The youth, culture and mission lectures is a collaboration of three groups who all have a passion for young people and mission. The Sophia Network exists to connect women in youth work and ministry, to access training, develop skills and share wisdom. East to West is a charity of Compassion, Mercy and Justice reaching out to vulnerable and ‘at risk’ young people. The Diocese of Winchester covers the majority of Hampshire, an area of eastern Dorset and the Channel Islands, ministering to a population of 1.2 million. It has a significant rural ministry, with more than half of its parishes in rural areas. It also includes the urban areas of Andover, Basingstoke, Bournemouth and Southampton.
The Youth Culture and Mission Lectures are a response to the increasing numbers of youth workers studying youth ministry and theology at undergraduate or postgraduate level and the desire by so many to keep their heads in that field once they have graduated. The lectures provide an opportunity for people to pursue a deeper, theological and grounded understanding of youth, culture and mission, accessible to those who have already begun to explore the academic bedrocks of youth ministry as well as those who haven’t had the time to study and who are eager to take their thinking deeper.
