Last week, directors from our Canadian Baptist partners in youth and family gathered. These semiannual meetings aren't just to catch up. They are times to discern how we can come together at a national level with discernment from the Holy Spirit. CB Youth and Family's mandate is to advocate and make possible national and global synergies in the areas of youth, family and young adult ministry. Some elements that we
Earlier this year, we started a conversation about parental care being a core element of youth ministry. One key question is whether both the parent(s) and youth leaders understand where each youth is headed i.e. what's the vision God has for that child? This isn't just about future vocation or other generic answers like "to grow up, be a good person and have a good job". While we may never
Last Saturday night, CBOQ Youth with Children and Family joined the Hamilton Ticats for their final regular season game (and it was a memorable one). However, the greater impact came from the testimonies of three Ticat players: Luke Tasker, Joel Reinders and Cary Koch with chaplain Steve Kearns. Several churches with children of all ages came to hear their stories of Jesus' impact on them. Guests offered questions and some
As soon-to-be high school graduates are looking at options after June, it can become a daunting task. Some are excited; others are filled with anxiety. As youth leaders, helping them to navigate this time is crucial in their faith journey. While each individual's situation is unique, there are some common elements to consider. What kind of vocation is God calling that person towards? What kind of pathway is God directing
Most of our church ministries operate with volunteers. Without them, many of our ministries would shut down. Many youth leaders have a problem recruiting volunteers. However, that's only one part of the puzzle. It's not just how to bring volunteers in service, it's also how you care for them. I've heard from some volunteers who feel they are essentially cheap (i.e. free) labour. Some don't feel appreciated or cared for.
Abraham Maslow deduced a hierarchy of needs people unconsciously strive for. The second level in his hierarchy is "safety needs", where a person desires physical protection, security, stability and freedom from fear. The Hemorrhaging Faith report also alluded to this in one of their four drivers (under "Teachings and Beliefs") where young adults: can freely explore the tough issues: sex, different world views, etc. They want to be prepared to
We've revised our starter kit for church youth ministries. The overview document gives the church and youth leader starting points when determining what their new youth ministry may look like. From there, sample templates are included to help establish the foundations of the youth ministry with bonus documents which will help you take it to the next level. This starter kit is available on our Access Card. (If you don't
Lately on Facebook, people have faced the Gratitude Challenge (the Huffington Post had a feature article on this). The premise of the challenge is to list 3 items of you're grateful for over a 10 day period. It's been shown that having a thankful attitude has positive effects on ourselves (there have been numerous studies looking at the correlation between gratitude and happiness). This shouldn't be any surprise for the
Theology, as a basic definition, is "the study of God and God's relation to the world". As a Christian, we view everything through that lens of discovering God's relationship to everything. Youth ministry is no different. Youth ministry is no longer seen as "glorified babysitting". Youth leaders would rarely call it that. (Some parishoners may have subconsciously viewed it as such.) However, in the last few years, the connection between
Over the years, we've coordinated what we called an event internship where youth and young adults came to serve at Avalanche and Blizzard while honing their ministry skills. Over the last 12 months, we've redesigned that program into what we call "Slingshot". We recognize that today's young adult isn't always able to commit to a program long-term (some don't even know what they're doing the next hour). We also recognize
