Visualising Hope is a new book that I have written about research that I conducted among young people. I discovered a massive gap in understanding between young people and church leaders. The only way forward, as I could see it, was to spend some time listening to young people. I also thought it would be a bit awkward to just walk up to young people and start asking them about their search for meaning in life.
So, instead, I spent some time getting to know them first and sharing a bit about myself. Then, I used all sorts of pictures and images to get conversations going. I tried this in Kiev, Ukraine, and it worked so well that I then went on to do it again in Nizhny Novgorod and St Petersburg, in Russia, Bucharest in Romania, Wroclaw in Poland and Bratislava, Slovakia.
Wherever I travelled I also spoke with church leaders from a variety of churches. I wanted to get their side of the story about young people.
The results were really interesting and I learned loads. One of the most interesting discoveries was that the values of the young people clashed directly what they percieved to be the value system of the church. This explains why they just don’t go to church – it would go against some of their deepest beliefs.
Do check out the book – it’s published by YTC press and you can read more about it on their website: www.ytcpress.com.
