Sorted becomes an 'official' church

Sorted - a fresh expression of church for young people, run by young people - has just received a special Bishop's Mission Order.

A BMO gives it official church status even though it doesn't have a geographical parish. It is thought to be the fifth such order to be granted in the country. Mission Orders are legal regulations recently created by General Synod as a way of allowing church plants to operate without a parish.

Sorted - in north Bradford - was started by Captain Andy Milne, a Church Army youth evangelist and keen skateboarder who gets to know young people though some of the local schools and housing estates.

Andy says:

This BMO is great news for us at Sorted and for many future young people living in North Bradford. It marks a big milestone on the journey we've travelled over the last few years. Sorted is about sharing God's love with young people through building a Christian community that is both by young people and for young people.

We get alongside young people in schools, and then develop small groups where young people can hang out with friends, find out about faith and have loads of fun. In recent years, we've developed a youth congregation where young people pray for each other and talk about their faith. We also have a group of young people who lead their own small groups amongst their peers. Sorted's success is mainly down to its young people who have stayed with it and have served God and each other week in, week out.

Mark Russell, CEO of Church Army, adds:

Sorted is an amazing and exciting initiative which effectively reaches and disciples young people who are way beyond the reach of traditional church. My friend Andy Milne has pioneered a visionary youth fresh expression of church, and Church Army is thrilled the Sorted Centre of Mission has now been granted a BMO.

The BMO means that their future is secure for at least the next five years. They will be given oversight by the Archdeacon of Bradford and they'll have an electoral roll of members and a PCC.

Bishop David comments:

Sorted is a bold experiment that has come good. The Church Army has enabled us to create a church out of the people you would least expect to show any interest in Christianity. It has had such an impact at Immanuel College, one of our Church of England Secondary Schools, that there is now an off-shoot at Hanson School, which is a local authority school. That is really remarkable.

The church that emerges from Sorted will be different but it will relate culturally to these people who are completely unchurched. And primarily in fact, it isn't about doing something trendy or relevant - it is about loving in Christ's name.

Sorted encounters around 130 young people each week in the three groups it runs. Andy Milne adds:

Fewer people than ever before have any meaningful links with the church and its culture so we're meeting people where they are at rather than expecting them to come to church. Sorted helps break down some barriers and the young people can see that we are really concerned about them and the issues they face. We're building a Christian community and family for those who have difficult families at home.

In June, Bishop David baptised six teenagers from Sorted in the River Wharfe at Ilkley - with an audience of hundreds of sunbathers. The six were then joined by five others to be confirmed and receive communion by the riverside.