An Attitude for Christian School’s Work – 10 ideas

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Last week I was hosting a Q&A for the year 9s from our local school when we broached the topic of suffering.

“Why doesn’t God just control everybody to stop them doing bad things!” a young lad asked me.

“If He controlled everybody all the time,” I responded “then He could decide to make you a ballerina right here and now in front of all your mates, which would probably be a bit awkward.”

We followed up by looking at the importance of God allowing us to make choices and giving us dynamic (not autonomous) freedom in order for us to be fully human.

At the end of the session while his friends were boarding the coaches, he came back up to me with “we’re gonna have this out! Why can’t God just give us some basic guidance when choices come up in our lives, or some basic help when we’ve got to make hard decisions eh?”

“That’s exactly what He does do,” I replied delightedly, “but in order to hear His voice you need to know who’s speaking, you need to pick up the phone and dial the right number, you need to start a relationship with Jesus.”

“Wow, I should convert then!” He yelled jubilantly (and possibly slightly tongue-in-cheek) then he bounced off.

Without a solid relationship with my local school and the golden opportunities that it provides I don’t think I ever would have had that important (albeit flyby) conversation with that young person. It all comes down to having a quality attitude for Christian school’s work.

The Silver Bullet

School’s Work is the silver bullet for youth ministry – if you’re not involved in any kind of school’s work you can almost all but guarantee that your youth ministry’s days are numbered.

School’s Work provides a rolling community of young people who add longevity to your ministry projects. The days of the drop in, bring a friend youth club are ticking away. You have to build relationships with young people in schools where they are at and you have to do this in a way that adds value to the school itself.

Adding Value

Our attitude to School’s Work should not be ‘trying to get in,’ but instead a compassion-driven, servant-hearted desire to add value to that school.
“I ask lots of questions and I say ‘yes’ a lot.”

My first conversation with a new school is around how we can serve them. I go to meetings armed with knowledge of the curriculum and with understandings of extra-curricular requirements that they might struggle with. I ask lots of questions and I say ‘yes’ a lot.

I’m confident that what we do in our local school’s work adds educational and social value to the students, I’m confident that the staff are happy and I’m confident that this provides opportunities needed (without being subversive) to share the Gospel with Young People in an honest and open way.

Some ideas to consider:

1. Look for the unconventional.
In my current ministry we’ve taught RE yes, but we’ve also taught drama, PE, social studies, critical thinking, CV writing skills, street dance and internet safety. We also fill requirements for acts of worship, enrichment, Duke of Edinburgh and work experience. Go with what they ask for and provide what they need.

2. But work with what you have.
Can you provide a learning experience at your local church? A day out with a tour, talk and quiz in your church building can tick a whole load of academic boxes and is often a great way in while challenging stereotypes.

3. Don’t be afraid of giving it time.
If your mission is to go from 0-60, from first contact to school concert to setting up a CU in a few weeks – good luck! Finding a niche in a school might take a couple of years of providing different services, but it’s well worth it.

4. Make specific suggestions.
Schools don’t often take initiative with outsiders, especially with the volume of potential visitors they have to consider. Give the school specific options with outline plans and learning objectives. It’s far more likely that they will consider something if they don’t have to put that amount of extra thought into it themselves.

5. Make the right friends.
Specific senior teachers, caretakers and reception staff – the Holy Trinity of the school and those who really have the most access. After every weekly club I leave all the ‘extra’ doughnuts with the reception staff, I’ve been for drinks with heads of RE and I’ve always tried to set the rooms back before the caretaker arrives to take over.

6. Actually make friends.
Teachers are real people and we should be seeking to develop real relationships that are personal and open to life outside the school.
“Be low maintenance and high value!”

7. Be professional.
School is not youth club, it has specific learning and social development objectives. At PGCE you are taught how to work within this structure, at YouthMin training you are not! Learn how to write formal letters, dress appropriately, follow up clearly, have short and efficient meetings and communicate with different levels of staff properly. This will go a very long way. Be clear about your objectives and don’t be overly demanding. Be low maintenance and high value!

8. Care about what they care about.
School’s take a lot of time committing to a small group of charities and local community work. Rather than trying to add to this list, look for ways you can work with them on the same projects for the same causes.

9. Don’t push your luck.
You are in the school as a guest. Always be honest and open about why you are there, be clear with your opinions, don’t overreach for more than you know and don’t encourage an ‘us and them’ mentality with you and the teachers. Subversiveness doesn’t serve anyone!

10. Get a shed load of people praying!
Not only for the ways in and for the developing relationships but for protection. A surefire way to loose your hard earned connection with a school is the one phone call from the one angry parent who thinks you are there to indoctrinate. So see point 9, and get people praying!

3 Overlooked Reasons for School’s Work

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There are lots of well known and accepted reasons for school’s work, not least of which is you can kiss your youth ministry goodbye in a few years if you’re not. Here’s a few though that came to mind that are maybe sometimes overlooked:

To challenge stereotypes

Young people are several generations removed from the world of habitual church attendance and Sunday school. This leaves their systems wide open to lots of misinformation and tabloid-infused stereotypes of who Christians are and what Church looks like.
“By being present in school you can continually challenge the stereotype of what Christ-followers look like.”

Last week I asked 140 year 9 students in groups of 5 to give me a freeze frame for the word ‘church.’ The vast majority had people kneeling on the floor bowing to a vicar figure who was stood up on a chair looking posh and disinterested. A few did funerals, and one did an image of ‘togetherness.’ One in nearly 30 groups caught at least something of the heart of church.

By being present in school you can continually challenge the stereotype of what church and Christ-followers look like. Yes we look normal, we dress normal, we don’t have secret handshakes, we like good music (most of us) and some of us even have tattoos! Weird eh?

To create dynamic, tolerant conversation

Christians – being in a spiritually aware world inhabited by theologians and philosophers with a rich history – are expected to provide stimulating thoughts, deep questions and engaged conversation.
“Teaching young people how to think and how to talk cultivates the ground needed to hear the Gospel.”

Rather than coming with ‘look, here’s what I think!’ all the time, use your unique space and persona in school to develop activities and spaces that grow conversation techniques, tolerance, listening skills and opinion articulation. Teaching young people how to think and how to talk cultivates the ground needed to hear the Gospel.

We do this in North Wales by through running RE conferences that massively rely on small, dynamic conversation groups. The result is lots of young people who feel genuinely listened to, accepted and yet challenged. This means they have a memory of being respected and heard, and that memory is attached to Christian adults! Well worth it.

To constantly show that faith is not a bankrupt option

The world isn’t split into smart people and Christians. Using helpful and memorable illustrations you can allow young people the space to open their minds to possibilities beyond the mundane and quite easily back this up using classical philosophy and modern science.

You need to keep saying and demonstrating that faith is not intellectual suicide. You can do this in science classes with science teachers if you approach it properly. Develop a language in school through your involvement that allows young people – Dr. Who style – to consider more than what is simply in front of their noses.

Young people are incredibly spiritually aware so you have an opportunity to dovetail supernatural alertness into academic rigor.

Why We Should Cultivate A School Contact Network

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In just one local school I have seen four different heads of RE, at least half a dozen changes in senior management and two (about to be three) headteachers – all in the space of five years. This is in no way a unique story.

Many quality teachers are being promoted out of teaching positions and are being lumped with more admin than they have ever had to deal with before. Senior staff positions are under review annually and teachers are surrounded by constant scrutiny. The teaching fabric and staff hierarchies are constantly in flux.

This simply means that authority changes hands constantly, and people who you could rely on at one point may no longer be able to help you.

It is vitally important to cultivate multiple relationships throughout the school. Teachers that you work with today could be running their department by next year. Contrastingly, department heads that valued your services once, could easily be replaced by people who have never met you and have no reason to trust you.

I make a conscious effort to network as broadly as possible within a school. Teachers, librarians, office workers, senior staff and other school visitors are all on my contacts list. I also try to make regular appearances at school events, plays, performances and open days.

As a result I have a working relationship with a wide variety of staff, and I have regular contact with at least 60% of the students of one school every year. The same school I mentioned in my opening line.

Broad school networking relationships: It can be done, and it should at least be attempted.

A big myth that teachers still tell…

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There’s been some great posts recently on Things To Tell Young People Often. It’s nice to get a positive spin on the 101 Things Not To Tell Teenagers angle, which is – frankly – far easier to write!

Nonetheless, I heard a doozy this week – an old resurfaced saying that hit me the chest like a bullet train.

I’d just given an assembly to a room of year 8s and was packing up my equipment when I overheard a teaching giving a firm talking down to her form class. She was quite clearly, and I’m sure justifiably, ticked.

When this teacher had reached the bottom of her disciplinarian bag of tricks, she dug out this classic, dusted it off and let rip:

“School will be the happiest time of your life.’

I involuntarily let out a gasp that carried across the room.

Really?!? Well what on earth is the point of the rest of it then? So much for learning, lets just have fun… or throw bricks or something!

This old myth was told to me a lot when I was at school too; that somehow these 5 years of peer pressure, social anxiety, raging hormones, identify crises and perpetual mood swings was going to be the best that life had to offer. That exams, homework, confusing love triangles and fragile friendships would be the bar that nothing else would ever reach. If that’s the case then stop the bus and just let me get off now.

I can comfortably say, however, that life has gotten better, clearer and happier since leaving school. It hasn’t – as was predicted – gone exponentially downhill. Maybe I’m the exception to the rule, but I’d guess probably not.

Gah.

Let’s give teenagers hope that life beyond school and youth-dom is worth the effort. Let’s develop sayings that lay the foundations for high expectations and a good run. Let’s give a vision of their future that encourages them to dream big, and far outstrips what they believe to be possible.

Let’s go Jeremiah 29:11 on them!

The best is yet to come guys, keep pushing on, you can do it, it’ll be worth it!

Youthwork Around The Globe: Hungary – with Rob Trenkmann

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In this new series, Youth Work Hacks interview experienced youthworkers from around the globe – starting here with Rob Trenkmann in Hungary.

Where are you based?

My wife, son, and I live and serve in Western Hungary. We serve with Josiah Venture, a missionary team in Central and Eastern Europe committed to equipping young leaders to fulfill Christ’s commission through the local church.

What unique challenges do you face?

One thing unique to our context is the spiritual landscape of Hungary. Hungary is formerly very religious. 90% of the country claimed to be Protestant during the Reformation, but then the country swung back to Catholicism during the counter-reformation. Now, many young people are suspicious of all religion. People often wonder if we’re part of a cult or a sect, and it’s hard for them to hear the gospel amidst all of the ‘noise’ of their distant spiritual heritage.

What shape and format do your youth work projects most often take?

We focus on fruit in four key areas: evangelism, discipleship, leadership training, and healthy, reproducing churches. All of this is part of the disciple-making process. We partner with local churches for evangelistic camps, student discipleship, and both small and large group training for young leaders – all rooted in the life and model of Jesus.

What do you enjoy most and what are you most proud of?

Two things: First, a couple of years ago I was part of rewriting a youth ministry training resource called Walk26 that is based on a chronological study of the life and strategy of Jesus. We’ve translated this into more than a dozen languages, and I love getting to meet with our local leaders and go through a section of this every month. It’s amazing to see the clarity and focus that a Jesus-shaped strategy brings.

Second, our teammates have done an incredible job of reaching lost people in our country. For guys, they’ve set up a church-based evangelistic soccer league that has 25-35 guys attached to it who hear the gospel every week. For girls, we have multiple unsaved girls reading the Bible on their own and coming together every week to discuss it. I’m thrilled about how the gospel is working it’s way into their hearts.

What is your most valuable local resource?

At the risk of being simplistic—people! The gospel is designed to spread when the ‘Word becomes flesh.’ Anytime I see a young Hungarian leader captured by the dream and design of disciple-making, I know they will be part of changing this country for Jesus.

How often do you meet up with other youth workers? How easy or difficult is that and how valuable do you find it?

We’re blessed—we’re part of an organization that has 350 workers throughout Central and Eastern Europe (half of whom are nationals) that are all focused on the next generation. We gather parts of our team twice a year—once in the fall for our annual training conference (which I lead) and once in the spring for a care and equipping conference. Those times are extremely valuable for us, and we always come away with renewed vision and excitement.

Tell us a story about something significant that has happened.

I get most excited about multiplication—when students begin to make disciples of other students. The first year we were here, a young man came to our church who didn’t yet know Jesus. He came because another student invited him. He was so startled by the hope and joy he saw that he started to read the gospel of John and decided to follow Jesus. Sometime later, at a camp, he came up to me just bursting with excitement, because he had just prayed with another student to receive Christ. Now he’s often sharing Christ with others around him, including his family. I love it when students get a vision for sharing Christ with other students, and discipling them.

What gets you through difficult or stressful times in your ministry?

The last four years have easily been the hardest of my life. (I’ve written about them here and here.) For one long stretch, each of us were struggling with life-altering health challenges at the same time. It tested our marriage, our family, and our faith. We’ve been tempted to give up and quit. But, we know God called us here, and he hasn’t released us from our calling. And whenever we take a day and fast and pray, He’s very faithful to remind us of our calling and give us the strength to continue. Through it, He reminds us that His work of pruning and refining is very real—and always good.

Phenomenology, Faith and Young People

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Guest post by Katie Gough. Freelance writer, published poet and independent philosopher. Katie has been involved in Youth Work – across three countries – for nearly a decade. Read more at www.kategough.com

Concrete and Abstract – What’s The Difference?

When you were five years old, your mother was your mother because of her smell, the feel of her hand in yours, the familiarity of her shape, her voice, and her constant attention. The bond between you was tangible in many ways. She was the immediate physical experience of love.

Perhaps now, you’ve grown up. In your mind, your mother is your mother because she gave birth to you and took care of you and suffered long nights caring for you when you were ill. She is your mother because you carry her DNA inside you, and maybe you show some of her physical traits. She is where you came from.

The difference between these two recognitions is profound. One is very concrete and experiential and the other is abstract, assessing and stacking up ideas and reasons. As we grow, our minds move from being bound by concrete things to being able to grasp and work with more flexible abstract concepts.

We use both of these methods throughout our lives in order to perceive our surroundings and their meaning to us. We grow, not out of the concrete, experiential side of our selves, but beyond it such that we can now grasp a wider, deeper world than we did in the first years of our lives. If our whole selves were made to commune with God, then the more elemental ways we perceived as children are not less valid, only incomplete.

Are We Holding Back the Development of Our Young People?

Christian teachings often indicate that we are to leave behind the more physical parts of ourselves in our quest to become holy. Our direct, concrete childhood experiences are devalued, replaced by abstract teaching (peppered with real-life stories to keep everyone’s attention), and finally ‘relegated to youth work’. We essentially throw a large portion of our spiritual growth away and never expect to look at it again.

In youth work however, we are expected to use concrete examples and methods in our attempts to reach young people with the gospel. While the experiences and learning of childhood may not be seen as respectable or advanced, we accept that they are a necessary tool in teaching young people. Thus, we simplify things down rather than opening them up, shying away from questions or content that might be difficult enough to ‘put young people off’. There are even (dare we admit it) a variety of things we avoid because we still don’t know how to answer them ourselves.

The underlying message of this approach has a knock-on effect in our youth work worldview and the attitudes we pass on to our young people. In the end, we deign to teach youth in a childish way because we think they are too distracted, rebellious and/or lazy to tackle the big stuff. But young people feel this — that we make concessions, that we don’t respect how we are teaching them, that we are holding back and trying not to scare them off. They know when older people are filling space, even while they enjoy that space for what it is.

This age group is right at the cusp of abstract thought, spending much of their time and mental energy becoming facile with its application in their every day life. As the rest of the world begins to open out into a wide vista of abstract opportunity and difficulty, why do we continue to portray faith safely, with foolproof, concrete simplicity? Can we blame them if faith suddenly begins to seem a bit childish and limited? A small, immobile, inflexible, uncomplicated faith. A pandering and… easy belief. Not relevant.

Approaching the Abstract.

When I was about 12, there was a question burning away my insides. Something in a sermon or my Bible had sparked it and I couldn’t shake it. How could one possibly know the difference between God’s voice and Satan’s? I felt that I could tell, but I had no reasons for it. What if I was wrong? How could I speak with God and know the answer was really His? My uncertainty threw the truth of my entire relationship with God into question. I needed to know.

One Sunday, I asked every Christian adult I knew even a little, which wasn’t many. They all looked at me with trapped, blank eyes. So I was left alone, mired in fear, my spiritual mast swinging with indecision.

The entrance of abstract thought into my world had defeated my ability to engage with my faith — and no one knew. I was left entirely alone by those who were supposed to be my spiritual elders and mentors.

Embracing the Challenge of the Abstract.

If our whole selves were made to commune with God, then the more elemental ways we perceived as children are not less valid, only incomplete. Young people need to grow, not out of the concrete, experiential side of themselves, but beyond it so that they can grasp a wider, deeper world than they did in the first years of their lives.

As young people learn to assimilate and apply the abstract everywhere else in life, are we communicating to them that the answers to a very messy world are as simple as they looked when they were children?

Our youth need to be able to meet an abstractly complex world with a more abstractly complex faith. We could be leading them by the hand, showing them how this new, abstract language enriches and broadens the old and familiar one, encouraging it to grow solidly — and in relationship with — their faith.

We need to show them how big the world of faith gets as they grow older.
Are You Ready to Roll Up Your Sleeves?

As youth workers, we have a responsibility to meet young people relevantly and with the kind of care that asks and sees where they are at. As they learn to embrace and use abstract thought, we need to give them opportunities and tools that allow them to try their hand at marrying their whole experience of life to this unfamiliar piece.

Let’s face it: these are fast-maturing young adults, and they care for a challenge more than we dare to think. We need to get down into the nitty gritty ourselves, find the crux of the issues we teach, and lead our young people’s feet onto the crossroads — there to experience for themselves that the abstract is as real and as spiritual as the concrete, and worth getting messy with.

As followers of Christ, we have to allow God to be bigger than what we can teach about him — even in front of young people. Their entire conceptual framework is re-working itself in front of us, and we need to acknowledge that our concepts about God grow with us beyond the concrete experience we all began with. Then we have to be ready to roll up our sleeves and partner with our youth to make that growth happen. We are, by example, a bridge to maturity in the faith

Katie is a Californian writer and artist living in North Wales. She writes poetry, articles and creative fiction of all kinds, for all sorts of uses.

She has a degree in Philosophy from Calvin College and adores puzzling out the universe. She is always up on her toes, reaching for the next question and internalising everything she sees, reads, hears, or experiences – and is ready to apply where appropriate!

Katie is married to a full time Youth Worker, and has been involved in a wide range of Youth Work projects for a number of years across Britain and America.

You can always find Katie with a big cup of tea and a ball of wool, knitting happily in a corner while pondering the depths of the universe and mentally mapping out her next short story.

Persevering and Pushing Through In Youth work

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Guest post by Bex Baillie. A Youth Specialist at Trinity Network and Theology student at Bristol Bible College. Full bio below and check out her blog here.

 

Perseverance plays a big role in every generation of faith. If we stretch our minds back, we can see how our Youth Workers committed endless hours to supporting us, pushing through the tough times with little response in return. The art of persistence is a beautiful thing. It’s exercise for our hearts, and it helps to stretch our imaginations into new ways of thinking. Most of all, it’s a massive test of our faith.

‘Find out what God’s doing and join in.’

I love this motto! It’s a good saying to keep you grounded. Who says it has to be our original thought or creative new way of connecting with the young people? God is already there, doing great things in their lives. As the world’s greatest Youth Worker, He is their constant supporter and encourager, pushing them to think about what they believe and why.

Sometimes, maybe it’s best for us to take a step back, shadow what God is doing and then simply join in. While this might sound a bit vague at first, let’s look at our own lives for a moment. Have a think about the times we may have plowed ahead with our own great ideas – without watching out for God – and then finally given up after hitting a dead end. By tuning into God’s work, we can stay on the right track and follow the Master.
An Attitude For Perseverance

In all that we do, I don’t doubt that we have the intention to see young people grow in their faith and stick at church, but sometimes I wonder if our actions say otherwise.

If we want to produce healthy fruit that will last, it needs to grow from a well-rooted tree. While we may be well-rooted in our faith – and in many other ways – sometimes our attitude toward our work begins to lag. If we express flakiness towards our jobs or the young people, we shouldn’t expect it not to affect them. Even our attitudes teach young people. Part of perseverance is sticking at it and being committed to your plans. This means that the young people will be your priority when they need to be. When you are the best example of dedication, the young people will see it and adopt it as their own way of living.

Don’t feel like it is all up to you though, we are just one cog in a very big operation. We might be able to plant a seed in the young people’s lives; we can talk about God, tell stories and testimonies, provide pizza and give chunks of thoughtful advice here and there. Ultimately however, it will be God who will see that seed grow.

Don’t feel the pressure to complete His job and have each of your young people ‘fixed’. You have the wonderful role of Youth Worker, but you’re not God.
Perseverance For Long Lasting Ministry

Persistence. Staying Power. Tenacity. It’s not the art of proving your point, or finishing the ‘job’ for the sake of it. We want something that is long lasting, a ministry that will stand the test. Colossians 1:11 leads us to pray for “…not the grim strength of gritting your teeth, but the glory-strength God gives.” If we live by this sort of perseverance, our energy will be long-lasting and enjoyable!

In all the many ways that we attempt to strengthen our projects or clubs, we must remember that there is no quick-fix trick to success. As youth workers, we are all trialing different approaches all the time. Sometimes our ideas will take off and – BAM! – we’ve got it. Other times, we will have to ditch a plan and start again. Remember to stay on track with God, following His trail as you work with young people. Stick with it, and be glad that one day your fruit tree will blossom.

Galatians 6:9 says, “So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up or quit.”

Bex is a Youth Specialist working for Trinity Network Churches in North Bristol. Alongside her job, she is studying for a Degree in Theology, Ministry and Mission at Bristol Baptist Bible College.

Bex’s heart is in mentoring and inspiring young people. The favourite part of her job is meeting with young people over a Costa and tackling life’s big questions. In fact, the most likely place to find Bex is in Costa, with a Latte and slice of cake, scribbling down bits of wisdom from books, or typing out the next blog.

With a real sweet tooth, Bex loves to bake and trial new recipes. To burn off those extra calories, she loves to do park runs and go walking in the Peak District

How NOT to choose Young Leaders – Comics by Chloe

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By Chloe Perrin. Volunteer Youth Worker, Musical Theatre Tutor and Youth Charity Trustee.

Youthwork Around The Globe: Australia – with Dave Fagg

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Looking at cultural differences and similarities in worldwide youth work, we continue with our ‘Around The Globe’ series with Dave Fagg, in Australia. Check out the first in our series, on Hungary, here.

1. Where are you based?

Bendigo, Australia. I live in the suburb of Long Gully, which has a high percent-age of public housing (‘council housing’ I think the UK calls it).2. What unique challenges do you face?

How do I spark hope in young people whose parents and role models are living in despair? Long Gully struggles with inequality: many people are jobless, ill, poor, isolated and struggling with the stigma that all of these things bring.

In the bigger picture, Australia is divided between ‘youth ministry’ (done in and by churches) and ‘youth work’ (done in and by secular organisations). There is suspicion on both sides.

3. What shape and format do your youth work projects most often take?

I train youth workers with Praxis, an experiential diploma course which emphasises getting practically involved in young people’s lives. More than a course; it’s a learning community. I know most educators would say that, but it’s true!

My youth work morphs with time: I’ve led church youth groups, done high school outreach and teenage foster care, and spent a year overseas in the US and South Africa, learning from youth workers who served young people in gangs, and in poor communities. Until recently I coordinated a leadership program. At the start of 2016, I began volunteering as a youth worker at my local high school.

4. What do you enjoy most and what are you most proud of?

I love teaching! My greatest joy is seeing young people and youth workers gain new insights, and then go beyond what I could ever have taught.

5. What is your most valuable local resource?

My local state high school opens its arms to outside groups. Some Christians find ‘getting access’ to high schools difficult. But ‘getting access’ is the wrong way to think about it; it implies that the students are ‘materials’ for your ‘real’ program, which takes place elsewhere. When Christians talk to schools about the real needs of the young people, and then offer to help out, then schools are usually welcoming.

6. How often do you meet up with other youth workers? How easy or difficult is that and how valuable do you find it?

I would not have lasted 20 years in the youth sector without encouragement, discussion, and questioning from other youth workers. Praxis values connecting youth workers together, so I have a coffee budget! I frequently buy a coffee for someone, and chew the fat about our work, but also our dreams and struggles.

7. Tell us a story about something significant that has happened.

This morning I had a coffee with a young youth worker that I coach. Four years ago he started Praxis and knew everything there was to know. He was convinced that by knowing all the theories he would be a good youth worker. Our holistic approach to education struck him as ‘soft’. He left the course one year in, still dissatisfied but with some good questions stirring his pot. This morning, I asked him what I could pray for. He said he needed to have his heart broken; that he had realised, on their own, the theories weren’t enabling him to genuinely help people.

I was punching the air inside!

8. What gets you through difficult or stressful times in your ministry?

A few years ago I led a team from two organisations. The team was unpaid, apart from myself, and we didn’t have much time to communicate and build trust: we ran the weekly program, had a hurried chat about next week, and then left. I didn’t make sure we were communicating properly and inevitably, the team fell apart. It was difficult time; I lost a friendship which is only now recovering. I take failure to heart, and often ‘process’ things completely internally. This time, I spoke openly with trusted mentors about my failings, and then sought reconciliation with the people I’d hurt. It was so helpful to ‘get out of my head’.

9. Any final thoughts that you would like to share?

About 3 years, child protection agencies removed all the children from two related families in our neighbourhood who were connected to our church. My wife and I advocated with the family to the child protection agencies, but the children were removed nonetheless. One of the teenage children is now fostered by a family in our church, which has been fantastic for her, and them. The other children live all over the state. It’s complicated.

Youth work is often complicated, murky and we encounter all kinds of injustice and sadness. God makes no guarantees that things will fall into place in our time-frame. I take heart from the story of the crestfallen disciples, walking along the road to Emmaus. Their revolution in ashes, their Messiah executed, they pour out their heart to the strange companion on the road, who turns out to be the very one they mourn. When things don’t make sense, maybe we need to be open about it with others; we never know what might happen.

Dave Fagg is a youth worker from Australia. He trains youth workers at Praxis, and writes at Thinking My Way Through. You can follow him on Twitter or Facebook.

Why I don’t do wasteful food games – by Ryan Rudolph

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Youth work has a long tradition of using food. We love to use it for eating, especially. The Bible gives us great encouragement to use food for eating with one another. Celebrating, fellowship, parties, and communion. Food is a wonderful tool for authentic ministry.

But there is another use for food that Youth Workers revel in. It’s particularly fun, often messy, and our young people, on the whole, love it.

Except that I don’t.

And it’s not because it’s messy. Messy is great. In fact, the messier the better. My problem is the context I find myself in. Food is expensive, and we are surrounded by poverty.

Therefore, I struggle to find any joy in using food in a wasteful manner, because there are people in my congregation who don’t have any. As a church we have limited resources, and we use it as wisely as we possibly can. I don’t think I can have a young person coming into my youth, who has yet to eat that day play a game where food is wasted, and not enjoyed as it was intended. Does this mean I’m a buzzkill? Sure. But you can imagine what the kids in my context feel when they see food being used in such a manner.

I think part of our problem as youth workers is that we prioritize fun/entertainment over deeper concerns in the lives of our young people. Perhaps, we can structure our group times differently.

If Jesus used food to bring people together and share the gospel, then maybe that could be a great model for our youth ministries too?