing, not replacing, parents' duties'.
Integrated resources
All Faith Inkubators resources have been designed into an integrated whole-church system meant to transform Christian education from something the church does to kids for parents into something children, parents and the church do together.
Turning parents into partners in their own children’s faith journey – that is what we are all about. Faith Inkubators resources revolve around a simple five-step process called The Faith Five (share, read, talk, pray, bless) and are designed to simply get a theme started at church or school each week, then give church leaders tools to send it home seven nights a week.
Four incubators
Faith Inkubators offers four integrated systems are Bible Song (children and family ministry), Head to the Heart (adolescent ministry resources for confirmation and/or youth and family ministry), Faith Stepping Stones (family ministry resources to connect parents with their own children every night) and Faith Inkubators Seasonals (Advent, Lent, and/or Stewardship) for cross-generational ministry.
Click here to visit the Faith Inkubators Australia website.
Camping ministry
Camping is a core youth ministry in the LCA. Every year the LCA, through its districts, facilitates 35 camps involving over 2600 young people. The tansformative influence of this ministry should never be under-estimated, and is best expressed through the words of young people themselves:
- Christian Life Week has changed my life ... I have come closer to God and made new friends.
- I've learnt how beautiful I am. I am a princess of God.
- I now know that with God's help I can be fixed and healed, and that I'm his greatest treasure.
District youth organisations
Department of Children, Youth & Family Ministry, SA/NT
www.blueprintministries.org.au
Facebook: FUEL Young Adults, South Australia
Lutheran Youth of Queensland
www.lyq.org.au
Facebook page: Lutheran Youth of Queensland
Lutheran Youth of Victoria/Tasmania
www.lyv.org.au
Lutheran Youth of NSW/ACT
www.lcansw.org.au/tpm
Lutheran Youth of Western Australia
Facebook page: LYWA (Lutheran Youth of Western Australia)
Resources
Coming soon! BYFM resource page
Faith Family is produced by people from several Christian churches in Austraila: Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran, Salvation Army and Uniting.
Contact us
Board for Youth and Family Ministry
Phone (Leah Cronin, administrator): 08 8267 7300
Email: byfm@lca.org.au
