Origins: a youth prayer course for 11-18 year-olds

In the gospel of Luke, one of Jesus’s disciples asks him to teach them something. The disciple asks,

“Lord, teach us to Pray…”

In a fun and laid back way, Origins will engage young people in the idea of prayer over 7 weeks, as well as giving practical suggestions to help them grow their prayer lives.

Who is Origins for?
Origins is a 7 week prayer resource for 11-18 year olds, that will teach young people to pray.

The course is designed for young people from all backgrounds. The desire is that anyone at any place with God can come along and build community whilst learning how to have a relationship with Jesus.

How does it work?
Each session is designed to fit into one and a half hours, but it can be changed to suit your group circumstances. The length of prayer times will increase over the seven weeks.

This course is designed for youth groups of all sizes but we suggest splitting into smaller groups for discussions.

Find out more by clicking here.

 

 

 

Three Bible games for children

Barnabas in Churches: Resourcing work among children and families

Here are three games, which are each capable of adaptation in different ways to introduce various aspects of the Bible. They make ideal, simple icebreaker activities to do before a session on a particular related Bible story or character.

 

Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation: Prevention and Treatment

With Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) now classified as a “national threat”, the onus is on all professionals working with children and young people to be alert to young victims, perpetrators and those at risk of abuse and exploitation.

This essential one-day national conference will provide first-hand insight on good practice in tackling the issue in all its forms, including intra-familial abuse and child sexual exploitation.

You will hear from expert speakers and practitioners from around the country including leading figures from the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, NSPCC, Barnardo’s and CEOP.

Where and when? 18 march 2016 in London
More details? click here

Messy Church and working families

A new report on working families in the UK has just been published. It is based on a survey of 1000 families.

You can access it from the Messy Church website.

Ministering to Children conference at Moorlands College

In collaboration with Moorlands College we are running a Ministering to Children Conference on Saturday 27th February 2016

We shall be looking at –

• How children develop and grow
• Principles of running events for children
• Child Spirituality
• Ministering to preschool children

The event has always been very popular over the years, and we hope to develop these mornings over the coming months.

Where: Moorlands College, Sopley, Christchurch, BH23 7AT
When: Saturday 27 February 2016, 9.00 – 1.00pm
Cost: £20 for the conference, or £25 for the conference and lunch

Click the link for a poster: Ministering to Children Conference 2016

For more information, contact events@moorlands.ac.uk or phone 01425 674500

 

 

iWitness – Lent 2016

The Bishop’s Lent Course for 2016 is aimed at growing our confidence to witness to the Gospel in all its fullness. Rooted in the Acts of the Apostles and Luke’s Gospel, it will help us to explore how living the mission of Jesus in the power of his Holy Spirit means we are people and communities which:

– Steward faithfully
– Act justly
– Serve sacrificially
– Teach effectively
– Proclaim boldly

Last year, St Benedict (‘Ben’) helped us to bring a ‘rhythm’ to our lives. This year we will be empowered to share the good news Ben knew with those around us.

We’ll be bringing our resourcing events to you in the New Year. Want to find out more? Click here.

 

Guardians of Ancora Christmas comic

The city of Ancora used to glow with the light of a thousand stories. Now these tales are gone and the Spire grows dim. But some still search for stories, to relight the Spire once more. They are called the Guardians of Ancora!

Join the characters from Scripture Union’s groundbreaking tablet game, Guardians of Ancora, as they rediscover the Christmas story. The Ancora Christmas Bible comic combines high-quality artwork with augmented reality content to bring the story of Jesus’ birth to life.

Hand in Hand Conference 2016

Whatever your involvement in children’s or family ministry there will be something for you over the weekend.

Time to connect with God, be refreshed and reflect on your ministry

• Through worship and Bible study in our main stage sessions. Paul Butler (Bishop of Durham) will be exploring two stories from the Bible as he speaks on Nurtured and Nurturing on Friday and Saturday; Lou Fellingham will lead us in worship as we Rejoice! on Saturday evening.
• Through opportunities for prayer, reflection and to encounter God during the optional session times on Saturday.
• With space in the programme for you to take time out – for a walk on the beach, a conversation with another delegate, exhibitor or speaker, or prayer with a member of our pastoral team.

Time to develop fresh ideas about your ministry with children and families

• Through the challenge from our final main stage speaker – Terry Williams (SU, Queensland Australia) to consider the need for information and formation if we want to see transformation.
• Through our programme of optional sessions with streams addressing family ministry, focused on the relationship between church and families; mission, focused on how we reach out to families and children in our locality; Holy Spirit, focused on ensuring a Spirit/Word balance in our ministry.
• Through the ‘deeper for leaders’ sessions –one within each of the three streams.
• Through the Additional Needs Alliance forum, incorporated within the optional seminar programme, which this year will address What happens at the top of the ramp? Getting the practicalities in place to welcome children with additional needs is only the first step. We will also explore and celebrate ways to recognise and encourage spiritual development.
• Through clinics, where you can book to discuss issues you may have with your children’s or family ministry with some of our team

Time to be resourced for your ministry

• Through Hands On workshops, including our Hands On Discovery afternoon on Saturday when local families are welcome to come along and you can join them in sessions seeing the theory in practice. This will conclude with a celebration led by Bob Hartman.
• Through our exhibition and shop areas where you can meet with many of the organisations and ministries resourcing aspects of children’s and family ministry with products, ideas and local events.

Full details can be found here

 

The Church Sticking Together – The Vital Role of Intergenerational Relationships in Fostering Sticky Faith

Another article seen in the Aim Lower Journal:

It turns out that intergenerational relationships are one key to building lasting faith in students. Silver bullet? No. Helpful if we want students to live their faith beyond high school? Absolutely. Sadly, many high school students lack these significant relationships. In our effort to offer relevant and developmentally appropriate teaching and fellowship for teenagers, we have segregated (and we use that verb intentionally but not lightly) students from the rest of the church. In interviews and open-ended survey questions, participants shared reflections like this one: “The students seemed to be very separated from the rest of the congregation. Maybe fixing that gap would help unite the church.”

This article was adapted from Sticky Faith, Youth Worker Edition, by Kara Powell, Brad Griffin and Cheryl Crawford (Zondervan 2011) and originally appeared in the Sep/Oct edition of Immerse Journal. Reprinted with permission.

Read more here.

Introducing the Quito call to action on children at risk

The following comes from the Aim Lower Journal:

“The Lausanne Consultation on Children at Risk was held in Quito, Ecuador, on 17-19 November 2014. We were gathered with more than 60 of the foremost experts in the area of children-at-risk, including church leaders, theologians, missiologists, and NGO representatives. The two documents that emerged are the fruit of our collaborative work from this gathering, and I am happy to present them to you on behalf of Anne-Christine Bataillard (Senior Associate for Evangelism among Children) and the Lausanne Children at Risk Network.”

The two papers are:

Who are Children-at-Risk: A Missional Definition

Quito Call to Action on Children at Risk

You can read the whole article here.