Stephen Foster, leader of St Aldates Church in Oxford and Alpha advisor, shares his journey from law to ministry. He discusses the challenge of churches aging inwardly and emphasizes the need to attract younger generations while honoring older members. Stephen offers insights on engaging a pre-Christian context, advocating for intentional community building. He underscores the importance of revitalizing church leadership through prayer, passion, and fostering multi-generational culture, making the church exciting for all ages.
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insights INSIGHT
Natural Church Trajectory
Churches naturally grow older and more inward-focused.
Intentional effort is required to reverse this trend and engage younger generations.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Focus on Jesus
Continuously present the authentic Jesus to your congregation.
Help people fall in love with Jesus, inspiring them to share their faith.
question_answer ANECDOTE
The Elderly Couple
An elderly couple visited another church but returned, realizing its older demographic.
They prioritized reaching younger generations, inspiring continued efforts at St. Aldate's.
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“The church goes upward in age and inward in focus naturally…It’s only intentionally that the church goes downward in age and outward in focus.” Meet Stephen Foster, leader of St Aldates Church in Oxford and advisor to Alpha. Stephen brings a refreshing reminder of the need for churches to embrace a vision that moves the demographic downward in age while outward in focus - all while embracing multiple generations in church culture. Listen for insights in today’s episode on how to best engage what Stephen describes as a pre-Christian context and why that is so exciting for the Church!
Welcome to Episode 094 of the Leaders in Living Rooms Podcast with Sean Morgan.
If you’re a leader approaching a succession or transition. Or maybe you’re a few years in and beginning to see how complex transitions leadership is… go to The Art of Pastoral Succession and check out my brand new course in partnership with Carey Nieuwhof.
Stephen leads St Aldates Church in Oxford, and is an advisor to Alpha. St Aldates is a growing church with many young adults and students, which is seeing lots of people come to faith in Jesus. Stephen read law at Oxford and theology at Cambridge, and worked as a Barrister for a number of years. He is married to Beth, and they have four daughters.
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
Thanks to our sponsor: Food For The Hungry. Combine your church's heart for the poor and Food for the Hungry’s global experience at fh.org/churches.