"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." Aristotle

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 21 January 2005 09:54:07

Picture the scene: watery slides and rapids, heated swimming pools, the icy-cold plunge pool, 7- or 8-degree heat outside, a forest, worship, hanging out with your mates, seminars...

This has been one of the highlights of my youth work days for the past (almost) seven years. Every year Newfrontiers does a conference for youth leaders at CenterParcs at the beginning of the year. And I'm off to my very last one today. These conferences are always God-centered, full of people who love the Lord, old hands, newbies, youth cell leaders, year teamers, full timers and hard workers who do youf on top of everything else! The teaching is helpful, strongly biblical, application-based and God-glorifying. Now I could finish this post by saying something trite and emo like "I shall miss it" or "There have been good times, there have been bad times, but they've all been God's times" or some nonsense. Instead I'm going to dish out some advice, wisdom; call it what you will.

I've done church-based youth work for about seven years now. Six of those have been on salaried staff at my church. I think that one of the reasons I've lasted as long as I have are my teams. They have changed substantially over the years but there has been one common factor in all of them: we've always been friends. When picking your team don't be shy about asking people who you get along with. Do you enjoy someone's company? Do you get along with them? Do they have traits and skills you'd like on your team? Then ask them to join in your vision! We've had great times planning our programmes, throwing about ideas for keeping things fresh, doing weekends away and bible weeks. We've led our young people evangelistically, we've seen young people baptised, joining the church, serving, bringing their friends in. We've had meals together, had planning meetings in the pub together, bellyached over things being a bit pants together and prayed together. It's fun to be on a fun team and that, in my experience, is how serving should be. It makes for a work with longevity and passion and vision, which brings me the end of today's two-pence-worth.