Youth development plan feb 2010

Youth development plan as of 5th Feb 2010 - recapping the last year of youth work in Beulah and looking ahead to the future and ways of developing, a grid showing the current areas covered by the exisiting youth work can be found by following this link [youth plan grid]  To download the youth development plan in word format please use the following link; [youth development plan] - Emma Edwards

Youth development plan

Written 5/2/10

Having been involved with the youth work at Beulah now for a year and a half it is important to identify the work that the church is doing. Both in the lives of the young people that attend and within the wider community. By noting how the work has grown and developed we can see the area’s in which it is not inline with the key objectives of youth ministry. With this in mind we can identify the best way to take the work forward in the future in light of God’s will and his vision for the young people of Bexhill.

Through my time here I feel I have helped to develop the existing groups that were running within the church. Some have seen small changes enabling the groups to run more effectively, while others have been changed dramatically with a new purpose and vision. As well as this there have been a few new meetings a greater importance on paper work, helpers and following good practice guidelines. All this works towards building a holistic and thorough approach to the young people within the local community. This is something that will be important to build upon in the future. I feel we are currently at a good place ready to receive new young people into the church and working towards accompanying them into a living relationship with Christ.

The Main objectives of youth ministry

• To prepare youth for a life long walk with Christ
• To help youth become aware of God as revealed in Jesus Christ, to respond to Christ in a personal commitment of faith, and to follow God’s will in the full meaning of Christian discipleship.
• To equip young people to witness about their personal faith and invite others to respond to Jesus Christ.
• To help young people develop and maintain a meaningful and devotional prayer life
• To provide a safe environment where young people can grow, be and develop
• To make and sustain meaningful relationships with young people enabling young people to make sense of their identity and cultivate themselves as authentic human beings through the process of moral philosophising.
• To accompany young people into a living real relationship with God – including an understanding of stewardship of their money, time and abilities.
• To develop a theology and rationale for being a Christian in a world of religious pluralism and to guide youth to adopt a life style of Christian response to a world of limited recourses and inequitable distribution of recourses and power.
• To guide young people to explore their abilities and talents and develop a Christian perspective on choosing a vocation.
• To help young people increase their knowledge and understanding of Biblical truths and to apply these truths in every area and relationship of life.
• To enlist and equip adult leaders who will work effectively toward the objectives for youth ministry

The previous objectives can be put into the following three categories – outreach, discipleship and engagement. With these areas in mind and in light of the existing work which can be seen in the table attached. I have come up with a statement by which I feel Beulah should be working towards. The statement encompasses the main points of youth ministry, but also covers many areas of work outside of the church and the importance of relationship building

Beulah Baptist Church is committed to:

Empoweringyoung people to impact their community in a positive way through imitating Christ

Encouragingyoung people into a living relationship with Jesus so they share this with their peers and friends.

Enabling young people to grow and develop in a safe and loving atmosphere through developmentally appropriate activities, trusting relationships and through the love of God and the power of God’s Holy Spirit.

Main gaps

Having reviewed the existing youth work provision with the critique of the new youth mission statement I have identified following areas are not being covered as I would like.

Group Bible study- A time for group bible study for the 14-18’s which is during the week and outside social requirements and Sunday morning provision.

Opportunities for youth evangelism within the local community. As noted by Pete Ward in “Youth work and the mission of God”

“The care we offer in the day-to-day activities of youth work acts as a concrete prophetic sign of God who desires relationship, but the gospel so lived out should also be spoken. We are called to tell the story of God who seeks relationship, a God who calls young people to worship and serve his name”

I think it is important that we look for new ways to witness faith among young people within the community; although there are current events such as edgy fest which tries to achieve this, there is so much more that could be done.

Community Engagement- there is a lack of community involvement and service currently within the curriculum areas. Many of the young people are taught the important of this, but rarely are engaged with the practical. As this is a key part of the youth mission statement we must look at ways in which we can positively affect the local community. 

Taking the young people out of their comfort zone – many of the items we offer are very safe and although build knowledge and relationships, I feel we could be doing more to challenge the young people it would be good to see these skills used practically to further God’s kingdom

Ideas for the future

Further Discipleship of young people

Bible study Thursdays– Currently there are plans to organise a youth bible study on Thursday nights (with a look to changing my day off to a Wednesday) this bible study would be for ages 14-18 and fill in the gap between Tuesday Tribe and EADNOF. At present most of these young people are supported through the mentoring scheme and in small group bible studies through out the week. However I feel there is a greater need for a small mixed group. The practicalities of this are yet to be confirmed. Current venue options are being discussed and the frequency of meeting (there is a possibility of the meeting being fortnightly to coincide with the Hub or current running small meetings) This would meet many of the objectives of youth ministry as well as the youth mission statement. It would focus on the discipleship of young people but could also include areas of engagement and outreach.  It would encourage young people to practically express the things learnt. In terms of outreach - through the relationships developed through other areas of the youth work, this meeting could be used for young people to invite friend to in order to learn more about the Christian faith.

Residentials – Another way in which I plan to develop this area is to establish a residential for the young people around Christmas time next year. The young people got so much out of being together at soul survivor and other such events and I believe it is important to build upon this. Not only would it strengthen the group giving them a stronger sense of identity but also create lasting memories and learning experiences for the future. This is something that would be good to establish as a long term plan.

Youth evangelism

Outreach into the community

 Isaiah58:6-12 – the Message –

"This is the kind of fast day I'm after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts.

What I'm interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families. Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once. Your righteousness will pave your way. The God of glory will secure your passage.

Then when you pray, God will answer. You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.'

A full life in the emptiest of places

If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people's sins, If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.

I will always show you where to go. I'll give you a full life in the emptiest of places— firm muscles, strong bones. You'll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry. You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You'll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community liveable again.”

God has put this verse heavily on my heart, It is a big task to not only to see this kind of integrity grown within the young people we have within our church but also in light of the issues facing young people in the area. It is imperative that we bring light to these places. Bexhill has many young people who are struggling within our communities.  I feel that it is in partnership with the Christian young people within our church that we can give opportunities for them to experience the fullness of Christ. This is two fold firstly there is a massive need for youth evangelism to take place in a relevant and open way and secondly it is important for the existing young people to engage their faith with the world around them. So how do we do this and make this a reality within our community? I feel very strongly that God spoke to me clearly at the beginning of the year that we must take the church out of the building and into the streets if we are to make a big impact on the young people in Bexhill.

The following are a few practical ideas;

• Youth Alpha– Following the disappointment of the closure of “Smoochys” a week before we were set to start our youth alpha course I have learnt that God’s timing is paramount. For some reason this wasn’t the right time for this venture however I do feel this would be an exciting prospect in the future and continue to look for a suitable venue with the input of the young people. I feel it will be opportunities such as this that the relationships I have been working hard to build will help towards making this a success and enable us to share the good news of Jesus Christ with local young people.
• Cu Events– Having obtained some interest from non Christian young people within Bexhill high school I think it is important to develop this further. In pipeline are events such as “grill a Christian”, making some films about what Easter is about and giving away cream eggs, getting staff involved, “extreme” bible reading – school edition and raising the profile of the CU with advertising and assemblies.  
• Opportunities to help those in need within the community
• Summer detached work– there are a number of workers who currently work doing detached youth work in the area. With a lack of provision and a lack of interest to participate from young people there are a lot of youth who socialise together in certain areas around the town. By the summer time I would like to see some detached youth work taking place from the church, building relationships with and witnessing to the local young people. There are many ways in which this could be done and I am excited about thinking through new ways for the summer time.
• Cinema nights– I have a number of Good resources showing talks and discussions which are relevant to the young people. Through relationships with the young people and a willingness from them to invite friends to hear the message I will be planning a film night in order to witness to young people with an interest in hearing more about the Christian faith.

Stepping out of the comfort Zone

Mission– A long term goal for the youth work is to develop a culture that seeks to serve other communities and see God’s work in action. I believe that it is important for young people to see how other Christians live in the world and experience the power of God’s love. In the future I would like to see a mission trip take place with the young people of Beulah. Even just serving in a different less fortunate area of the UK would help them engage with the world around them, and I am sure deepen their understanding of God.