The lecturer proceeded to talk about how we all wish there was a mathematic formula to follow. He gave the following example:
(5E)R
He then proceeded to explain the formula, saying there are 5 Es;
Enjoyment - If it isn't fun, they won't come. This is basically saying that if you don't present activities that are enjoyable to the youth audience you are aiming at, then the young people won't attend.
Education - Young people sit through various educational subjects almost every day, they aren't going to be happy to do more. Therefore, when teaching young people things, make it fun. You can be creative, find ways to teach them that they may not have experienced before.
Experience - Don't just sit in a circle and talk to them, you need to make the gathering an experience they will remember. Don't meet inside everyday, shake things up. Go on trips, go outside, go camping, do something memorable.
Empower - Give the young people tasks to do. Make them feel responsible for something. Make them feel a part of something greater, and they will be more likely to stick around.
Example - Lead through example, and act in the manner you deem they should act. Be a role model for the young people to look up to.
That explains the 5 Es, but what about the R?
RELATIONSHIP
We cannot do anything, unless we are able to communicate with the young people, and the most effective way of doing this is to build a relationship with them. Once a relationship is formed, they will feel more comfortable in your company, and may feel more confident to speak out and ask questions.
The event allowed those in a attendance to choose which seminars to attend. The list of seminars to attend is shown below. There were three workshop slots, with 5 seminars run in each slot.
1. Sticky Faith
2. Back to School
3. Games with Purpose
Sticky Faith
This seminar talked about how to build a faith that sticks in young people. It started with posing an analogy, where faith is like a jacket for young people, known as the 'Jesus Jacket'. Some young people would only show their faith when in a Christian environment, and then remove it, like a jacket when in a Non-Christian environment. A second analogy was used saying that some use Jesus like an energy drink. They will only turn to him when they feel down and need a boost to keep them going.
The question was then asked - What makes faith stick? The answers can be seen below.
1. The involvement of the young people in all forms of church worship. e.g. run services, serve refreshments, welcome people, serving.
2. Building relationships. Youth leaders must be a role model for the young people to look up to. Let them discuss about their own faith and help them to understand their journey in faith.
3. Show an interest in the young people. Go out of your way to talk to them, and make them feel welcome.
4. Doing things together. Building a family of people they know they can turn to whenever they want. Residential trips and activities to bring people together.
5. Talking with family about faith and other topics in a religious context. (In a survey taken, only 12% of people talk about faith with their Mum, and only 5% talk with their Dad. That leaves 83% that don't talk with their parents at all. Parents also tend to avoid talking about tricky and sensitive topics.)
The question was then asked -What makes faith NOT stick?
1. The feeling of being outcast. Adults don't support the young people. Young people are treated like a hazard that needs to be avoided.
Conclusion
Making young people feel like they exist and that they matter. Give them a role in the family, be a friend and a guide, not just a teacher.
What to do? - The 3 Shifts
1) Shift from a behaviour-based Gospel, to a grace-based Gospel.
2) Shift from separating children and young people from the rest of the church, to integrating them into the life of the church.
3) Shift from a dry-cleaner view of parenting to partnering with parents. (Dry cleaning - Parents sometimes hand their children over to a youth worker, like clothes at a dry cleaner, and expect them to be cleaned and pressed when they are returned.)
Back to School
This particular seminar had very few people signed up to attend. So much so that the talk was called off, and instead, an informal conversation about Christian school work took place.
The conversation discussed how to work with young people within a school environment, whether than be a primary or secondary school. It was said that the best way to work within a school was not to do assemblies at a school, as they are generally seen as dull and boring by young people. Instead find different ways to get involved. Perhaps to run an after school club for a certain length of time, and see the outcome. Approach the head of the school and see what is possible to accomplish with the pupils.
I also discussed my Games Design work, and how I plan to use Games Design in Christian youth work to help teach young people. This then led to discussion of the game 'Guardians of Ancora', a game for children created by Scripture Union. There was a representative from Scripture Union who was present at the time, who recommended who to talk to in order to gather additional information on the topic.
Food!
Then came the time for food, and as you may have guessed, we had Hot Pot for Lunch. This was followed by large slices of cake. With our bellies all filled, we filed back into the main meeting area for the next small talk.
Sport Ministry
The small talk discussed about sport ministry. The speaker spoke of how often sporting environments can be very atheist. This presents a great difficulty and pressure on young people who believe, and the faith can become shaky, or be at risk of falling apart. Sport ministry attempts to involve young people in popular sport in an environment that is accepting of faith, and there are a great many ways that people can get involved.
Games with Purpose
This particular talk was run by the Diocesan Youth Officer. She spoke about how young people learn through doing and through play, better than sitting and writing in a classroom. Games present a picture of what needs to be taught, and is more fun and interactive that a textbook.
- Games are not just a way for young people to burn of excess energy. Playing games can be an act of worship, rather than just standing around and singing. Games can be a valuable tool and can be used for worship, fun, prayer, teachings, and can likely be used for other means too.
- Games have a form of adaptability that can be used to your advantage. Take a game that already exists, and manipulate it to suit the theme you are working with.
- Notice the actions of the young people during games, and use this to help judge character and how they may be feeling. Are they joining in? If not, then why? Is there anything wrong?
- Ensure you take just as much time to plan the games for an event, as with the time taken to plan the rest of the event.
- Get to know your group so you can be aware of what sort of games to play, in order to prevent embarrassment.
- Try to keep games relevant to the topic in question.
- Perhaps change the rules of a game to make it unfair, then ask them how they feel, or why it was not fair.
- Don't invade the personal space of a young person.
- Build team work with games that require groups to work together to solve puzzles or complete tasks.
- Supersize games like Jenga, Connect 4, and Kerplunk will stimulate physical interaction with the game itself.
- Listen to the young people, and pay attention to their actions. Do they need help?
The End
The day was drawn to a close with another short talk. This particular talk was about how we need to listen to the young people, and pay attention to their actions. From this we can see if they need help?
LISTEN is an anagram of SILENT!
We must stay silent in order to listen properly.
The website for the event is shown here: http://hotpotinfo.wix.com/hotpot
The website for the event is shown here: http://hotpotinfo.wix.com/hotpot
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