All About the Heart and Soul of YouthWorkers
OK I know that sounds a little dramatic. Let me start Micro and move towards Meta. I also really want your input, so this is a conversation starter. Here it goes: Well for about two weeks now I have become the acting Children’s Ministry Director at the Church where I am doing Interim Youth Ministry.…
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When I was in the local church, I didn’t pay much attention to General Conference – the every-four-year-mostly-legislative-meeting of United Methodist delegates to decide what would be in the next Book of Discipline. I taught about General Conference in confirmation, I read the headlines that would invariably show up in the press about the more…
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You have great hopes, dreams and plans. So you go all in, work had to make them a reality and do everything possible to get where you want to be. But, along the way, something happens and what you want so much is suddenly no longer a possibility. That’s disappointing – perhaps devastating – and…
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It would be nice if life were easy. But it’s not. You deal with difficult people, tough issues, circumstances beyond your control and the fact that life keeps coming at you fast. You have several choices how to respond. You can give up and decide you’re a victim. Fight with everything you have and take…
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The Duke Youth Academy for Christian Formation (DYA) invites youth workers interested in exploring innovative youth ministry practices to apply for a Duke youth ministry fellowship. Fellows typically possess undergraduate degrees and have fewer than five years of experience in a church setting. Fellows have the opportunity to learn from internationally acclaimed Divinity School faculty,…
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Over the last few weeks, we have been examining the 7 promises of the We Love Our Youth Worker Covenant, an agreement between covenant churches and their employee-youth workers. This week we are going to delve into Promise 7 – a promise about celebrating the youth ministry of your church. From the church’s point of…
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I’ve been told by well-intentioned youth and parents, “I will be at UMY if there is nothing on my schedule.” Really? Is that supposed to make me feel better? You’ll be at UMY if you have absolutely nothing better to do? Thanks…I think. We all experience it. Every week thousands of members of youth groups…
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Excellence. This might be the most important and most difficult to define promise of the We Love Our Youth Worker (WLOYW) covenant. Here’s what the employer promises to the youth worker: We will strive to be an excellent employer. We believe that it’s important to have clear structures and procedures for recruiting and employing a…
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The to-do list for the Youth Valentine’s Dinner and Auction event I inherited was extremely detailed and even divided into subcategories – things to do for the meal itself, for promoting the event, for decorating, for soliciting donations, for organizing the youth, for ticket sales, for setting up and for cleaning up…you get the idea.…
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YOUTH WORKERS’ GATHERING 2012 – SUSTAINABLE YOUTH MINISTRY Join us on from 4.00 pm on Friday, March 30th to 3.00 pm on Saturday, March 31st as together, we discover how to build a culture in our congregations that fosters vibrant, long-lasting youth ministry and leadership as well as meet and…
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Starting in August 2012 Disciple Bible Study for Youth will be available on-line for Youthworkers to use with a group of High School Youth in their Church, District, Conference, Region, Community as well as there being groups that any individual Youth from anywhere in the world can sign up for. We need facilitators for every…
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Understand this from the beginning: I don’t mean to equate what I’m about to do for Lent with real poorness, nor do I think that being poor is something touristy to do. At a recent youth event I sat in a workshop on ministry with the poor as the youth were engaged in a discussion…
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Want to know something crazy? Normal people get two days off of work every week. Youthworkers usually get none. Don’t think I’m right? Check your calendar. You might be saying, “I get Mondays off” (except for those two hours of staff meeting…) Or you get Fridays off (except any weekends with a retreat or a…
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“So, it seems like you read a lot of books?!” Yeah, I get that often. My college-aged son says he was raised at “the library” and he means our home not a publicly funded book depository. And this photo below shows you what is on my reading pile for today. What is wrong with…
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Ask in the right circles away from the hubbub of the youth room and you’ll quickly learn a simple truth about the confirmation process in Methodist youth ministry: no single effort carries more weight in the spiritual life of a UM youth. It’s where they’re outfitted for life, carefully and painstakingly trained for the journey…
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I don't remember where I first saw the KONY2012 video posted, but … [Read More...]
The Life Of A Disciple In The World The Virtues & Fruits of the … [Read More...]
The to-do list for the Youth Valentine's Dinner and Auction event I … [Read More...]
YouthWorker Movement
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