biblical aims March 30, 2006

“We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.” Col 1 v 28,29 NIV

“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. ” Eph 4 v 11-13 NIV

Do you find these helpful as the main aim of youth ministry? How would you state your aims, biblicaly, if not from these verses?

I guess they are useful. I find it hard to have particular bible verses to state the aims of ministry. I tend to go back to the two verses Purpose Driven Youth Ministry uses – the great commision, and the greatest commandment. As well as the passage in Luke 4 where Jesus reads from the scriptures. That passage goes back to my calling, and motivates me, rather than being an aim of the ministry.
What about you?

blogger fodder? March 30, 2006

Over the past couple of days I’ve been reading A Youth Worker’s Tale. A slightly amusing diary of a youthworker. Probably worth a read if you’re feeling isolated, but otherwise I wouldn’t rate it that highly.
At the end of each chapter (month of the diary) there are some thought provoking questions, to get us youthworkers thinking through some of the issues raised. I got bored thinking about them by about the third chapter, but thought discussing them with others might be slightly more interesting. And then I thought perhaps I could blog about them, rather than boring bits from my life. (Incedently I went to YMCA George Williams College for my interview yesterday – hope to be doing a DipHE in Informal and Community Education by distance learning from September.)
So here I am, looking at the selection of questions for January, and we’ll start with an easy one.

Is length the most important part of all age worship?
No.
God is. Everyone worshipping together is.

a good day doing nothing March 29, 2006

Yesterday was my day off. It was a great day of not doing a lot. We watched TV, delivered our church publication that goes out to the parish, spent an hour tidying the garden, made a steamed pudding, and I finished reading a book.
Just what I needed.
Looking forward to my next holiday – only three weeks to go!

what to teach? March 23, 2006

I’ve just returned from a good hours walk, ready to start thinking about next terms programmes. How do you decide what to teach?
1) Pray and see what pops into your head
2) Pick up the latest resource
3) Ask the young people themselves
4) Listen to what the young people are talking about, and then address their issues
5) Stick a pin in your bible
It’s probably a mixture of all 5 (to a lesser or greater extent!) I tried asking the young people and didn’t get much response. Since I’ve arrived we’ve looked at young people in the bible, Jesus’ life and a few issues here and there. The question is – what next?

what a gift! March 20, 2006

Today, we received a letter from Bruce. Bruce is an 11 year old boy who lives in Uganda. We sponsor him through Compassion, a great Christian organisation. It was his birthday in January and we were given the opportunity of sending him a small amount of money. The letter we received today thanked us for this gift. He spent his money on a goat, a hen, bedsheets and slippers. We might live on the same planet, but in reality, we are world’s apart.
It is an amazing privilege to be able to be involved in this child’s life. Yes, we can make a small difference, but it is also very humbling. Each letter that arrives on our doorstop brings home to me the harsh realities of this world, how well off we are, and how we should do so much more!
Its all so easy to be comfortable in our own little lives, closing our eyes even to the injustice that is in our cities here.
God, open my eyes I pray, stir me to action to move outside my comfort zone

a strange week March 18, 2006

It’s been a strange week. I moved my day off to allow myself to go to two meetings this week, which wasn’t a problem, but always feels weird. My diary sheet for the week had lots of time in it, and I had planned to use it to look at future events. But here I am on Saturday afternoon, having not looked at any of them! Though I have got a lot of other useful things done instead (which I had forgotten about and hadn’t put on my diary sheet!)
As I can’t think of anything interesting to share, here are just the highs and lows of my week!
Highs
- got interview for JNC course
- the God spot at youth club last night worked really well!
- the yummy lemon cake I made yesterday evening
- seeing my Dad back on the stage (and making me laugh as usual!)
Lows
- struggling to cope with / help my family
- not having done work I had hoped to
- generally getting stressed over nothing

The God Slot March 11, 2006

Our Friday Youth Club leaders have begun to re-think about the God Slot. Currently we have a 15 minute spot where someone generally stands and talks at the young people, often with a video clip or something else to catch their attention. BUT it doesn’t seem to work. Although some of the message gets through, most of the young people talk over whoever is speaking. There is definitely a negative attitude amongst them towards the spot.
Ian posted on the topic of God slot back in January, but does anyone have anything else to add?
Last night we tried two things. We moved them into a different room. This worked to an extent. We weren’t all squashed into one room, there was room to move and the atmosphere felt more relaxed (to begin with.) We also tried to get them to work in small groups. I think we’ll try this again, but we had so many problems just getting them into groups, and then trying to explain what they had to do, that we gave up. Several young people were sent out of the room in a bid to get the room under control, but by that point it was too late to be starting anything.
Debriefing later, we decided that the different room is a good idea. As we don’t use it for the rest of the meeting, it can be prepared earlier, with chairs set up how we want them, music, banners, whatever we can to create an atmosphere.
We sense a need to do something different, perhaps something radical with the spot. We need a radical change to get out of the pattern we are in. So for the next two weeks, we will continue to try to gain control.
Now we have the purpose of the group defined (from the strategy) we can begin to look more broadly at the spot, and perhaps get radical with it! All ideas welcome.

strategy set March 10, 2006

We had the second meeting of all the 11-18s leaders last night, and we have agreed the strategy for the youth ministry of our church for the next three years. The next step is for each group to explore the purpose for their group and ask the question – are we doing what we’re supposed to be doing?
I’m really pleased with the progress, and my next task is to communicate this strategy to the PCC, then the church, and then communicate it to the young people.
I’ve got a lot of the small jobs done this week, and am even ahead of myself in what I expected to get done this week! Perhaps I’ll even get on to planning some future events this weekend!

encouragement March 6, 2006

God’s really been encouraging me this weekend. Two people have said something to me that has really encouraged me. I spent part of last week doubting that I was doing any good, why was I in this job etc etc (like we all do from time to time!), and so I prayed that God would just confirm to me that I was doing the right thing, and fuel my passion again. The comments I had from these two people were exactly what I needed to hear.
I was also encouraged by just being in church yesterday. During the morning communion service, I watched children and young people receiving prayer rather than communion. It was a real reminder to me as to how important our work is, to teach and encourage these children and young people in the ways of God. During the evening service, I was watching a child, who was sat with the bible open in front of her. I have no idea how much she was able to read, or even if she was reading it, but again it was a wonderful picture of a child wanting to learn about God.
So, feeling encouraged, I now head into a busy week, with its usual number of struggles and difficulties. But I will hold onto the reminder of why I do what I do.

updated personal statement thingy! March 3, 2006

After reading Growing Leaders, writing my original statement before Christmas, then re-reading the same chapter and considering the five questions I posted yesterday, I now have my updated personal purpose statement! So here it is! Old goals still stand, but have been developed further. They may not be as SMART as before, but they give me more to work at!

MY PURPOSE:
To be a child of God
To be a faithful wife, daughter and friend
To make a difference in young people’s lives in my own unique way by -Teaching them about God, Loving them and empathising with those who are hurting.

And so I will prioritise these items in my week, ensuring reasonable time is given to each one. Specifically, a day to be set aside for teaching preparation (when teaching), and a regular opportunity for young people to meet with me.

MY PERSONAL GOALS 2006:
Physical – to get sufficient rest, to eat healthily and to exercise three times a week.
Spiritual – to carry my quiet time intimacy with God through the day, learning to depend on God.
Relational – to contribute more to the small groups I belong to, being more open, giving (not just taking), growing in self confidence.
Professional – to start the JNC qualification, to daily intercede for young people and the work, to use and develop my gifts.
Personal – to develop my integrity, acting on my beliefs, praying when I say I will.

MY AIM:
The person I want to be:
- a true worshipper of God
- a person who shows love
- intimate with God
- a person of integrity
- real and honest with people
- dependent on God

MY DREAM:
A church serving the local community in several ways (youth, homeless, drugs..) all from one building.