Youth Workin' It

Consultancy and Resources for Youth Workers and Organizations Worldwide

When Is Enough, Enough? The Youth Worker Expiration Date

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expiration dateRecently Benjamin Kerns wrote an article about why 5 years is the ceiling in youth ministry.  It is a really good picture of what happens in many youth ministries.  It has been an experience I’ve witnessed in many youth pastors and youth ministers.  I agree wholeheartedly with Ben’s assessment that we need to keep pouring into the next generation of youth coming up through our programs if we want to have a sustainable youth program. His context is that of youth ministry within the church, which lends itself to a steady stream of children turning into teens, teens turning into graduates and so on.  However, this isn’t just a struggle limited to youth pastors- all youth workers at some time or another will wonder about their call or vision for the youth work they do.

But when you have other natural breaks in your youth work programs, and other outside factors, how do you know how long is ‘too long’ in a youth work position?

Cut and dry

Many youth workers are contract workers (particularly in the UK and Australia)- they have a set amount of time in which to do their work and if they don’t get more grant money they don’t have a job.

Move on up to that ‘deluxe apartment in the sky’

Youth workers move up into management (the non-faith-based equivalent of moving into ‘real ministry’ in the church)- when you’re too old or tired (or you have a family to support), you move into program management and leave the face-to-face work to the next generation of youth workers.

Show me the money

Government priorities shift and therefore your work focus shifts- if you work for the government, the next new thing (currently in the US it’s obesity) dictates what monies you get, how you can spend your time and sometimes the age and population of your participants.

However, there is another factor- one that is harder to know when it’s time to stay or go.Youth workers who work with disadvantaged or socially-excluded youth and in deprived areas and organizations.

This can be some of the most rewarding work to do, but it tends to take a huge toll on your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. How long can you live and work alongside such heartbreak?

With victims of child abuse, the foster care system, bullying, suicidal tenancies, poverty, illiteracy, hopelessness… the list goes on and on.

How long can you work with…

No money? Little to no support? Bureaucracy? The ugliest sides of humanity? Exhaustion? Personal and professional values dilemmas (every day!?)? Burn-out?

This isn’t something I can tell you.  But I can give you some indicators that you might be ready for something new- or at the very least- a sabbatical.

1. You dread going to group.

2. You get frustrated quickly and easily with routine teenage behavior.

3. You complain about your group when you get home, every time, with little to no positives you can identify.

4. You find yourself distracted at work easily and find it hard to self-motivate in the office.

5. You are looking at job sites- particularly when this happens with increasing frequency.

I know it can hurt when you are considering moving on from a youth work role, no matter what the reason.  But being a good reflective practitioner is key to understanding yourself, your youth and the impact you are having on them.  Remember to always focus on why you do what you do. It’s probably because you want to make a difference.  If your attitude is such that you aren’t able to make that difference anymore, it’s time to think about a break or a switch.

Youth work shouldn’t be about you.

 

Grant Writing Basics for Youth Work Programs

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One of the biggest problems that face most youth programs is the lack of funds.  Whether it’s a large organization, a small non-profit, government provision or a faith-based organization there just doesn’t seem to be enough money to go around.  And the thought of grant writing can be very daunting for many youth workers.  I mean really, we do the program bit and it’s a general stereotype (that is correct in my opinion) that most of us hate paperwork.  We don’t want to sit at our desk or computer and fill out paperwork- we want to do the work!

Sadly, like exercising or taking the time to go to the bathroom, it’s a necessary evil (that’s just me then that finds going to the bathroom a complete waste of time during my busy day?!).

You never know when you may need a skill like basic grant writing.  No, you may not need to write hundreds of grants for millions of dollars. But you may need to help the teens in your program write a mini-grant (this is a way that is becoming more popular to fund projects for youth, by youth) or assist your own fundraising department in their preparation of a grant.  You may also be wanting to start your own youth program and go it alone and for that you will need funds (unless you’re independently wealthy).

I recently had the opportunity to attend a grant writing workshop and here are the top three tips I took away from a foundation grant writer:

1. Seek other funding options.  

I’ve been learning about this over the years while preparing to get my own non-profit off the ground.  You can’t rely on grant funding alone.  Firstly, because grants come and go (and are getting increasingly more competitive).  Also, most grants now want to know how are you going to use this ‘seed money’ to get your project going and then make it sustainable when the grant finishes.  Funders don’t want to see ‘get another grant’ on your paperwork.  You need to focus on private donors*, major donors*, streams of revenue, etc. during your current grant cycle.

2. Figure out (before you apply) if your aims meet the funders goals (and if you don’t know- ask).

A lot of grant making organizations will sit down with you before you apply- in the case of my four local foundations they actually require it before application.  You need to review their guidelines with a fine-toothed comb and if you have any questions or doubt about your program or organization fitting into their funding goals then pick up the phone and make a connection with a real person and get some answers.*

3.  Give them what they ask for- no more, no less.

You know your organization and program so you’re going to be quick to say a lot about it and possibly skim over the grant management aspect of the application.  Wrong. You need to do both, equally well and clearly, in your application to be in with a shot.  According to the trainer its about 50% or less of a grant application that is the actual project.  They really want to know how you are going to manage their funds.  Remember- it doesn’t have to be lengthy, as long as you provide what they want there is no need to go on and on and on and on and on and on… well you get the picture.  If you think something will enhance your grant or add clarity then include it (or even better- ask a real person at the organization about it first).*

* Bonus tip:  There is both a science and an art to grant writing.  The science is the basic application.  The art is building relationships.  You need to build relationships with funders, whether they are foundations, private donors or corporations.  You need to keep in touch with them. Share your successes. Be honest about your shortcomings.  An email won’t do.  You need to get out there and talk to people.  Send them notes and updates.  If you do a newsletter, drop that in the mail to them.  Keep that relationship open.  Even if they can’t fund you right now, or in the future, they are going to know people who might be able to.

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Enough Food For Everyone IF – Youth Work Session Idea

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Hunger Youth Work Session Idea(Edit: Since this post was published, it looks like the Enough Food For Everyone IF website has been taken down. We’ve therefore removed any dead links – apologies that this reduced the usefulness of this session idea)

Almost one billion people worldwide suffer from hunger, so there’s a new campaign that’s started in the UK called Enough Food For Everyone IF.

Purpose

The purpose of this campaign is to put pressure on the leaders of the G8 countries to commit to fixing four areas that impact hunger. The G8 is made up of countries with some of the largest economies in the world:

  • Canada
  • France
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Russia
  • UK
  • USA

The European Union is also represented at the G8, so a commitment by all these nations could achieve a big difference.

The four areas that Enough Food For Everyone IF are seeking change in are:

  1. Aid – Give aid to stop children dying from hunger. Help the poorest have enough food to live.
  2. Land – Stop poor farmers being forced off their land. Grow crops to provide food, not fuel.
  3. Tax – Stop companies dodging taxes in poor countries so millions can be freed from hunger.
  4. Transparency – Governments and companies must be honest about their role in the food system.

Video

Enough Food For Everyone IF have produced the short video below explaining about the campaign.

Who Is Involved?

Many large charities like World Vision are supporting this initiative, with many different faith groups and non-faith groups also being involved.

This is therefore a great example of organizations putting aside differences to work for the common good.

Free Session Resources

There are many different resources available on the Enough Food For Everyone website that you can use as youth group activities to address the issue of hunger:

  • Case Studies – This PDF has numerous case studies about people suffering from hunger in different countries around the world. This resource suggests splitting up into smaller groups to have the young people look at just one case study, but if you only have a small group in the first place you could just as easily look at all the case studies together.
  • Plate Activity – If you’re in the UK, this activity involves having your youth decorate a plate with their own thoughts, ideas and solutions to global hunger. You then send the plates to one of three UK based organizations, who will then send them on to the Prime Minister.
  • Learning Resources – This page contains links to 30 different free resources from charities like Oxfam and Action Aid that address the issues of Aid, Land, Tax and Transparency that this campaign is focused on.

What Are Key Stages?

There are references to Key Stage levels 2-4 on their website, particularly on the Learning Resources page. This refers to the age-appropriateness of the activities for students. Here are the ages that the Key Stages relate to:

  • Key Stage 2 – 7-11 year olds
  • Key Stage 3 – 11-14 year olds
  • Key Stage 4 – 14-16 years old

Therefore, if you’re working with teens, the Key Stage 2 activities will probably be too “childish” for your youth, so pick the Key Stage 3 or 4 activities instead.

Other Hunger-Related Resources

We’ve previously published a free youth retreat theme based on hunger, so that has many other youth group activities that you can use to explore this global issue.

In the comments on that post, TJ’s also referred to another organization called Kids Can Make A Difference that seeks to enable youth to make a difference about hunger.

Question: What other hunger-related resources have you used or know about? We’d love to find out about them, so let us know in the comments below.

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Youth Using Skills To Benefit Others – Youth Group Activity

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Youth using skills to benefit others
What skills do your young people have?

If you’re a regular reader of the Youth Workin’ It blog, you’ll know by now that we’re big fans of youth empowerment and youth participation.

This week’s youth work session plan idea aims to build on that and help show youth how they can make a difference in the lives of others.

Session Purpose

This activity is based on a video that highlights how one young person from Sierra Leone is using his skills to benefit his community.

The purpose of this session idea is therefore to get your youth to consider what skills they have and how they can use them to benefit their own community.

Session Outline

Show the video below to your youth group. Once they’ve watched it, use the discussion questions below – or your own – to explore some of the areas covered in the video and to help inspire your young people to take action.

Video

First, watch this video with your young people:

Discussion Questions

  1. Kelvin loves inventing – what do you love doing?
  2. What job would you want to do in the future, even if it meant you hardly earned anything?
  3. Kelvin’s taught himself how take broken electronics and fix them. What things do you actively seek to learn outside of school / college?
  4. He made a generator and created his own radio station to give a voice to other youth. What could you do to give a voice to other young people? (If they struggle to come up with any ideas, consider suggesting areas they might be able to get involved in, like sticking up for other students who are bullied or for youth who are trafficked).
  5. David said about African countries: “Unless we have a host of young people who can think at any given point that here’s a challenge, here’s a problem, here’s an opportunity to solve it, there won’t be steep growth in national development”. How true do you think that is in your own country?
  6. Kelvin’s known as DJ Focus, as he believes that “if you focus, you can do an invention perfectly“. What are some things you focus on that you can do perfectly?
  7. Are these areas that benefit you or other people in some way?
  8. His Mom was excited as people said good comments about him. Is this something that happens to you?
  9. If not, what could you do to change that?
  10. Everything he learned at MIT, he wanted to share with his friends, colleagues and loved ones. What do you know that you could share with others to benefit them?
  11. David runs an innovation camp in Sierra Leone that seeks to have young people identify some of the problems in their community and challenges them to come up with solutions. What are some problems in your own community?
  12. Now that you’ve identified some of the problems, what can you do to solve them?

Question: What other discussion questions would you use with your young people based on this video? Please share your ideas in the comments below.

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Judging People By Their Appearance – Youth Work Session Idea

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Judging people by their appearanceA problem that affects all of us, no matter how hard we try, is judging people by their appearance. For young people, the desire to fit in at school and in social groups can sometimes lead them to make fun of people based on their looks.

This week’s youth work session plan idea addresses this issue by using a music video to challenge youth in their perceptions of others. We’ve then provided a number of discussion questions to get your young people thinking more deeply about how they judge people and how to change their behavior accordingly.

Some of the questions also have your youth self-reflecting about their own appearance and how they’ve been treated by others. They may therefore feel uncomfortable talking about this in front of their peers, so consider having them write down their answers. These don’t even have to be shared with you, as simply reflecting on this and writing their thoughts down could be beneficial for them. If they’re happy for you to read their answers though, this will help give you some insight into where they’re at.

Warning regarding content on the video:

  • One case of bad language at the beginning about 15 seconds in
  • Someone who sticks two fingers up (the UK equivalent of giving someone the middle finger) about 35 seconds in
  • Short fight scene

You may therefore not feel that this video is suitable for your youth group, particularly if you work with middle school students.

 

Kodaline – All I Want

Discussion Questions

  1. At the beginning of the video, the girl screams when she sees him. Do you think this would have been the first time this happened to him?
  2. How do you think he would have felt by her initial reaction?
  3. Just after that, why do you think the other guy pretended to be a monster?
  4. All his work colleagues keep staring at him. What do you think it would feel like to have this happen to you?
  5. At other times, he seems to be invisible. Have you ever felt ignored by people you know?
  6. If so, how did that feel?
  7. He looks unhappy when he sees his reflection in the window. Do you ever feel that way when looking in the mirror?
  8. Later in the video, he holds the door of the elevator for her but she pretends she’s forgotten something. Why do you think she does this?
  9. Do you think she’s thinking about how her actions will make him feel?
  10. Does his dog judge him by his appearance?
  11. He has great artistic ability. Would you know that by looking at him?
  12. He has a photo of his mother looking at him as a baby, with a happy smile on her face. How do you think she felt about him?
  13. How do you think he felt when someone wrote that he was the “World’s greatest freak” on his coffee mug?
  14. Have you or any of your friends ever made fun of someone’s appearance?
  15. If so, how do you think it made them feel?
  16. Why do you think the girl’s perception of him changed?
  17. What do you think she realized?
  18. At the end of the video, she gives him her phone number and kisses him on the cheek. Do you think this is why he’s so happy, or could it be because someone’s looked past his appearance and seen who he is inside?
  19. Other than what his face looks like, does he seem to be different to anyone else in the office?
  20. Being honest, if you knew somebody who looked like this, how do you think you would treat them?

Church Youth Groups

If you’re showing this video with a church youth group, here are some Bible passages that relate to not judging people by their appearance:

  • 1 Samuel 16: 7 – But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’
  • Galatians 5: 22-23 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (n.b. Although not about judging others by their appearance, this passage links to the passage from 1 Samuel about the Lord looking at the heart, focusing on what’s important) 
  • Matthew 7: 1-2 – Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
  • James 2: 1-4 – My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
  • James 2: 12-13 – Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

For a different take on judging people by their appearance, check out this post on Turning Point’s blog.

Question: Have you ever run a session about judging people by their appearance? How did you address the issue? We’d love it if you’d share your experience in the comments below to help other youth workers in the future.

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