There is an issue of confidence in the Church- pastor

Lack of transparency and reluctance to tackle controversial internal issues are two of the most concerning problems facing the modern Church, one of St Mary's youngest religious leaders claimed last week.

According to Kingston-born pastor, Ryan Hewitt, 34, if the Church is to entice and engage new members and expand further, a more user-friendly and inclusive approach needs to be adopted.

Fittingly, in 2 Corinthians 1:12, the Bible confirms the need for Christians to be unambiguous in their dealings with each other. The scripture states: "For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward."

Speaking earlier this week, Hewitt, who works with children and operates as a minister within the Church of God in Jamaica in Lewis Store, St Mary, told Family and Religion: "I wouldn't say it is the biggest problem we have, but I think there is an issue when it comes to confidence in the Church in terms of the expectations people have and the Church's ability to meet those expectations.

PEOPLE CONCERNED

"I don't think it's something that's specific either to St Mary or the younger generation, but just generally. People are concerned about some of the things they see happening in the Church that are not supposed to be happening, unresolved issues that need to be addressed.

"When people look outside of the Church and then come and look inside, it's like they are seeing some of the same things, and they expect the Church to kind of deal with those things in a different way from how those outside would."

Hewitt is a popular Highgate-based youth specialist who has been preaching for more than a decade. He enjoys evangelising and sharing his Biblical knowledge, but feels that to garner the interest of more young people, church leaders, pastors, and elders must look to developing more modern and age-appropriate methods of spreading God's message.

The mild-mannered pastor explained: "I think the main issue the younger people have is how the Church operates, but is unable to connect with them. As a result, one of the things we do at my church is to be as open and honest as possible and try to manage conflicts in a realistic way. So we try not to hide things, and when they do happen, we try to deal with them directly.

"Another thing, which is something we are working on right now, is to make our programmes and general services more youth-friendly by incorporating more of the things that will appeal to and attract young people."

familyandreligion@gleanerjm.com