Why study with the Institute for Children Youth and Mission (CYM)? – Sally Nash
Watch this – learning to be me by Ria Taylor a CYM student https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXKHLoej-_E Ria Taylor – Learning to be me… My first response to this question which Tim asked me is to say talk to our students! That is why there is a five minute video to watch, a piece of spoken word from […]
Out of the Question – A new Youth apologetics resource
It has perhaps never been harder for Christian teens and young adults to stand up for Jesus in their schools, colleges and communities. If they do stick their head above the parapet, they can receive a barrage of questions from several different directions at once! How should they respond? How can youth leaders, churches, and […]
5 Types of criticism that I’ll always ignore… or at least try to
Exactly a year ago I wrote a post called ‘7 Ways Not To Complain To Your Youth Worker’. As a result I received comments and messages from other youth leaders that had gone through the same things. Some of the stories they shared were just heartbreaking. This made me realise that we’re not done with […]
Why we need sync – Grace Wheeler
As a communicator, one of the things I always used to connect with people is stories. I tell stories about dogs, about inspiring people, but mostly about me! This is not because I love myself, it’s because I know me best and when I share something of my life it connects with my audience. Stories […]
A different way to evangelise – Jonny Price
I remember clearly when my faith became an exciting prospect for me. I had been a Christian for about 5 years, and was travelling in Australia for a few months. Someone had very kindly given me an audiobook on CD (I know, I’m old) of Rob Bell’s Velvet Elvis. This was at the height of […]
The youth ministry idol of new
Youth Ministry sits on the the cutting edge of contemporary missionary theory, and fresh expressions of church theology. We pride ourselves on being innovators, creatives, and revolutionaries. Throw a new year into the mix and we have a skittish spasm of fresh ideas, along with a fidgety, impatient sense of ‘let’s change everything – right […]
Let’s stop telling future youth ministers to skip training!
(Sorry – slightly ranty post) Over the past decade, Bible Colleges in Britain have really started to struggle getting people to apply. This has been most clearly seen in youth work courses. Not only have several large and well-established youth work training centres now closed, but many of the biggest Bible Colleges in the UK […]
Is your youth group autism friendly?
Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a hugely broad and varied collection of conditions, symptoms, and traits – so trying to gather ‘autistic friendly’ guidelines is a difficult task. However, a few basic rules of thumb, and a keener understanding of what to look out for will go a long way. Understanding ASD Basics Autism is […]
Here’s what 187 youth workers call there young people…
What to call the collective age group that youth workers minister to can be an hotly debated issue. When you mix the world of polly-correctness with adolescence-driven chemicals and egotistical youth workers, getting the terms right can be a real thing. So, we asked 187 youth workers the following question: ‘What you think the most […]
7 Ways to Support Anorexic Young People
Last night my wife and I watched the BBC2 documentary with Louis Theron on Anorexia, which has prompted this post. Youth ministries can be rife with all kinds of eating disorders – and classically we respond to this epidemic by simply talking about self image and inner value. As if we could convince them that […]
Finding new volunteers: Appeal vs Approach
Finding and developing teams of volunteers is the bread-and-butter of youth work. When the team works – it works really well, and when it doesn’t – everything has to work around it. I’ve just arrived home after a month away to find that my team had been brilliant. They had run and grown all the […]
How is blowing your nose like youth work?
So I have acute rhinitis, which is medical code for ‘my nose is always full of snot.’ Here are four ways to release that snot, with pertinent ramifications for youth ministry. Don’t block the dam When you blow your nose with your hanky, don’t block the nostrils. Allow the flow of air to leave your […]
Dear Pastors, please protect your youth workers
Over the last few years I’ve been collecting stories of youth workers who have had terrible times in their job because the pastor didn’t know how to properly mediate between themselves and the church. A year or so after first starting full-time youth ministry, I had my very own initiation to this issue. I had […]
7 volunteer leaders that your youth ministry could do without
I love working with volunteers – its one of the best things about being a youth worker. Volunteers are there because they want to serve, and they usually come without the baggage of entitlement demands and complaints. Volunteers blow me away all the time because of the energy they give to projects while expecting so […]
You mean I’m not God? A 10 step guide to the youth worker power trip.
Let’s be honest kids, being a youth worker can give you a delicious feeling of power. As the cool teacher, relatable counsellor, replacement parent, uber best-friend, and sassy sage figure, its easy to come away from interacting with your young people feeling all powerful. I mean, you get to teach what you want, give poignant […]