Do you love your youth worker?

 I recently became aware of the "We love our youth worker" covenant while reading an article at "The Youthworker Movement".  I am a paid part-time youth worker with three great adult helpers. I enjoy the full support of the Pastor and am regularly told by members of the congregation how much they appreciate my work with the young people. In conversation with some of my Youth worker colleagues, I realize this is the exception, not the norm. So I thought, why not post this information? While part of their focus is on churches who are looking to fill the position, they are also supportive of those already "hard at work" to meet the needs of the youth in their care.

The story of the beginning: 

The Covenant started as an idea in the UK in 2007 through conversations with youth workers about the experience of working in a church. All felt passionate about working with young people and committed to serving the churches that were paying them, but their experiences of being supported were mixed. Often it was simply because churches weren’t aware of some of the pressures and issues the youth workers faced.

Talking and praying together, the idea of a Covenant was formed along with a set of promises that would both challenge and inspire churches to think about better practices. In 2009, Youthwork, a collaboration of organizations committed to working together to resource and inspire Christian youth work in the UK, and Amaze, the first professional body for Christian youth and children’s workers in the UK, officially launched the Covenant and accreditation process. Since that time, the response to the Covenant has been overwhelming and has been adopted across multiple denominations and parachurch organizations in the UK.

In the summer of 2010, conversations were begun by Youth Ministry leaders in New England to bring the Covenant to the US. After a year of introducing the idea of the Covenant to youth workers around the country, as well as some crucial planning and development, We Love Our Youth Worker US was launched in the summer of 2011 with the plan to open an accreditation process in early 2012.

The Accreditation process is already in effect in the US!


Just to give you a feel for what is involved:

The Covenant

The National Covenant for church youth workers is a set of seven promises churches and Christian organizations make about the practices and principles they will use when employing a youth worker.

We will pray and spiritually support
We believe that our youth worker needs spiritual support in his or her work with young people. We promise to pray for our youth worker and make sure his or her spiritual life is getting the support it needs.
• We will give space for retreat and reflection
  We believe that taking time to think and pray is just as essential for our youth worker as organizing events and meeting young people.
  We promise to encourage our youth worker to use part of his or her schedule to give space for retreat, reflection and personal development.
• We will provide ongoing training and development
  We believe that learning the skills of youth work is an ongoing process and that it’s important to continually invest in professional development.
  We promise to set aside time and money to provide training and development for our youth worker.
• We will give at least one full day of rest per week
  We believe that taking regular time off helps maintain our youth worker’s passion and energy for his or her work with young people.
  We promise to require our youth worker to take at least one day away from his or her role each week and at least two weeks per year to do something different.
• We will share responsibility
  We believe that having a youth worker does not release the rest of the church from our responsibilities towards young people.
  We promise to encourage everyone to play a part in volunteering, praying for or supporting young people.
• We will strive to be an excellent employer
  We believe that it’s important to have clear structures and procedures for recruiting and employing a youth worker, and to provide supportive management structures.
  We promise to follow good practice guidelines in the way we employ our youth worker.
• We will celebrate and appreciate
  We believe it’s vital to acknowledge what our youth worker is doing and the commitment they have made to work with young people in our church.
  We promise to make sure our youth worker knows they are appreciated and we will celebrate his or her achievements.

As a Covenant is an agreement between two parties, there is a response we challenge youth workers to have towards their churches as they seek to reach more youth and their families with the Gospel.

• We will pray for our church, its leaders and members and our community
  We promise to lean on God for the work we have been charged to do and that we will lift up those sharing in that responsibility.
• We will make our own spiritual growth a priority
  We promise to spend time reading God’s Word, take time for retreat and reflection and find ways to keep our faith fresh and growing.
• We will commit to continued learning and growth
  We promise to have a teachable spirit and seek out ways to grow professionally.
• We will take at least one day off each week and vacation time
  We promise to take time for rest and Sabbath as we invest in a family, spiritual and social life outside of the youth ministry.
• We will ask for help and share the youth ministry with others
  We promise to communicate what is happening, what we are doing and where others can get involved in the life of students
• We will strive to be excellent employees
  We promise to manage our time effectively, work hard and operate within the context of the leaders overseeing our ministry.
• We will celebrate our church’s investment in youth minis

If you're part of a congregation that cherishes their youth, why not check it out? Your youth workers will thank you! By the way, they encourage people to blog, etc. about their site...

There's some good...

If you've read the Lord of the Rings or seen the movies then you know that Sam is the character with the pure heart. He is the virtuous and trustworthy soul...and he never gives up. Many days it seems as if there is no good news to be heard anywhere in the world...but there is...

Do...

Do something. Draw something. Paint something. Cook something. Write something. Sing something. Say something. Dance something. Give something. Make something. Break something. Shout something. Demonstrate something. Carve something.
Kiss someone. Hug someone. Challenge someone. Help someone. Visit someone. Hear someone. Bless someone. Write someone. Call someone. Love someone.
Everyone is creative.

from: The Naked Pastor

Life...

The National Anthem

I love our National Anthem but must admit for those of us who posses a less than perfect voice, it can be hard to sing. Especially as a solo. Eight year old Elizabeth Hughes was called upon to sing at a hockey game...and was doing a wonderful job...but when she got to "gave proof", her microphone goes dead. Now she doesn't miss a beat but you can't hear her.

It's heartwarming when the crowd picks up and sings with her. Thanks to all in the crowd for your support, she'll never forget it I'm sure!

Hula Hoop Baby

This is really cute...but there's something to be learned here. Notice the first child is doing the hula hoop like it's supposed to be...and doing a great job! She steps away to share with a younger sibling.

As is to be expected, the younger child cannot maintain the hoop around the hips (doesn't even try)...just stands there and wiggles...what's important is what is happening in the background. Listen to the encouragement!

Now while I know we are to teach our children to perform tasks to the best of their ability...sometimes they just need to be cheered on from the sidelines. No matter that it's not perfect...they're trying! Let's not forget that children need to know they're loved and that we are proud of them, even if they are a little unconventional!

Response...

What is the world's response to failure? A few words that come to mind are blame, ridicule, sarcasm...after all we are human and human nature is to tear down others in order to make ourselves feel better. The world's response is not God's response however.

We have to face the fact that the world can be a discouraging place and people are desperate for encouragement. But what can we do?
**Celebrate whenever something is done right! Sure, we're all supposed to do right and good all of the time but does that mean we cannot offer our fellow man a "atta boy" for it?
**What is your automatic response to the people in your life? Much as it shouldn't be so, they bear the brunt of our discouragement. Perhaps we (I) need to change our (my) first response. We can all benefit from being more positive.
**We can pray that God put people in our path so that we have the opportunity to encourage and lift them up. He is always faithful...are you?
**Unfortunately it is so much easier to complain and believe the "bad" stuff we hear. However, it doesn't take that much energy to think of ways to show you care!
**Don't settle for a superficial pat on the back and word of encouragement. Look deep..lifting up another because of their character is so much more memorable. It truly has the power to transform!

I do realize that there are time when confrontations are necessary and may be the best response at the time...but not always. If your relationship with another is built on love and encouragement, words of correction are so much easier to take and build upon...for then we know the motive and can trust our friend will be there to help us along the way.

Take a moment today, lift up another and notice how it can change your life as well!