Street Smart – John Robinson

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Tim

Street SmartI first heard about the book Street Smart by John Robinson in Youthwork magazine. The review was good, and so I thought I would check it out. I wasn’t dissapointed.

The book provides an overview of the skills required for connecting with young people, and practical ideas for how to start up a youth work project.

Whilst I would say that the book is more suited to a youth work project than a more general youth ministry, the book is full of ideas which will help anyone involved in youth ministry.

What is really good throughout the book is that John uses examples from his own ministry and work, including running the Eden bus ministry and various non-alcoholic bars, demonstrating how the ideas work out in practice.

Street Smart looks at all the practical steps involved with starting up a youth work project; from conducting an initial survey, to liaising with local groups, to health and safety, to interacting with young people. There is so much in this book, that anyone could learn from it!

This book will be a great help to anyone looking to start a church-based youth work project, but also to existing youth workers who want to develop their ministry.

You can find Street Smart on Amazon: here.

Posted in Books | Tagged books, summer reading, youth ministry, Youth Work | Leave a comment

All God’s Children – Marian Carter

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Tim

All God's ChildrenHaving spent some time looking at what my role might look like in the future, I decided to read a book which I had picked up a while ago, but never got around to reading. The book is called All God’s Children and is written by Marian Carter.

All God’s Children presents an outline of how children develop, and then demonstrates how an understanding of children’s development can impact our pastoral care of children.

Having spent time in youth ministry, I have recently been aware of how little I know about working with children. At present I am working to develop the children’s ministry at our church through a group for older primary school pupils. I found the book really helpful as it gave me an overview of how children grow, and how what we do effects them.

Perhaps the biggest thing I got out of the book was the idea that children are children. So often we see children as adults in the making, and whilst this is true, we often don’t allow them to be themselves. It is clear that children can make commitments to Christ, and whilst their understanding may not be the same as an adult’s, it is still valid, and so should be encouraged.

I would really recommend All God’s Children to anyone in children’s ministry or looking at how to develop a Sunday School or Junior Church or other group for children in the church.

You can get All God’s Children from Amazon: here.

Posted in Books | Tagged books, children, maslow, ministry, pastoral work, summer reading | Leave a comment

Resource: Schoolswork.co.uk Playing Cards

Posted on May 8, 2011 by Tim

Schoolswork.co.uk have some great resources on their website, including the fantastic Schoolswork.co.uk playing cards. There are two sets of cards (Secondary/Primary ages), each with 52 cards, each with a different question on.

I have use the Secondary age playing cards a good few times now, in a variety of contexts, both in individual sessions with young people, and with small groups. You can make your own way of using them – a favourite in my work has been Snap!

These are great for opening up/breaking the ice, and as a way to get young people thinking and sharing their ideas about themselves, others, the world and beliefs. Go get some from schoolswork.co.uk:

Secondary Age Playing Cards

Primary Age Playing Cards

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Ministry Health Check: Encouragement

Posted on May 7, 2011 by Tim

#LoveMonday

Last week the #LoveMonday hashtag started flying through the Twittersphere. The idea was simple: Send 3 people (or more!) a quick word of encouragement.

I’ve spent a lot of time in the Church now, and from both personal experience and listening to others, I have come to the conclusion that we just don’t encourage each other enough. There are countless men and women serving in churches up and down the country, and all over the world, who rarely (if ever) get encouragement from other members of their congregations or other leaders.

Whilst people shouldn’t be doing something in the church just to get noticed (or appreciated), encouragement is important, as without it, people are much more likely to become disillusioned with what they are doing. In fact, I think that encouraging each other is probably the easiest way to build a healthy kingdom.

Take a look around you; who are the people working away without being noticed? The cleaners? The ladies (or men!) who make the tea and coffee after the service? The Sunday School leaders? The Youth Worker? The Minister? The Elders? Give them some encouragement!

What’s stopping you from encouraging someone on #LoveMonday? Why not see if this can cross-over from the digital world too – who will you see on Monday who you can encourage in person? Maybe secretly, maybe publicly, however you do it, encourage them!

Posted in Viral | Tagged #LoveMonday, encouragement, Ministry Health Check, twitter | Leave a comment