Youthwork the Conference 2013

Train your youth worker for £75 – special rate ends 30 June

If you’re involved in youth work or know someone who is, don’t miss this exciting training opportunity in Eastbourne this November. At Youthwork the Conference (Friday 22 November – Sunday 24 November) you’ll hear from inspiring individuals on the front line of youth ministry, network with other youth workers, and get time out to relax and reflect on what God has called you to.

The special ‘early bird’ rate ends on 30 June.

Find out more at youthworkconference.co.uk

Aim Lower Journal – conversations about mission, discipleship and children

Thanks again to Ben Mizen and his Dopcandy blog, for this wisdom:

The Aim Lower Journal is an excellent website of artilces that focus on mission, discipleship and children. Here’s a selection of articles from issue 1:

• Aim Lower – A new priority for children in mission thinking
• Think Smaller – How do we relate to children and how might fresh thinking help our mission
• Give Up – Challenge yourself. Are you ready for real mission partnership?
• Go Have a Cup of Coffee – The foundations of productive partnership in mission
• The Child Faith Journey – What are the signposts on the child’s journey to faith. 10 key insights
• Mentoring – We say it takes a whole church to nurture the faith of a child – but how?
• Key Trends in Mission to Children – 6 key insights and many many questions for further discussion
• Radical Jesus – A saying about children that changed everything

Mentoring resources from XLP

Many thanks to Ben Mizen, DYO at the Diocese of Portsmouth, for pointing us in this direction:

About XLM – Started in 2008, XLP’s XL-Mentoring project (XLM) has proven highly effective in supporting young people and their families who are facing emotional, behavioural and relational challenges. The project is helping them to choose to:

• Improve behaviours, self-esteem & life skills.
• Stay in school and succeed in education.
• Improve relationships with family, peers teachers and others in the community.
• Set goals for the future and work hard to achieve them

Read the whole article on Ben’s blog here;

and then have a look at the XLM website.

Rise in reports of children sexually abusing children

Sima Kotecha, BBC Newsbeat impact reporter writes:

A growing number of children are being sexually abused by other children, say charities.

They say their helplines have seen a big increase in calls from young people who are being abused.

Freedom of information figures obtained by the NSPCC say more than 5,000 children were reported to police in England and Wales as abusers over the last three years.

Almost all of those accused of the abuse of other children were boys.

Some of those reported were as young as five. More than half of the offences were classified as serious and included rape.

The NSPCC and the Lucy Faithfull Foundation say it is a growing problem.

They think that it is partly because of access to online porn becoming easier, with more children owning devices such as smartphones and tablets.

Jenni says her nine-year-old daughter was sexually abused by a boy of the same age.

She does not want to use her surname because she does not want her child to be identified.

The rest of the article is available on the BBC Newsbeat website here.

Churches which buck the trend to reach ‘missing generation’ of young adults

New research has identified five types of churches which are bucking the trend in reaching and discipling the ‘missing generation’ of people in their 20s and 30s.

They include some larger churches, with young adult congregations, that are contemporary in style yet with more traditional practices. These are reaching middle class, well educated young adults, who previously attended church as children.

However more modern expressions of church, with very different traits and practices, are those which are managing to reach young adults with no prior faith or church experience, and from a broader socio-economic background.

These expressions of church are ‘reflecting the wide-ranging ways in which churches are tackling the fact that only 11 per cent of regular churchgoers are between the ages of 25 and 34’, said Beth Keith, a tutor at Church Army in Sheffield, who conducted the research on behalf of Church Army and Fresh Expressions. Her findings are documented in her report authentic faith: fresh expressions of church amongst young adults.

In the past 12 months, Beth has surveyed leaders of parish churches, traditional church plants and fresh expressions of church. The aim was to look at churches based in different contexts reaching young adults from a range of socio-economic and religious backgrounds – rather than simply tracking large student churches.

You can read more on the Baptist Times website here.

Warn young children about pornography, warn Heads

Young children should hear about the dangers of pornography as soon as they have access to the internet, leading head teachers say.

The ready availability of explicit material online has prompted serious concerns from the National Association of Head Teachers.

General secretary Russell Hobby said “the conversation should start” when children started going online.

But he stressed this was not about showing pornography in class.

He told reporters at his association’s annual conference in Birmingham: “There isn’t an easy answer, but as soon as children are getting access to this, it’s time to begin the conversation.”

Stephen Watkins, head teacher of Millfield School in Leeds, said: “Children as young as three – nursery age children – access computers. If they see something that shouldn’t be there, they should know to go and tell an adult.”

You can read the whole article on the BBC News website here. 

How to incorporate children in missional communities

Ben Connolly writes on the Verge website:

From Genesis to 1 John, children are seen in gatherings of God’s people – including sitting through the multi-day reading of The Law (a feat assumed unthinkable for kids today?!) and hearing instruction written specifically to young ones. As The City Church has incorporated children into our community’s gatherings, here are benefits of embracing and engaging children.

Kids Reveal Sin

Would it be easier, less messy, and more efficient, to have adults-only discussion, dinner, or service? Yes. And we love things to be easier, less messy, and more efficient – if we’re honest, most of us would even like our faith to be that way. But God uses kids’ involvement as a practical display the real messiness of living in relationship with him. Kids break down idols, and God has used them to grow folks in patience and service.

 Read the whole article here.

Excellent online youth resources – The Bridge

 

The Bridge is…

• A website packed with quality teaching.
• A line of communication between young people and wider church leadership.
• A statistical beast, educating the church about young people.

Their Vision

The Bridge provides one place for young people to receive an extensive range of good quality teaching, in a variety of forms. This teaching is to be relevant and applicable to the reality of life as a young person today.

At the heart this is to facilitate engagement between Church leadership and young people.

Check out their resources here.

 

 

 

 

Job vacancy – Christian Youth Worker – Chichester area

For the combined parishes of West Wittering, and Birdham with Itchenor in the beautiful setting of Chichester Harbour and the South Coast. Come and make a real difference in a Benefice with a growing youth congregation and well laid foundations in its youth work on which to build.

• Can you demonstrate a genuine love for our young people and a passion to see them flourishing within the Christian faith?
• Have you the vision and the energy to meet the challenges posed for youth growing up in faith in today’s society?

Read more on the DOPCANDY website

The importance of learning relationships

Vicki Shaver, highly experienced in children’s ministry both from a theoretical position through her academic work at International Christian College, Glasgow and practically through Scripture Union and in her local church, argues that relationships matter more in children’s ministry then even education and certainly entertainment. This is what she had to say in conversation with Grant Barclay of CEAS.

view the video via the CEAS website.