St Albans Diocesan Synod Saturday 14 March 2014 For item 9: Lay Ministry Strategy St Albans Diocesan Survey on Lay Ministry Tim Bull 1 25 th February 2014 This document summaries the results of the survey of lay ministry conducted in the St Albans Diocese during January and February 2014 by The Revd Canon Dr Tim Bull, Director of Ministry, on behalf of the Bishop s Council. The survey was conducted on-line, although a very small number of paper responses were received (less than 2.5% of the total). The following responses were received electronically: 1464 people began the survey 1375 answered all the questions 418 people provided written comments Analysis of Responses by Demography It is possible to break down the responses by gender, age and parish situation. Gender Age Range 790 648 574 306 318 11 13 68 22 Male Female Didn't Say Under 25 25 to 40 40 to 55 55 to 70 Over 70 Didn't Say Church / Parish Situation 253 301 255 265 143 84 46 16 12 Rural Semi Rural Country Town Housing Estate Suburban Urban / Industrial City / Town Centre Other Didn't Say Responses came from across the demographic spectrum, with a greater number of responses from women and from those aged 55 to 70. Less than 1% of responses came from people under the age 25. 1 dom@stalbans.anglican.org
Guide to Understanding the Charts Respondents were asked to rank statements in the range 1 to 10 with 1 indicating most strongly disagree and 10 indicating most strongly agree. In the charts, strong disagreement is represented in red and strong agreement in blue. Other shades indicate intermediate responses. Grey means don t know. Percentage figures refer as follows: People giving the single most negative response. People giving one of the three most negative responses. People giving one of the three most positive responses. People giving the single most positive response. Lay Ministry and God The survey asked respondents about the relationship between lay ministry and God, and also about their attitude to serving God. 5 5 46.7% 36.2% 2 69.9% 2 68.6% Fig 1. Lay ministry is mainly about serving God. Fig 2. The thought of serving God excites and motivates me. Almost 7 of all respondents believe that lay ministry is primarily about serving God. A very similar percentage find the thought of serving God to be exciting and motivating. The breakdown of the second of these questions (on motivation) by age group is as follows: Age Range Under 25 25 to 40 40 to 55 55 to 70 Over 70 Most Positive Response 23.1% 42.7% 41.8% 36.7% 28.6% Thus, for those aged 25 to 70, there is little difference in respondents eagerness to serve God. However, this excitement and motivation is noticeably lower for those aged under 25 and for those aged over 70. For comparison, respondents were asked whether the thought of supporting their local parish / church excited or motivated them. The results are shown in the chart below. 2
5 2 21.5% 57.9% Fig 3. The thought of supporting my parish /church excites and motivates me. Thus, respondents are more excited at the thought of serving God than at the thought of supporting their local church. Again, we can give a breakdown by age group: Age Range Under 25 25 to 40 40 to 55 55 to 70 Over 70 Most Positive Response 7.7% 35.3% 26.8% 24.4% 23.9% It is notable that very few of the under 25s are highly motivated by the idea of supporting their local church. However, because so few took part in the survey it is difficult to form any definite opinion. With all age groups, serving God is seen as more appealing than supporting the church. However, this discrepancy is smallest with those who are over the age of 70. Who Has a Lay Ministry? 5 5 46.5% 43.6% 2 68.1% 2 66.4% Fig 4. Every baptised Christian has some kind of ministry. Fig 5. As a lay person, I feel I have a ministry. Nearly 7 of respondents understand a connection between lay ministry and baptism. Almost as many feel they have a lay ministry themselves. But what do they regard as lay ministry? We consider that question next. 3
What is Understood by Lay Ministry? Respondents were asked to identify what they thought were good example of lay ministry. 5 5 36.1% 32.3% 2 66.2% 2 58.8% Fig 6. Leading the intercessions on a Sunday morning. Fig 7. Taking a housebound neighbour to the hairdresser. 5 5 43.2% 21.9% 2 74.7% 2 51. Fig 8. Supporting a troubled and anxious work colleague. Fig 9. Lay ministry is mainly about helping the vicar. Most activities with a Christian element, both inside and outside the local church, are regarded as lay ministry. While the question is phrased differently, and therefore a direct comparison cannot be made, it is clear that respondents do not regard helping the vicar to be at the core of lay ministry. A similar point is brought out by two further questions. 6 5 5 2 59.3% 82.7% 2 9. 11.4% Fig 10. Lay ministry can take place in the home and workplace just as much as in church. 4 Fig 11. Lay ministry is important because it is a way of keeping church services going.
These two sets of responses show that there is a very significantly greater vision for lay ministry as something that has an impact outside the church in the home and workplace than there is for regarding it as a way of keeping church services going. Indeed, more than four out of every five respondents agreed with the statement that lay ministry could be exercised in the home and workplace. Understanding lay ministry as a means of keeping church services going may depend on the context. In urban situations keeping services going may be less of an issue than in rural or semi rural areas. The difference is shown in the following two charts. 5 5 11.5% 5.3% 2 8.2% 2 15.4% Fig 12. Keeping church services going: Fig 13. Keeping church services going: housing estate, suburban, urban / industrial, city / town centre. semi rural, rural. Thus, lay ministry is more likely to be thought of as a way of keeping services going in rural or semi rural areas. However, the difference may not be regarded as overwhelming, with most responses coming in the middle range. Lay Ministry and Volunteers The figures above should be seen alongside the response to the question about the availability of volunteers in the local church. 5 2 18.2% 46.8% Fig 14. My parish / church always seems to be short of people who are willing to volunteer. 5
In other words, although respondents didn t regard lay ministry as a way of keeping church services going, nearly 5 recognised a lack of volunteers in their own particular churches. We can break this down according to the situation of the church. 5 5 18.2% 17.1% 2 46.3% 2 50.9% Fig 15. My church is short of volunteers: Fig 16. My church is short of volunteers: housing estate, suburban, urban / industrial, city / town centre. semi rural, rural. In other words, the local church feels to be marginally shorter of volunteers in a rural setting. However, the difference is very slight. The Importance of Lay Ministry We saw earlier that that there is some indifference in seeing lay ministry as a way of keeping services going. So is lay ministry seen as important, and if so why? 7 6 5 68.1% 86.9% 2 Fig 17. To be completely honest, lay ministry really isn t very important. Very few respondents thought lay ministry was unimportant. Nearly 9 disagreed with the statement that lay ministry isn t important. 6
The survey asked respondents to identify why they thought lay ministry is important. The responses to the three options are shown in the following charts: 5 2 5 2 5 2 69.5% 72.3% 77.9% Fig 18. Serving the community. Fig 19. Growing the church. Fig 20. Enabling all members of the Body of Christ to fulfil their calling. Although lay ministry is seen as important for both serving the community (69.5%) and growing the church (72.3%), its primary importance is seen in terms of lay people fulfilling their calling (77.9%). It should be noted, however, that this strong response is due to some respondents holding this view particularly strongly. What Enables or Prevents Lay Ministry? Incumbent and Diocese Returning to the issue of respondents indifference to seeing lay ministry as a way of keeping church services going, it might be argued that this is because they are looking for encouragement from the incumbent or permission from the Diocese / Bishop. The impact of these factors is shown in the next two charts. 5 5 2 29.6% 56.9% 2 52.6% 72.7% Fig 21. Someone can only exercise a lay ministry if the vicar encourages it. Fig 22. Someone can only exercise a lay ministry if the Diocese / Bishop permits it. 7
There are a large number of respondents who do not feel they need any official encouragement or endorsement in order to exercise a lay ministry. It should be noted with regard to diocesan permission, 8% or respondents answered: don t know. In terms of needing the encouragement of the incumbent, this may be something that depends on whether the situation is urban or rural. The difference is shown in the next two charts. 5 5 30.5% 28. 2 59.3% 2 54.2% Fig 23. Needing the vicar s encouragement: Fig 24. Needing the vicar s encouragement: housing estate, suburban, urban / industrial, city / town centre. semi rural, rural. There appears to be very little difference between urban and rural areas in this respect. What Enables or Prevents Lay Ministry? Other Factors But what about other factors that may promote or prevent lay ministry? The following charts show what respondents thought about factors that motivate people into lay ministry. 5 5 16.7% 9.3% 2 48.4% 2 31.5% Fig 25. Because of feeling called by God. Fig 26. Because of their skills and expertise. A feeling of being called by God is a slightly more important factor than a person s skills. We now consider some of the factors that might prevent or deter someone from exercising a lay ministry. 8
5 5 10.1% 16. 2 41.8% 2 55.1% Fig 27. People are too busy. Fig 28. People don t feel they have the right gifts. 5 5 10.1% 14.5% 2 41.8% 2 50.3% Fig 29. People are not asked and encouraged. Fig 30. People don t have a vision for their own ministry. From these responses, it does not appear that there is one single factor that prevents people from exercising a lay ministry. Experience of Lay Ministry in the Local Churches Respondents were asked to comment on their experience of lay ministry in their local churches. The following charts show the responses to those questions. 5 5 10.4% 19.1% 2 53.8% 2 48.1% Fig 31. Lay ministry is very much encouraged in my parish / church. Fig 32. My parish / church has encouraged me personally in my lay ministry. 9
Whereas parish churches are seen to be quite encouraging of lay ministry in general, when respondents were asked about their own experience, they tended to be more negative. Training for Lay Ministry The survey asked respondents how they regarded the training provided for lay ministry both in their parish / local church and in the diocese as a whole. 5 5 6.7% 1.9% 2 9.2% 2 8.6% Fig 33. My parish / church provides good and appropriate training for those involved in lay ministry. Fig 34. St Albans Diocese provides good and appropriate training for those involved in lay ministry. When asked about the quality of training, the most notable response was don t know. 12.5% of respondents didn t know about the quality of training in their local church, while a much larger 41.8% of respondents didn t know about the quality of training provided by St Albans Diocese. St Albans Diocese and Lay Ministry The final statement of the survey asked whether St Albans Diocese valued lay ministry. 5 2 18.4% 42.5% Fig 35. St Albans Diocese clearly values lay ministry. The Diocese is seen to value lay ministry, although 24.4% answered don t know. 10
Written Responses In all 418 written responses were received. Of these, slightly over 100 were either comments on the survey itself positive or negative. The following is a mash up of key phrases that came out in the written comments. Many people would not recognise what is, meant by the term Lay Ministry - it will be important to dejargonise it. The word ministry can frighten people who only view ministry as something the vicar does! The idea that ministry is the remit of the vicar and that lay people help the vicar largely prevails in traditional rural parishes. The main blockage to people discovering and using their gifts in ministry is a lack of understanding that ministry is a whole of life matter, and not just a church thing. I don t exercise Lay Ministry, I do what I can to meet the needs of the people around me as part of my response to believing in a God who gave me abilities and opportunities to do so, and who has looked after me on my own journey through life. It may involve the Food Bank, pastoral visiting or leading a house group. It s a mind-set and a way of life. It s what being a Christian means to me. All who confess Jesus Christ as Lord have a ministry; that s fundamental to the concepts of the Kingdom of Priests, and all the baptised being members of the body of Christ. The term lay ministry is confusing and re-enforces an unhelpful duality. Drop it all together. I am an MD in the City and I am follower of Jesus as financier and mentor. These questions, rather depressingly, assume ministry is something churchy. The impression given not only here, is a total lack of interest in, or valuing of, secular work in the institutional church as a whole. I prefer to use what gifts I have outside the church so that more people see what motivates Christians. There is still too much emphasis on church activities. In my understanding the church is a shed where tools are kept and mended/ sharpened; we go to church to fetch the kit and then should go out back to the rest of life/ our communities (at home and work) to use the tools for the kingdom of God. But the church seems to want us to spend lots of time staying in the shed. Church needs to be thought of differently. Just because you can t make Sunday morning does not mean you don t want to be involved. I believe it is one of the greatest sins of our church is that the vast talents of lay people for sharing the gospel are not encouraged or supported. What puts people off is man made rules and regulations governing what you can and can t do instead of allowing God to take the lead. I think the Church of England imposes too many restrictions on what lay people are able to do and what training is required before they can take on ministries. In a Church seeking to maintain a full parish network whilst clergy numbers reduce and many clergy become old, Lay Ministry is going to be a way of giving the Church of England a presence, both in worship services and the wider community. Lay Ministry is very important and is the only way we are going to grow the Church. Most Vicars are too stretched as we do not have enough and they are not properly distributed especially in rural areas. My experience of Lay Ministry started 22 years ago in an ecumenical setting. No training, but distinct sense of God s call to the work. I therefore feel quite strongly that although I have benefitted from training I have undertaken myself, including a degree in Theology, I don t think that the training was necessary to follow God s call. It was interesting and upsetting to find that the Church and congregation were very happy to support me when organising events, but when I faced my own challenges all support evaporated. I feel the church needs to do a great deal more to encourage people to realise that baptism is the beginning of a life of ministry which is confirmed at confirmation and that we all serve in lay ministry. 11
I attended a Seeking the Way Course which was excellent, but am unable to continue in training because of the antiquated and old fashioned outlook of the Church. Lip service is paid to lay ministry, but it is not properly encouraged or supported. It seems that in order to be worth anything within the church you have to be licensed to preach! I believe more training is needed for lay ministry to be fulfilled by lay people. Training in bite sized modules would probably attract more people to take steps along the journey to increasing their lay ministry. More online training for busy people would be great. Whilst the lay training provided is good and well organised, it does expect a substantial commitment of time and energy. Training isn t so important. It s encouragement and support that are needed and perhaps a word or two of thanks. Some of the training, particularly in the Workshops, is too theoretical. I, as a congregant, do not want to be asked again to rate a sermon or the intercessions for the week. Lay ministry is not just an academic exercise. Lay ministry is your life under God. It does not need training in itself we are God s representative wherever we live our lives. What people need is to be taught that. Lay Ministry in its broadest sense is positively encouraged in my Church. It has had a positive impact on our Church community and its growth. I have received more help and encouragement for ministry outside the parish than I ever had from within. My church does not encourage me to use my people skills. I feel overlooked at times. My Parish Church does not make use of its licensed Readers. I feel very privileged to be part of a team of lay ministry in our Parish serving God. I thoroughly enjoy the work I do as a lay person and feel it has bought me closer to God. I frequently here the Vicar say I can t do it all on my own but he doesn t have to if lay people are properly encouraged, trained and allowed to get on with it! The attitude of the ordained clergy determines whether or not lay people are encouraged to use their gifts. Our vicar has supported lay ministry as a concept but never really takes initiative to ask people on a personal level. Other people prompt him to do that job because the leader should be the one inviting people even when it is discussed and agreed with the wider leadership. That empowers people to help. The local church often turns to the same people for voluntary jobs because they re reliable. Full time ministers need to be encouraged to ask others to get involved although it s difficult to see people s skills and calling without a lot of one-to-one time. Perhaps small group leaders are better placed to do this. If the clergy do not consider that anyone other than clergy can exercise ministry then there is not a lot that one can do. Sadly, this attitude also extends to SSM in the Parish quite apart from Readers and the Laity. The vicar only gets those people whom he likes and agree with to be involved in lay ministry. I think it is important to ask people rather than wait for them to volunteer. In my experience, many people are too modest to put themselves forward and greatly gifted people of all ages are then overlooked God called me to this church, it is up to him to show me what to do. I think as a church we are very blessed. Lay ministry is vital to enrich the life of the church. We need to encourage more people for lay ministry with prayerful heart. Where are the lay ministers of the future? 12