For my sins I help lead an 11-14s youth group within my local church. Or at least within the church which is local to me, even if I'm not exactly a regular attender at the moment.

They're generally 'nice' kids - this is a middle class area, the kids have been brought up going to a typical middle of the road Anglian church where nothing much exciting happens and the town's main superstore is Waitrose. Doesn't mean they can't be difficult.

Last night was weird. WE were doing the church, what was wrong with it, and what a young person's role in it is. I was amazed to find that they, on the whole, felt quite valued in the church (so is it just me with an inferiority complex?) but not in society, that they were really up for 'praising God as loud as we can' (erm, well I never hear that on a Sunday morning) and to hear their struggles - the mocking they get from other kids for being a Christian. 'Church', said one 'is taught like it's something which used to happen in the past'.

And yet, despite this enthusiasm, they were saying church was going to die out within their generation. How can we capture the imagination and enthusiasm of a 14 year old, and keep it alive 10 years on (cos I've not got it at the moment), 20 years, 40 years. How do we get them to realise that the 'little old ladies' were them 50/60 years ago?

Unfortunately one of the kids also deliberately set fire to the notes we were using at prayer time at the end. The first time I don't give the 'I think you're old enough to be treated like adults/use candles in church' speech and one lets my trust down in them.

Grr.