The Anglican Church in North America brings together biblical orthodoxy, missional entrepreneurship, artistic beauty, and vibrant teaching. Our worship is rooted in the history of the church, with stable and flexible liturgies highly accessible and relevant for today. We are a church, a people, propelled by the Holy Spirit to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, that our continent may know and live in the love of the Father. Each Sunday we gather, bridging racial, cultural, economic, and community boundaries because we are living in the already-not-yet of the Kingdom. Some of us gather in store-fronts and YMCAs, others in cathedrals and chapels; we sing from our rich hymnody and from our current songwriters; we swing toddlers and thuribles; we live in time while marking the calendar of the Kingdom; we proclaim the mystery and the glory and the presence of God.
We are a church, a people, propelled by the Holy Spirit to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, that our continent may know and live in the love of the Father.
This is why, across our nations and towns, we are the best place and people to invite the next generation into life with Jesus and the church. We are built for the needs, desires, and joys of this current moment and today’s middle and high school students. Raised in the digital and social media revolution, our students are hungry for something more stable than the latest iPhone update, something that lasts longer than an Instagram story, and something that responds to the deep longing of being known and loved. The wide variety of expressions, unified in Scripture, worship, creed, and sacrament, meets the wide variety of needs this next generation seeks to explore the faith, meet Jesus, and be a home. Our church has the tools to introduce them to the one who offers the bread of life and meets their hunger in ways that the world cannot.
Our youth care deeply about the marginalized, the forgotten, and the oppressed. As a generation, they are looking for both a new solution to these old challenges and for people with whom they can be part of a solution. In a cultural moment of unrest and uncertainty, our common prayers give us the language and framework to respond, seek justice, and be a people of peace. Our church is committed to the Imago Dei in each human, and we can offer young people a safe, formative, and dynamic community where they can be empowered as holy influencers.
We are reaching North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ. We cannot do this fully or with integrity if we leave out the generation that is presently being catechized by Netflix and newsfeeds. As part of the Next Generation Leadership Initiative, the Student Leadership Network led by Rev. Aaron Buttery and a team of thoughtful, passionate, and creative leaders, exists to serve the parish and the province so that our young people are effectively reached by the transforming love of Jesus Christ.
NGLI is providing the relational connection and resource creation needed to discover, develop, and deploy the next generation of mature disciples and spiritual leaders for our churches, communities, and culture.
To join the province in mission and movement alongside the next generation of Anglicans, consider making a financial gift to this effort.
To learn more about how your church is ready to design and lead a robust Anglican Student Ministry, contact Fr. Aaron Buttery.
Aaron Buttery
Provincial Canon for Next Generation Leadership Initiative
Rev. Aaron Buttery is deeply committed to the raising of generations of spiritual leaders and followers of Jesus. He is particularly focused and passionate about the relationships and systems that empower people to follow Jesus and lead others to him. Aaron currently leads as Associate Rector of International Anglican Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Next Generation Leadership for the Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others (C4SO).