Child, Youth and Family Ministry

Grow Ministries

Grow Ministries offers a lot of great ideas and resources to support:

young children
families
congregations
youth and young adults
intergenerational worship and ministry activities.

Visit website

Other ministries around the LCA

BLUEPRINT MINISTRIES

As part of the Lutheran Church of Australia, SA–NT District, Blueprint Ministries exists to resource, encourage and focus its children, youth, families and young adults to grow in Christ and make him known to all people. Camps are run for multiple age groups. Additional resources are available for:

LUTHERAN YOUTH OF QUEENSLAND

YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULT MINISTRY

Youth and Young Adult Ministry (YYAM) in Victoria and Tasmania is working towards young people becoming ‘mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ' (Ephesians 4:13), especially in the context of an antagonistic culture. YYAM events and ministries include:

Empower Youth Ministry Training Day
Easter camp for young adults aged 18 to 30
Christian Life Week (CLW) for youth aged 12 to 18
small groups for young adults.

LUTHERAN YOUTH OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Lutheran Youth of Western Australia (LYWA) is the youth and young adult ministry arm of the LCA Western Australia District. LYWA presents a range of camps and events for young people and their families, including:

JanCamp (Years 7 to 12; January school holidays)
Dads & Kids Camp (Years 1 to 6 with dads/uncles/grandfathers; May/June)
YAC (Years 7 to 12; July school holidays)
Young Adults Retreat (18 to 40 year olds; August/September)
LYWA Leadership Day (16+ year olds; current and future LYWA leaders and interested congregation members; November)
Young adult events (Bible studies and social activities for young adults aged 18 to 40)
LYWA Jam (music jam sesh in the lead-up to camps – everyone is welcome!)
Youth services (district worship events, held sporadically, pending host congregation support).

TURNING POINT MINISTRIES

Nurturing one family table

Research shows that intergenerational worship and relationships are linked with faith that sticks – Kara Powell, Sticky Faith

Intergenerational relationships in Christian community nurture important connections between generations. They provide space to practice faith in homes and congregations and extend to workplaces and places of learning. In the midst of faith and life transitions, it is important for children, youth and families to have both peers and the greater faith family around to support and care for them. Intergenerational ministry is a catalyst for cultural change in congregations where the whole church finds more ways to come together around one shared table.

This video, created by the Fuller Youth Institute, portrays the concept of 'one table'.

10 Guiding Principles

LEADERSHIP: Leaders in homes and congregations have a strong understanding of the nature and practices of effective child, youth and family ministry, and their role within it.
INTERGENERATIONAL: Meaningful intergenerational church experiences are intentional and value.
FAITH AT HOME: Faith is integrated into family identity and practice.
MENTORING: Children and young people have multiple adult mentors of vital faith.
LIFELONG FAITH FORMATION: People of all ages are discipled in faith through the different stages of life.
PEER RELATIONSHIPS: Faith formation is encouraged by building Christian relationships through quality, age-specific ministry.
PERSONAL CRISIS: People of all ages are engaged in a Christian community that provides support during times of personal crisis.
GIFTS AND TALENTS: Opportunities are given to discover and express gifts and talents.
ACTS OF SERVICE: Opportunities are given to participate in acts of service that show the love of Christ.
MISSIONAL: Ministry practices and approaches have a strong missional focus.

Download 10 GUIDING PRINCIPLES info sheet

Grow Ministries Store

From 2013 to early 2024, Grow Ministries (an LCANZ department) produced a huge range of resources to support child, youth and family ministry. These resources are available to download free of charge from the Grow Ministries store.