Next March break, what will your youth ministry be doing? While you may still be readjusting to what on-site programming looks like now or navigating other parts of youth ministry, it’s a good time to begin discerning what could be happening a few months from now. For many youth ministries, March break is an opportunity to serve beyond what their group normally does. At this point, an overseas Compassion Experience
On Saturday, November 6, Wycliffe College (along with partners like CBOQ Kids) is hosting the Toronto Children’s Ministry Conference. This may be a great training opportunity for you. You might be asking, “What does a children’s ministry conference have to do with youth ministry?” Here are five reasons why I (Alvin) think you should consider going; There are some renown speakers at this year’s conference. There are many great workshops
On October 4-6, we had a small group of six youth pastors come to Camp Kwasind for our annual Youth Pastors Retreat. In light of the 18+ months of adapting (and readapting) youth ministry in our current times, many felt tired and weary. Together, we took time to rest. Our schedule was slow-paced. We had time to be renewed personally and sharpened in our ministries. Matt led the group
AVALANCHE AND BLIZZARD 2022 RETREATS UPDATE Our CBOQ Youth flagship retreats approach their 22nd year. Last year was our first ever fully online retreat experience. We were amazed at how God continues to bring his message of hope through these new channels for us. Many have been asking, “What will Avalanche and Blizzard look like this January/February 2022?” While there are still many determining factors yet to be finalized, we
This year, we are excited to announce our seven scholarship recipients. Through the legacy of the Baptist Leadership Education Centre, seven scholarships were awarded to young adults who are pursuing undergraduate post-secondary education or short-term ministry training ‘to live a life of impact – wherever they are and whatever they do’. Our recipients are: Angela Shen (Mississauga Grace Missionary Baptist Church) Jaden Pierson (First Baptist Church, Ingersoll) Joseph Xie (Immanuel Baptist Church,
The pandemic has led to the formation of new habits and expectations. Some have voiced the concern that some youth have become too comfortable with online interactions and just stay there with their cameras turned off; they believe there should be a greater “nudge” to in-person gatherings. This is a consumer-based point of view. While some of these concerns are valid, we must ask some deeper questions because there may
The pandemic showed our primary (in many cases sole) dependency on synchronous in-person gatherings. Some ministries were able to pivot to other ways of helping youth in their faith development; others stalled and were unable to adapt. It’s clear that we need to consider other ways of engaging in discipleship to allow for greater adaptability, whether it’s for individual or societal reasons. There are 4 channels for consideration: 1:1 connections Synchronous onsite / in-person
Youth ministry continues to evolve from doing things FOR youth to doing things WITH youth. That shared experience in creating something together is more life-changing than any program we can create. One youth pastor shared how they began creating baking YouTube videos. Now, via Zoom, some of their youth group bake together. While it usually takes much longer than doing it by herself, they share how the youth are impacted in several ways: in creating shared memories, developing
A couple of caveats with this: Do not presume your youth ministry mandate/objectives/methods are exactly the same as they were pre-pandemic. In some cases, you may have youth who did connect with your youth ministry in the last few months who are not geographically able to meet in-person. Your strategies may need to be revised in light of new factors. Your youth ministry is not meant to be all-encompassing. Whether through CBOQ or other networks, you are part
One of our youth pastors has commented that there is a good chance churches will be able to have larger group gatherings than most other businesses/institutions. Assuming you are appropriately fulfilling your civic and social due diligence, you may want to consider ways to provide space for both youth who are regularly connected to your group and others who are not. There likely will be numerical or proportional restrictions to consider
