Blog posts from guest writers
This post was authored by Phil Pharoah, Youth Pastor at Uxbridge Baptist Church. Hey fellow Youth workers! My name is Phil, and I am the Youth Pastor of Uxbridge Baptist Church in … you guessed it Uxbridge, Ontario! It truly is one of the greatest things in the world, to come alongside the next generation and help them to discover who God made them to be. In youth ministry we
Mentoring is a vital part of a young Christian’s faith formation. In the past few years, CBOQ Youth has encouraged churches to support mentors, who walk alongside those about to graduate high school. Pickering Community Baptist Church has been guiding and supporting high school graduates in this way for a few years now. We asked some of their mentors and recent mentees (Grace Wong, Kiya Fu and Jimmy Chao) to share about their experiences. We hope this will encourage
In the past two weeks we have launched 2 pre-recorded webinars about esports: one for youth leaders and one for parents (both can still be viewed at cboqyouth.ca/esports). Engaging in the digital space is an important topic for both parents and churches as it’s a main form of communication and interaction in our world, especially for young people. Digital space is reality; it’s not virtual or make-believe. We hope both webinars continue to be helpful resources for churches to use. We encourage
Marco Gil Children, Youth and Family Pastor King's Community Church (Edited on May 25, 2020) INSIGHTS FROM MARCO Providing materials beforehand gives them a chance to review before meeting on Zoom. His role has been adjusted with the circumstances and is learning new skills to adapt. Think "way" outside the box. Try new things you haven't done before. Adjust as you go along. Keep doing what
Curtis Sheen Volunteer Youth Coordinator Little Bethel Community Church (Recorded: May 23, 2020) INSIGHTS FROM CURTIS He's relating through "drive by" visits with his youth. He's learning from others (e.g. through the other interview videos). His videos are a way to ground them back to the church building, which is a central locale in their relation to faith. Be yourself and trust God in what he's
Jacklyn Rondini Volunteer Youth Leader New Horizons Baptist Church (This is an email interview with Jacklyn and Alvin on May 20, 2020.) What's changed in your youth since March break? I’ve noticed a deeper desire for youth to commit to reading the Bible and understand scripture. Desire to have Bible Study and an inner desire has increased. What successes have you experienced? What struggles? Definitely a major success is having
Dean and Maxine Bender Pastor and Youth Leader Chesley Baptist Church (Recorded on May 19, 2020) INSIGHTS FROM MAXINE AND DEAN Some kind of in-person (appropriately physically distance) meetings are still vital. The youth seem to be getting tired of looking at their devices; they're looking for physical interaction. One-on-one connections are still key for open dialogue. Stay in the truth and keep plugging along; God
Mike Wong English Ministry Youth Pastor Logos Baptist Church, Milliken (Recorded on May 19, 2020) INSIGHTS FROM MIKE With the size of their group, the one-on-one conversations is much more important than the big program. During the pandemic, he has the opportunity journey with students in diving deeper into Scripture and they're finding ways to serve their community. Online platforms become an "open house" for your
Darryl Bergen Pastor of Youth and Family Wyoming Baptist Church (Recorded: May 15, 2020) INSIGHTS FROM DARRYL Their group sometimes met at a pizzeria to hang out. They delivered pizza kits for their families to assemble and cook together. He likens this stage to a rubber band that stretches forward and steps back a bit. The key is to keep moving forward. He promotes the concept
Jon Matthews Director of Youth and Young Adults Kingsway Baptist Church (Recorded: May 14, 2020) INSIGHTS FROM JON He's found a mixture of those who are looking for fellowship connections and others who want to go deeper into faith (especially since they've got time). Tools most useful are Zoom and Discord. To battle screen fatigue, he's balanced the number of programs offered online, encouraging them to
