Bridge Building: An apostolic approach to Christian youth work
Apostolos (Greek NT): One sent as a messenger or agent, the bearer of a commission, messenger, an apostle.Jesus was the original apostle or pioneer and he calls us to follow in his footsteps. How can we use this apostolic or pioneering approach in our role as a Christian youth worker? This seminar will explore the ways in which we can pioneer new work, build bridges into lost communities, plant new groups and create the essential building blocks for sustainable Christian youth work.
Seminar titles and descriptors are subject to change...more information to follow!
'As Christian youth workers, we are called to be Good News to the young people we work with. How do we effectively, relevantly and creatively communicate this Good News in what we say and do?’
Those Who Can – Teach
Teaching young people is an important and rewarding role, although we may find it daunting. This seminar, from a “teacher-in-training”, is a practical and scriptural look at the gift of teaching for those who are developing this ministry or just want to explore it.
At one time, nurturing disciples was a simple, read, pray and attend church, business. Today, things are radically different and so this seminar we will explore how spiritual formation can be interwoven with the natural rhythms of life, and identify ways in which Christian leaders can support and encourage young people in following Jesus.
Much is said about ‘gifting’ in ministry but how might we discover what our core gifts are? Kenny is running a seminar to help us discover just that! Come and ‘discover’. Follow on seminars will go deeper into each ‘gift’.
Romance Academy is a nation-wide sex and relationships education initiative run by youth workers which addresses the underlying causes of risky youth behaviour, such as poor self-esteem, low aspirations and lack of positive family life, by promoting the value of stable relationships.
These seminars will follow on from each other and will give an introduction to counselling skills. The aim is not to train you to be a counsellor but to look at how you can utilise these skills to enhance the work you do with young people.
What are your feelings when you think about looking for funding? Are you embarrassed to be asking for money? Are you worried that funders won’t fund your group? How do you know you’ve done what you set out to do? So many questions and confusion is understandable. The aim of the Funding & Fundraing Workshop is to help you to plan strategically, seek appropriate funding and monitor and evaluate your work to help you work more effectively within and for your community.
Based on: ArtWorks: Youth Worker’s Guide to the Arts and Training
The ArtWorks guide has been developed by YouthLink Scotland, in partnership with Creative Scotland, to embed effective and quality arts practice within the principles, values and purpose of youth work. Artworks offers advice and information on visual arts, creative writing, film, dance and drama and performance skills.Tim (an arts dummy) will deliver a workshop taster exploring these themes, which is a taster of a full day training programme, to demonstrate that you don’t need to be an expert to use a creative approach in your practice.As part of a special deal with Deep Impact, participants will get a free copy of ArtWorks a training pack which was developed across the youth work sector. The pack would normally cost £40+VAT - all you need to do is participate in the pack and help us to evaluate the impact of using arts in youth work.
These seminars will follow on from each other and will give an introduction to counselling skills. The aim is not to train you to be a counsellor but to look at how you can utilise these skills to enhance the work you do with young people.
Plus One Mentoring is a multi-award winning community mentoring programme which recruits and trains volunteer mentors to work with vulnerable young people at risk of becoming persistent offenders and not achieving their full potential. This workshop will look at how a community mentoring programme operates - from recruiting volunteers, working with appropriate partners, supporting mentors and young people in their journey to ending, re-defining relationships. It will also look at the impact that mentoring can have in the lives of young people, volunteers and in the community.
A practical and theoretical guide to working with young people who suffer from some kind of autistic disorder delivered by two practitioners who work in this field.
"Lets get steamed tonight" Unless we have blinkers on we can’t have failed to noticed that alcohol misuse has a huge impact in our communities. With that in mind some of our young people can both be the symptom, victim or demonised as the cause of the problem. So what do we do about it? James’ session will give an understanding of effects of alcohol on young people and propose a range of methods and resources which are available to you to use in your practice.
How does the Church engage with the biggest events on the planet? Come and find out!
Do you sometimes feel that all you are doing is providing a weekly entertainment programme rather than empowering young people to get to grips with their faith . Let's move forward, leaving behind our perfect plans and our organised events and enjoy a bit of random peer led ministry with all the joy and growth that it will provide. Come along and hear about my trials, challenges and enjoyment as i took a risk and gave the youth the reigns.
"Can you empower young people to explore leadership in their own life and if so how? During this seminar we will take a look at what some of the theory tells us as well as some practical example from our ministries."
How can we reach those teens that are outside of our churches? A practical look at engaging young people outside of church with the Good News.
The idea is very simple… you get use of a classroom, or part of a hall or some other public space in the school, and you set it up with a series of prayer stations, zones with different themes relating to prayer, e.g. ‘be sorry’, ‘be yourself’, ‘be thankful’, ‘be still’, ‘forgiveness’, ‘messages from God’, etc. You recruit (and train) a great little team from a local church, a group of churches, or from a local Christian schoolswork organisation. And then you either have a timetabled week of classes coming for their lesson- time in the prayer space, or you open it during break and lunchtimes. It can work either way.Prayer spaces get called all kinds of things – sacred spaces, reflective rooms, soul spaces – but their purpose is mostly the same; to welcome children and young people (and teachers!) into space where they can explore prayer in simple, honest, creative ways. This seminar will guide you through the concept and delivery of Prayer Spaces in Schools and how you can begin to use this as a tool for Youth Ministry.
How to deal with the unique challenges and opportunities of working with children and young people in rural settings. This seminar will also be the beginning of a rural network being set up across Scotland. So, come along for practical ideas for your group but also to think and plan more widely.
This seminar will look at what happens when a young person is lifted, charged or imprisoned and will look at how we as Christian youth workers can work with the young people in order to help free them from the ‘cycle of crime’.
Children interact with many others as they journey with or towards God. It’s tempting to impose our own expectations of that journey, and sometimes difficult to take a step back as they learn what it means to be a disciple.
If we are to release a child to be all that Godintends him or her to be, how do we accompany children as they discover the wonder and challenges of living with God? What is the most appropriate role as fellow-travellers with children: teacher, leader, friend, mentor, protector or guide?
It is one thing to have a positive view of children’s spiritual capacity, but what kinds of practicereally engage and help to develop children’s spiritual potential? Godly Play is one answer to that, and its been tried and tested for over 30 years in more than 20 countries! Interestingly, Godly Play involves doing the opposite of what often goes on in children’s ministry. This is low tech, low energy, contemplative and involves no pre-designed craft activities. Come and experience Godly Play unique approach to entering into Bible stories. Find out the child’s natural capacity for wonder and imaginative play are vital resources for their personal spiritual journey.
‘It’s boring’ is a common complaint when children begin to explore the Bible. How has the adventure of living with God become boring? We have worked hard to create programs that combine entertainment with education, yet to many children, the Bible is a closed book. At best, it’s a story-book you grow out of, or a book of rules that take the fun out of life.
What are the ways that we can help children to connect their own story with God's Big Story in ways that equip them for their life now and will hold up to the challenges of life as they grow up? How do we help them enter its pages with the anticipation of meeting the God who transforms?
It’s easy to notice that childhood has typical physical, emotional and mental features, but what might spirituality sound like and look like in childhood? Do we tend assume there won’t be much there, or that it will be rather dilute, and that our task is to prepare children for their spiritual future? Research shows that most children have a naturally spiritual outlook on life, even though they might not have conventional language (God talk) for what they know and feel. How can Christian ministry with children make the most of this fertile ground? How do children feel when we don’t?
© Deep Impact 2012 | Existence Design
